What you can do to strengthen your immune response

by Lucy Nurek, Ph.D.

• Balance your diet and exercise regularly.
  Regular moderate physical activity is beneficial; evidence shows that exercise has important modulatory effects on immune cell dynamics and immune function.

• Protect and nourish your skin.
  Your skin is your body's first line of defense against outside intruders. Maintain its proper pH. By supplying your body with collagen, chondroitin and glucosamine sulfate, as well as a variety of amino acids and vitamins, you can provide nutritional support for healthy skin and strong connective tissue.

• Take good care of your gastrointestinal tract.
  Scientific studies show that over 50% of our immune system is in our intestines. A healthy, well functioning gastrointestinal tract is vital to overall good health. There is increasing evidence that probiotic bacteria improve host immune function. Probiotics might be useful in the management of common cold as well as atopic eczema-dermatitis syndrome.

• Enhance your diet with nutritional and herbal supplements.
  Lack of adequate macronutrients or selected micronutrients, especially zinc, selenium, iron, and the antioxidant vitamins, can lead to clinically significant immune deficiency and infections, particularly in children and elderly. Chronic undernutrition and micronutrient deficiency compromise cytokine response and affect immune cell trafficking.

Dr. Lucy Nurek is a renowned scientific researcher focusing on stronger validations of natural health remedies. For the
past 25 years, she has been an author, researcher and university instructor, and has been most recently affiliated with Purdue University in Indiana as a Visiting Professor. An advocate of alternative and complementary therapies, Dr. Nurek is also certified in Clinical Massage Therapy and Oncology Massage. She holds a Ph.D. in Natural Sciences from Poznan University, Poland and a Masters degree in Biology and Chemistry from Wroclaw University, Poland.