Empower Your Immunity: The 5 Must-Have Nutrients For A Robust Defence System

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The immune system is a complex network of cells, tissues and organs that work together to protect the body from infection and disease. It’s important to support your immune system year-round, especially during winter when colds and flu are more common. Travelling can also make you more susceptible to illness, so taking extra care of your health when you’re on the go is essential.

There are many things you can do to boost your immune system. From eating a healthy and balanced diet to ensuring you are well-hydrated and rested. You can also explore adding immune system supplements and foods to your diet. Read on to learn the top five nutrients that will help to support your immune system.

How does the immune system work?

The immune system is a network of cells, tissues, and organs that work together to protect the body from infection and illness. The immune system is made up of white blood cells (leukocytes), the spleen, the bone marrow, the lymphatic system, the thymus and the tonsils, adenoids, and the appendix.

When the immune system detects something is wrong, it releases special cells to neutralise and remove the threat. It also triggers inflammatory responses to injury and starts the wound-healing process. You can learn more about how the immune system works here.

Supplements to support your immune system

Your immune system needs specific nutrients to be able to function correctly. We can get most of these from food, but supplements can reassure you that you are getting everything you need. Here are the top five nutrients to keep your immune system functioning correctly.

Vitamin C

Perhaps the most well-known of all the immune-boosting supplements, vitamin C is often associated with helping to keep us fighting fit during cold and flu season. Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is not produced in the body but can be abundant in many foods. However, the body is known to use more when fighting to keep you healthy.

One of the ways that vitamin C helps to protect your body and boost your immune system is by acting as an antioxidant. Oxidative stress in the body damages the cells and leads to widespread health problems and premature ageing. Antioxidants help to neutralise free radicals in the body by lending these unstable atoms a spare electron. This helps to prevent them from becoming highly chemically reactive and damaging surrounding cells.

This isn’t the only way vitamin C helps support the body and the immune system. It also encourages the body to produce lymphocytes and phagocytes, essential for removing bacteria, viruses and dead cells from the body. However, when carrying out their role in the body, phagocytes are subject to considerable oxidative stress, and vitamin C helps to protect against this.

And finally, vitamin C is also essential for wound healing. It is required to make collagen, a building block for skin, cartilage, bones and tendons. Without sufficient vitamin C, cuts, scrapes, and wounds will heal very slowly, which puts you at a higher risk of secondary infection.

Vitamin D3

Vitamin D3 is essential for healthy bones and teeth as it helps to regulate calcium and phosphorus levels. Vitamin D is also critical for regulating insulin release and managing blood pressure. In the immune system, vitamin D helps regulate the entire system’s function, encouraging it to ramp up when needed and then calming it when the threat is gone.

This fat-soluble vitamin can be produced in the body when exposed to sunlight. Still, not everyone can get enough UVB rays to produce sufficient vitamin D levels, particularly in winter. Individuals with darker skin are susceptible to lower vitamin D levels. Living in Northern climates can also make getting enough vitamin D from sunlight difficult.

You can get vitamin D from food sources such as fatty fish and enriched foods like milk, cereals and bread. But those following a vegan diet may struggle to get enough vitamin D. A vitamin D supplement is often the simplest way to ensure you get enough.

Zinc

Zinc is an essential mineral your body cannot produce, so you must get it from your diet. It helps the immune system produce lymphocytes and phagocytes. It is also essential for hundreds of enzymatic reactions while assisting with growth and healthy hormone levels.

Zinc is also a powerful antioxidant, so it helps support the immune system to function correctly and reduce oxidative stress. In addition, zinc works alongside copper to produce an enzyme called copper-zinc superoxide dismutase (SOD1). This is essential for breaking down free radicals within cells.

Zinc deficiency is rare because it is widely available in many foods. For example, you can find zinc in oysters, poultry and beef. While it is available in vegan food sources like beans, nuts and seeds, the bioavailability is lower, which means those following a vegan diet may benefit from a supplement. You can also lose excess zinc through sweating, so athletes are at a higher risk of zinc deficiencies.

Quercetin

Quercetin is a flavonoid, a plant compound responsible for the bright colours in fruits and vegetables. This is also a powerful antioxidant that helps the immune system to function correctly. In the body, quercetin helps to protect against oxidative stress and also helps to regulate cell activity.

It can increase white blood cell activity and stabilise activity for other types of cells. In addition, it is known to help regulate histamine-releasing cells, which cause allergy-related symptoms. And finally, it can also help to ensure a healthy immune response by controlling the release of cytokines, which help to signal the immune system to do its job.

You can get quercetin from your diet as it is found in fruits and vegetables. The best dietary source is capers, also found in apples, onions, berries and broccoli. However, as with all supplements, adding a concentrated source to your diet could be beneficial, mainly when feeling run down.

Closing thoughts

Your immune system is a unique system that helps to keep you safe and healthy, and it is mainly self-sufficient, provided you are enjoying a rich and varied diet. But we all need a little help from time to time. To help support your immune system and ensure you always have the nutrients you need to thrive, we recommend these five supplements. Adding these to your daily routine will help to reduce the risk of deficiencies and could help to keep your immune system working in peak condition throughout the year.

Coach Michael

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