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Building Up The Immune System...

KFCA

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Is this REALLY possible?

Here's the deal: On another forum a mother of a 22 year old daugher who less than a month ago started working at a day care center & has already been diagnosed with an ear infection, a sinus infection & strep throat. She's asking if there's anything her daughter could do or take so this isn't a continual problem?

She mentioned that her daughter is allergic to "wheat", but totally avoids it, but is ok with "dairy". She also takes both zinc & Vitamin C supplements.

I know "building up your immune system" seems to be a trendy concept (I always have this mental vision of sending one's I/S out to a gym or something), but I wonder how science stand on this. In the end, in a healthy person, does one pretty much have to go with the flow of the system they were born with?
 
This is bullcrap. Your immune system is controlled by your genes, there is no way you can make that stronger. It does an amazing job anyway. So yes you have to go with what you are born with.

The best way is to maintain a healthy lifestyle and eat a balance diet so that when an infection comes along then your immune system is in an optimal state to be able to respond.
 
I think these claims are all rubbish, because I don't know how they are quantified. That said, in my little world, some brands of dog food (Iams) have started making claims about boosting immunity in older dogs with percentages attached. I've never bothered to challenge the company. Maybe Rolfe knows more.
 
I don't know about specific supplements to enhance immunocompetence but I agree with Capsid that good nutrition is essential to maintenance and promotion of immune system.

However, vulnerability to infection is a bit more fluid than Capsid seems to suggest. The field of Psychoneuroimmunology has shown us (work by people like Kiecolt-Glaser, Cohen etc) that stress is related to the development of infection following exposure to a pathogen. That is, in blinded studies, following exposure to a pathogen, those who report greater stress are more likely to develop an infection than those who are less stressed. A quick google search will find lots of resources.

So, echoing Lisa, I would recommend lots of hand washing (or using a hand disinfectant like Purell) plus a stress management technique (exercise, yoga, breathing etc.)
 
KFCA said:
Is this REALLY possible?
Click to expand...

Yes, it is perfectly possible. There are a lot of immunoeenhancing drugs already, like Isoprinosine. Enhancing the immune system through dietary changes is also very possible, although the research on this field is only lately beginning to enlighten us.

Curr Opin Lipidol. 2005 Feb;16(1):31-7. Related Articles, Links

Food components and immune function.

Plat J, Mensink RP.

Department of Human Biology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Enhancing immune function or alternatively dampening inflammatory processes by specific food components has received a lot of interest. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent findings with the emphasis on underlying mechanisms. RECENT FINDINGS: Dietary beta-glucans are relatively new candidates in the field of immune modulation by diet. In-vitro and animal studies suggest that beta-glucans shift inflammatory profiles to a Th1 type, which may enhance resistance against bacterial and parasitic infections. Regarding polyunsaturated fatty acids, there is evidence that n-3 fatty acids from fish oils (eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid) dampen inflammatory responses. Whether eicosapentaenoic acid or docosahexaenoic acid is responsible for this phenomenon remains controversial. It is also inconclusive whether the plant-derived n-3 fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid has the same antiinflammatory effects as observed for fish oils. Saturated fatty acids may activate toll-like receptors and consequently the inflammatory pathway. The effect of total fat intake is controversial, since high-fat diets have been found to suppress immune function, while also improving intestinal barrier function. Finally, Gingko biloba was found to lower nuclear factor kappaB and activator protein 1 activation, possibly due to its high content of polyphenols. SUMMARY: In this review we discuss the nutritional components able to enhance immune function or show antiinflammatory effects. It can be concluded that diet certainly has the potential to direct immune responses. Apart from studies on fish oils, however, evidence from human studies is limited.
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The immune-enhancing properties of whey protein for example, are well known. One study I picked almost randomly:

Anticancer Res. 2000 Nov-Dec;20(6C):4785-92. Related Articles, Links


Whey protein concentrate (WPC) and glutathione modulation in cancer treatment.

Bounous G.

Research & Development Department, Immunotec Research Ltd., 292 Adrien-Patenaude, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada, J7V 5V5.

The glutathione (GSH) antioxidant system is foremost among the cellular protective mechanisms. Depletion of this small molecule is a common consequence of increased formation of reactive oxygen species during increased cellular activities. This phenomenon can occur in the lymphocytes during the development of the immune response and in the muscular cells during strenuous exercise. It is not surprising that so much research has been done, and is still being done on this small tripeptide molecule. Whey protein concentrate has been shown to represent an effective and safe cysteine donor for GSH replenishment during GSH depletion in immune deficiency states. Cysteine is the crucial limiting amino acid for intracellular GSH synthesis. Animal experiments showed that the concentrates of whey proteins also exhibit anti-carcinogenesis and anticancer activity. They do this via their effect on increasing GSH concentration in relevant tissues, and may have anti-tumor effect on low volume of tumor via stimulation of immunity through the GSH pathway. It is considered that oxygen radical generation is frequently a critical step in carcinogenesis, hence the effect of GSH on free radicals as well as carcinogen detoxification, could be important in inhibiting carcinogenesis induced by a number of different mechanisms. Case reports are presented which strongly suggest an anti-tumor effect of a whey protein dietary supplement in some urogenital cancers. This non toxic dietary intervention, which is not based on the principles of current cancer chemotherapy, will hopefully attract the attention of laboratory and clinical oncologists.
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There is also a lot of potential for immunoenhancement through exercise, but this is a complicated and even less studied field.
 
Re: Re: Building Up The Immune System...

El Greco said:
Yes, it is perfectly possible. There are a lot of immunoeenhancing drugs already, like Isoprinosine. Enhancing the immune system through dietary changes is also very possible, although the research on this field is only lately beginning to enlighten us.




The immune-enhancing properties of whey protein for example, are well known. One study I picked almost randomly:



There is also a lot of potential for immunoenhancement through exercise, but this is a complicated and even less studied field.
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Hmmm...the problem is that immunity is complex and boiling it all down to whether you can "boost" your immunity without adding any qualifiers to describe what the hell that means makes it an unanswerable question.


TruthSeeker is right: from the top down there are lots of broad scale lifestyle things that seem to correlate with good ehalth and by implication good immunity.

El Greco is also right, but what he has done is go bottom up and pick on one chemical or class of chemicals and look at one aspect or a small set of aspects of immune function. No one can know what overall effect this will have.

Biology is complicated and odd things sometimes turn up.

I don't think there are easy answers. People can look at the Big Picture of public health and ty to isolate factors that are worth pursuing in deatil to optimise our exploitation of them. Others look at the Little Picture, but must then work out whether the cellular processes they identify are of much significance in the whole animal/person/population.

To talk of "boosting the immunity" is just naive when posed as such a simple question. Hence my first reply.
 
I think the problem is also that there is a lot of confusion by what is meant by boosting the immune system. Enhancers may promote the innate immune system, that is the cytokines and inflammatory components but not the adaptive immune response which is where it really counts as to whether you can fight off an infection or succumb to complications/death. And that is dictated by the immunoglobulin genes.

I agree with Truthseeker in regard to the effect of stress, this is well known.
 
RichardR said:
Don't vaccines "boost the immune system"?
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Glib answer: yes.

Proper answer: yes they confer some immunity to a specific infection, but this is not a non-specific and generalised "boost" of the whole system.

:)
 
Capsid said:
This is bullcrap. Your immune system is controlled by your genes, there is no way you can make that stronger. It does an amazing job anyway. So yes you have to go with what you are born with.

The best way is to maintain a healthy lifestyle and eat a balance diet so that when an infection comes along then your immune system is in an optimal state to be able to respond.
Click to expand...

Genetics is but one cause for conditions generally considered to be linked to suppression of the immune system.

"The four main causative factors of autoimmune disease have been stated to be: Genetic predisposition; Hormonal influences, especially of sex hormones; Infections, especially of viruses; and Stress....

Immune deficiency diseases sire a group of disorders in which normal host defenses against disease are impaired. These include disruption of the body's mechanical barriers to invasion (e.g. normal bacterial flora; the eye and skin; respiratory tract cilia); defects in non-specific host defenses (e.g. complement deficiency; functional white blood cell disorders), and defects in specific host defenses (e.g. immunosuppression caused by pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites; combined immune deficiency; IgA deficiency; growth hormone deficiency)."
http://www.golden-retriever.com/immune_system_and_disease_resist.htm

Suffering from one such condition myself, I'd kind of like to find a medical treatment a little more proactive than 'genes'.

And a healthy lifestyle, as in exercise, is precisely what some folks can't do when so afflicted.
 
Breastfeeding is usually thought to confer a pretty hefty boost to the immune system, so obviously it's possible to boost the immune system through oral administration of nutrients. Whether any of the things that claim to do that are valid, I don't know.
 
KFCA said:
started working at a day care center & has already been diagnosed with an ear infection, a sinus infection & strep throat. She's asking if there's anything her daughter could do or take so this isn't a continual problem?
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Her immune system will inevitably be boosted as a result of her exposure. When I had kids in day care, I spent several miserable months with various colds. Eventually I developed an immunity.

Now, 20 years later, I happen to be taking an exercise class in the evenings that's held in a day care center. And now I'm going through the same process all over again.

I also remember when my family first moved to Missouri and spent the first several months developing a "regional immunity" as it's known here. Missouri's particularly bad for colds an flu and I've heard it theorized that it has something to do with being crossed by bird migration routes.

One last tedious example. I'm a lapswimmer. If I take a few months off from injury and start up again, I usually get a mild ear infection. This happened at least 4 times over the last 30 years. I've never gotten an ear infection that wasn't associated with a layoff.

Anyway, all this bloviation is my way of saying that the best way to develop immunity is to do nothing. Your body will take care of it for you.

-Jon
 
gethane said:
Breastfeeding is usually thought to confer a pretty hefty boost to the immune system, so obviously it's possible to boost the immune system through oral administration of nutrients. Whether any of the things that claim to do that are valid, I don't know.
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Well let's start here. Breast milk, in particular colostrum, provides passive antibodies for the infant. It has no effect as far as 'special' nutrients that boost immunity.

I will have to look at the two studies above and get back on those. Links would certainly make it easier,.. you know, post the web site, not just the journal citation.:rolleyes:

Vaccines provide specific immunity to specific diseases as has been mentioned. Vaccines do more for preventing disease than any supplement for sure. Antibiotics produce drug resistant bacterial strains but don't weaken your immune system which is another common myth. Do take them when you need them, avoid them when you don't.

As long as a child isn't malnourished nutrients are going to do almost nothing extra for the immune system. I also don't think getting a toddler to practice yoga is practical. (Though there is some research showing stress, companions, pets, and marital status have some effect on numbers and seriousness of infections.)

Studies on daycare and it's impact on infections show kids get more GI infections but URIs are merely earlier. Kids who haven't been in day care get more URIs in kindergarten. Another problem is the eustachian tubes are more horizontal and shorter in toddlers and infants so ear infections are more common in kids in day care than in kids who don't go to day care.

While hand washing is important, again, it is not always practical in this age group. You still need to help the kids with it and set up good habits, but kids share their germs in other ways despite hand washing.

First, it's gonna happen. Don't try to give your kid a bunch of crap that is a waste of time. Good nutrition is the best goal. There is no magic bullet.

Second, visit the daycare. The staff are key to keeping the number of infections down. How conscientious are the staff members in preventing infection. Do they enforce keeping sick kids home? Do they help the kids wash their hands or merely put the kids in front of the sink? Does the staff understand the germ theory,(you'd be surprised)? Is there a drinking fountain or do the kids get water in cups? Drinking fountains are a big source in infection spreading.

How many well meaning parents are out there looking for those vitamins and supplements yet never even visit the day care?

Treating ear infections properly is a whole other chapter I don't have time to post right now.

Finally, be as careful as you can about your own hand washing and not sharing your kids' germs via sharing food and dishes. It's hard to take care of a sick kid when you are sick as well.
 
Re: Re: Building Up The Immune System...

clarabelle said:
Her immune system will inevitably be boosted as a result of her exposure. .....

Anyway, all this bloviation is my way of saying that the best way to develop immunity is to do nothing. Your body will take care of it for you.

-Jon
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One does develop immunity to the local organisms and numbers of infections decrease with time. But I wouldn't advocate doing "nothing". Setting up the child for good habits and decreasing unnecessary infections due to daycare practices is worth some effort. I do agree with not getting overly concerned about minor but common early childhood infections.
 
Re: Re: Re: Building Up The Immune System...

skeptigirl said:
One does develop immunity to the local organisms and numbers of infections decrease with time. But I wouldn't advocate doing "nothing". Setting up the child for good habits and decreasing unnecessary infections due to daycare practices is worth some effort. I do agree with not getting overly concerned about minor but common early childhood infections.
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I wouldn't disagree with what you've said, skeptigirl, I may have been making my point too extremely.

But I think you missed that the daughter in question is a 22 years old working at a daycare (or maybe I'm getting it wrong).
 
skeptigirl said:
...While hand washing is important, again, it is not always practical in this age group. You still need to help the kids with it and set up good habits, but kids share their germs in other ways despite hand washing.
....
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To provide evidence of what clarabelle said:
KFCA said:
Is this REALLY possible?

Here's the deal: On another forum a mother of a 22 year old daugher who less than a month ago started working at a day care center & has already been diagnosed with an ear infection, a sinus infection & strep throat. She's asking if there's anything her daughter could do or take so this isn't a continual problem?
...
Click to expand...

As a mom-volunteer in kids' preschools I have made sure my hands are washed... AND did supervising of the kids' hand washing. They do need guidence.

I have also helped by cleaning surfaces and toys (including washing fabric items in my washer).

Fortunately, most of the stuff came and went. The worst bug to go through was chicken pox... but there was not much to avoid that (it went through our house a year before the vaccine was available).
 
So far, on the other forum (where the lady posted about her 22-daughter), the most unusual suggestion has been "Cod Liver Oil". Is that popular for children again? I can't remember being subjected to it in my early years, but my husband sure does.
 
I find most people don't even know what the immune system is and what is involved in fighting infections.

A crash course helps people evaluate claims about it.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/immune-system8.htm
http://science.howstuffworks.com/fr...m&url=http://www.thebody.com/step/immune.html

Then you hear about things that can "suppress" the immune system, like stress. Therefore it is easy to imagine you can "boost" it. Thing is, you can just help to not suppress it with bad nutrition and such. There is no magic "immune booster" out there that will make you immune to colds and infections.

Vaccines can help prepare you to fight off vaccine preventable diseases, but I wouldn't call it an "immune boost". More like simply arming yourself against a specific disease.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/immune-system13.htm

Cod liver oil? It provides with some things you need for adequate nutritional intake. It won't hurt for children to ingest it. I wouldn't expect a child's cold to go away any faster though. It certainly won't prevent a child from catching a bug.
 
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