Let’s face it, the things you’re supposed to do during the upcoming holiday season to keep your immunity boosters high, you’re probably not going to do.  You’re not going to rest enough.  You’re not going to avoid sugar and fancy coffee drinks.  You’re not going to get sunshine.  And you’re probably not going to exercise like you normally do.

What you’re most likely going to do is run for drugs or supplements because it’s easier to take a pill.  I’m not mad at ya, it’s human nature.  Since you’re most likely going to take something, here’s a list of supplements that I would recommend.  Take some, take them all, take none, it’s up to you.

Just keep in mind that in life, you pay for convenience.  Supplements are a convenience to life and building your health.  Living in the 2000 teens, we rely on conveniences and gladly pay for them.

Vitamin D

This is the sunshine vitamin and really not a vitamin at all but more like a hormone.  To truly be sufficient in Vitamin D, you need maximum skin exposure for accumulative 30 minutes per day.  This rarely happens unless you’re on vacation.  The next best thing is to supplement.  The human genome has over 2700 binding sites for Vit D and being deficient in this nutrient, means you are deficient in life.

You should also get Vit D tested.  The problem is that it gets interpreted poorly.  On labs, you will see a normal value of 30-100 ng/ml.  In reality, if your value is 31, you would be ‘normal.’  The 30 ng/ml cut off range is the lowest value for you to prevent rickets.  Do more than prevent rickets.  For healthy application, you should be north of 50 ng/ml.

Juice Plus

Fruits and veggies are packed and loaded with thousands upon thousands of immune boosting properties from vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, carotenoids, polyphenols, and anti-oxidants.  If fruits and veggies actually required a food label, the label for one apple would be longer than your receipt and the font too small to read clearly.  Obviously eating fruits and veggies is essential.  The more the better.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen in quantities that is required for human vitality.  So I recommend juicing or blending your fruits and veggies to consume them.  In reality, if you’re not going to eat them, what’s your likelihood of buying more than you would actually eat, juicing them, drinking them, and then clean everything?  Pretty slim for most of the population long term.

The next best option is swallowing a capsule that contains 17-24 fruits and veggies (many of which you never eat anyway) that were juiced and concentrated.  Super easy and someone else deals with the mess.   Unlike a multivitamin, where nutrients are isolated or created, Juice Plus takes the produce and juices it like you would, just at mass quantities, and dries it to encapsulate the concentrated remains.

They even have a program where a kid can get it free for up to 4 years.  They also have some cool independent research to confirm their immunity booster claims.

Antioxidants/Anti-inflammatories

In short antioxidants protect cells and DNA from damage.  If cells and DNA are getting damaged, your immunity gets sacked and injured.  Acute inflammation is great for your protection.  Chronic inflammation continues to break down your body.

As stress increases (toxicity and deficiency), you have faster cell turnover.  As cell turnover increases (physical, chemical, and emotional), that cell produces more free radicals, which are the substances that damage cell membranes and DNA.  As damage increases, inflammation increases.  As inflammation increases, you recruit more inflammation.  Inflammation is an immune response.  The more your immune system is used to battle internal damage, the weaker the defenses for external invaders.  You start attacking yourself more than actual threats.

There are many great individual antioxidants and anti-inflammatories but here is a list of ones that I like to keep in my personal repertoire.

1. Omega 3 EPA:DHA.  You may know this as fish oil.  All fish oils are not created equal.  Some companies change the chemical structure to make it proprietary, which does not resemble the original beneficial substance.  Many are not pure.  There are many good companies also.  The brand that I know, like, and trust for my fish oil is Innate Choice.

Why these fats are essential is because they are the building blocks to your cells.  If your cells have weak defenses, they are more easily damaged.  The stronger the cell wall, the less damage.  No damage, no inflammation.

2. Methyl Renew.  This is a designer product from a company called Nutriwest.  Methylation is one of the most important biochemical reactions in the body. Methylation is extremely important for maintaining and accelerating many pathways for neurotransmitters, hormones, detoxification, DNA synthesis and protection, immune system activity, and joint health.

Methyl renew contains L 5-MTHF (methyl tetrahydrofolate), which is the active form of folate.  MTFR is responsible for promoting DNA synthesis and for recycling homocysteine back into methionine.  It also contains P-5-P (active form of B6), Methyl B 12 (active form of B12), niacin, and biotin.  These are all synergistic B vitamins that contribute to the methylation pathway. These are necessary to bring homocysteine (inflammation) down the pathway to produce glutathione (power antioxidant), taurine into bile acids, pyruvate for energy, and sulfur for joint health.

It also contains N-Acetyl Cysteine (NAC), which is a precursor to glutathione (major antioxidant); Phosphatidylcholine, which is a bioactive lipid, which helps protect the methylation pathways; Green tea Catechins (antioxidant); SAM-e (the main methyl donor); Curcumin (anti-inflammatory); Intrinsic Factor (allows B 12 to be absorbed in the small intestine); and Sulforaphane (from cruciferous vegetables).

3. Total FLM. This is another product from Nutriwest.  It contains a host of anti-inflammatory compounds like boswellia, milk thistle, turmeric, ginger, lemon bioflavonoids, quercetin (top ranked flavonoid), glutathione (#1 antioxidant), cayenne, and lipoic acid.

Probiotics

If you don’t know what probiotics are, you probably don’t watch many commercials.  Good for you (on the TV part).  These are microorganisms that live in your GI tract.  They are mostly concentrated at the end of the small intestine into the large intestine.  Our quality of life is dependent on the quality and quantity of these little bugs.  It’s estimated that for every one human cell, there should be 10 bacteria (beneficial) in your body.  In essence, we’re a bug hotel.

Our immune system recognizes these little guys as friends, unlike other bacteria like E. coli, ebola, or salmonella.  The more good bacteria we have, the more they crowd out the bad, allowing our immune system to chill out.  The good guys also help us convert our foods into usable forms, allowing for necessary building blocks for our immune system.

Unlike the commercially driven probiotics sources, a good source will be gluten free, dairy free, corn free, and soy free.  Because so many of us have been on antibiotics in our lifetime, we are dangerously deficient.  The healthy bacteria is also destroyed from consuming sugar, grains, alcohols, and other medications, not just antibiotics.   Again, the brand I know, like, and trust is Innate Choice.

Protein

Most people think of taking protein for workout recovery or a meal replacement but it could be a missing ingredient in your immunity boosting routine.  The more and more I analyze lab work, the more I see dysfunctions in protein levels.  When you look at your total protein levels on lab work, this is a measurement of albumin, prealbumin, and globulins.   Regardless of the reason, if someone has low total protein, they are malnourished.  There are many reasons why the protein would be low and need to be addressed based on the individual but it’s a big flag that your body is not getting what it requires.

Albumin comprises about 60% of total protein.  Albumin has a major role in being the carrier for hormones, enzymes, nutrients, and buffering.

Globulins are the other major constituent and their role is largely immunological.  Globulins are the main building blocks for your antibodies.  I often see low globulins, which signals someone being immune deficient.  This can stem from not enough nutrient support, asymptomatic infections, or even food sensitivities.

You can increase your protein intake through protein powders or amino complexes.  I keep trying new proteins, either whey or vegan and I honestly haven’t settled on one that I like the best.  I do make sure that if I use whey, it’s from hormone and antibiotic free cows.  If it’s a vegan one, I make sure it’s non GMO.

What I have used the most is from Thorne Research.  I do use Thorne for Prenatals so if you’re pregnant or nursing, check them out, they contain the methylated B vitamins.  You can even order direct from them with my access code, HCP1059997.

You might think that’s a lot of supplements but look how far away humans have gotten from our most natural, pristine environment.  We are under constant chemical assault from lotions, perfumes, pesticides, VOCs, medications, sugar, and exhaust.

Like I said previously, you can take them all, some, or none, it’s your decision.  I just always get asked, what should I take so here are some options.

We are under physical stress with our chronic sitting, poor posture, texting, and extreme sports crashes.

Do I even have to mention the mental emotional toxic burden we encounter?

We need more support and have to work so much harder today than in any point in history to maintain the health outcomes of previous generations. Previous generations may had to fight infections more but we are at an all time high for chronic disease, kids included.  Don’t be duped into thinking that just because there is a lack of major infections, that our immune systems don’t need support.

It’s sad, but we have reached and only scratched the surface of the period of consequences that have been created out of the conveniences from the previous generation’s discoveries.  For your health, you’re going to have to work harder and smarter but that’s ok.  Your effort will hopefully shift the next generations to reap the due diligence that we are putting forth today.