Vitamins help fight poor immunity

Medical specialisation has led to so many advances in human health that sometimes we ignore the incredible way the body is interconnected.

Earlier this year I was contacted by someone who had persistent infections.

Despite being on near-permanent antibiotics, the infections were continuous.

When confronted with this type of poor immunity, I like to start with a clean slate. The first goal was to introduce a nutrientdense diet that was simultaneously antiinflammatory.

Inflammation is always associated with infection.

Our immune system is a vast range of specialised cells and various chemicals all supported by our lymphatic system. There is a close relationship between food and our immune system. The most obvious are fats in our diet.

If our body is overloaded with omega 6 and animal saturated fats this will push the body towards inflammation.

Our western diets are overloaded with these inflammatory fats while desperately low in the fats that reduce inflammation and prevent or minimise disease.

Vitamin D exerts a staggering influence over our immune system. While our sun smart message is important to reduce skin cancers it is also depriving us from essential vitamin D.

Winter supplementation is essential to maintain winter immunity.

Trace minerals such as selenium, zinc, manganese and copper have a huge influence over immune cell function and form the heart of our in-built antioxidant defences.

Most Kiwis are deficient in these which I amsure contributes to our national burden of chronic disease.

With my client we changed her diet and introduced supplements to help her immune system.

These included vitamins D and C, a broad spectrum multi mineral/vitamin/ antioxidant, magnesium and several others.

The result is that the infections have stopped. Her sleep and energy have improved. She feels like a new person. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or if you would likemore information.

John Arts (B.Soc.Sci, Dip Tch, Adv.Dip.Nut.Med) is a nutritional medicine practitioner and founder of Abundant Health Ltd. For personalised advice, contact John on 0800 423559 or email john@abundant.co.nz. Join his full weekly newsletter at www.abundant.co.nz