5 Benefits To An Immune Booster Supplement
There is a common misconception that you want your immune system to be strong, when in all actuality you want it to be balanced. Too much of an immune response is just as bad as too little a response. But for those days when you wake up feeling under the weather, a little immune boost can make a huge difference. There is a lot of criticism about natural immune boosting supplements and their efficacy to actually support immunity. While many products on the market have little to zero effect on your immune response, we strongly believe in several herbal supplements that can better balance your immune system, including Reishi mushrooms, turkey tail mushrooms and Vera Herbals’ specially formulated Immune Boosting Spagyric Remedy. In this blog, we will lay out 5 benefits to an immune booster supplement and 3 ways you can naturally balance your immune system.
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Combats Harmful Antigens
Perhaps the most obvious potential benefit of taking an immune boosting supplement is that it may protect your body from harmful pathogens, viruses and bacteria. A healthy immune system does this by detecting foreign substances (called antigens) that enter the body and producing white blood cells to destroy them. Taking an immune booster supplement could potentially help boost the production of the immune system to fight off any foreign substances and, in turn, keep you feeling healthy. Some herbs that are especially well-known to enhance the production of white blood cells include echinacea, garlic, ginseng, and reishi mushrooms.
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May Support the Prevention of Cancer Cells
Similar to how a healthy immune system can effectively combat harmful antigens entering the body, it can also can identify and target abnormal cells that your own body produces, such as cancer cells. The immune system does this by producing a special kind of white blood cell, called T cells. T cells see cancerous cells as foreign invaders and attack them in an effort to destroy them. So why is it that those with cancer can’t just let their own immune system combat these harmful cells on its own?
While some cells of the immune system are able to recognize cancer cells as abnormal and kill them, cancer can oftentimes outsmart the immune system by escaping detection or even by developing ways to inactivate immune cells by producing molecules that make them stop working. When this happens—and, in most cases, it does—those experiencing cancer are forced to rely on alternative therapies, most commonly surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy.
Many people are turning to more natural options to aid in their journey with cancer and/or cancer prevention. Some of the most well-researched herbs to effect cancer cells include turmeric, ginger, and turkey tail mushrooms. In fact, turkey tail mushrooms are widely used by physicians throughout Asia as a complementary treatment alongside chemotherapy and, in Japan, PSK—a main constituent found in turkey tail—is an approved adjuvant cancer treatment.
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Heals Wounds Faster and Prevents Infection
One of the immune system’s functions is to orchestrate the process of healing wounds. Imagine you are walking down your driveway to check the mailbox. You’re happily humming your favorite tune and watching the birds in the nearby tree when all of a sudden you trip on the neighbor’s skateboard, causing you to fall and scrape your knee. The moment you scrape your knee, your immune system sends various immune cells to the damaged area to begin the process of healing the wound.
The first kind of immune cells that arrive at the wound are called neutrophils. These cells remove foreign material and bacteria from the wound. The second type of white blood cell, called macrophages, take on the role of wound protector in which they work to fight infection and oversee the repair process. When the immune system is weakened or compromised, so is the ability to quickly and effectively produce and send out these important wound-healing immune cells.
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Reduces Fatigue
When you’re feeling under the weather, you’ve most likely noticed you’re not exactly bouncing off the walls with energy. Oftentimes, when your immune system is weakened it’s common and even expected to feel fatigued. This is because your body is attempting to repair itself and your energy is being directed to do just that. A weak immune system will allow for more harmful antigens to attack your immune system, causing your body to spend a longer duration of time fighting off the bad guys and further causing feelings of fatigue. So really, the best way to reduce fatigue is to avoid getting sick in the first place, which is exactly what immune booster supplements aim to do.
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Boosts Mood
Have you met anyone who is feeling sick and in an awesome mood? Most likely not, and there’s a reason for that. As mentioned above, fighting off an illness can take a lot of energy in order for your body to recover and return itself back to homeostasis. This can result in feelings of fatigue, nausea, headaches, and muscle and body aches. Not to mention, being sick comes with the classic symptoms of fever, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, and/or vomiting and diarrhea, ultimately leading to discomfort and pain. Like the above benefits, the best way to have a healthy immune system (and stay feeling like a rockstar) is to take preventative measures. Here’s how!
3 Ways to Strengthen Your Immune System
Take An Immune Boosting Supplement
Dietary supplements, including immune boosting supplements, are not created equal. At Vera Herbals we believe in a small handful of products that have proven effective in establishing and maintaining a balanced and healthy immune system. This small handful includes medicinal mushrooms—specifically turkey tail and reishi mushrooms—which are well-known for their immunomodulating properties. Immunomodulators are substances that either stimulate or suppress the immune system based on what your body needs. Read more about reishi mushrooms here, and click here to learn more about turkey tail mushrooms.
A third product that we absolutely love is our very own Immune Booster Spagyric Tincture, which is significantly stronger and more effective than your average immune supplement or probiotics. The Immune Booster is specially formulated with four of the most researched immune-boosting herbs including:
- Echinacea – an immunomodulator, helps combat infections and viruses, widely used to treat the common cold (a comprehensive review of 14 different studies on echinacea found that taking echinacea may lower the risk of developing colds by more than 50% and shorten the duration of colds by one and half days).
- Ginger – contains antiviral and antibacterial properties, a large cross-sectional study found that daily ginger consumption may support the immune system and may have the ability to reduce the probability of illness and some chronic diseases.
- Astragalus – may increase the production of white blood cells, may help fight viral infections, contains anticancer effects and can potentially restore impaired T cell function in cancer patients.
- Elderberries – may reduce the severity and duration of influenza (one study found that the consumption of an elderberry syrup four times per day showed symptom improvement in 2 to 4 days, while the control group took 7 to 8 days to improve), may increase the production of white blood cells, may fight harmful bacteria such as Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori), and may improve symptoms of sinusitis and bronchitis.
These herbs in combination with our specialty extraction process, called spagyrics, makes for an extremely potent and fast-acting immune booster supplement. When taken in conjunction with reishi and/or turkey tail mushrooms, you’ll be surprised just how fast your illness dissipates.
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Exercise Frequently
Exercise stimulates cellular immunity. In a 2019 review, researchers found that moderate-intensity exercise can stimulate cellular immunity by increasing the circulation of immune cells in your body. This helps your body detect illnesses or infections faster. Additionally, physical activity may help flush bacteria from the lungs and airways, reducing your chance of developing a cold, flu or other respiratory ailments. Exercising frequently has also been linked to reducing stress levels—another critical factor for promoting and maintaining a healthy immune system.
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Manage Stress
Research shows a direct correlation between stress levels and immunity. When we’re stressed, the immune system’s ability to fight off antigens is reduced, making you more susceptible to infections and illness. This is because the stress hormone, called cortisol, can cause chronic inflammation and decrease the production of white blood cells. There are many practices that you can implement in your day-to-day life to reduce chronic stress. Click here to read our blog on “8 Ways to Relieve Stress”.
Final Thoughts
It’s easy to take many things in your day-to-day life for granted, including your own health. Unfortunately, for many (myself included), it’s only when you become unhealthy when you start to feel grateful for the amazing things your body can accomplish on its own. Taking immune boosting supplements is only one of many ways to give your body thanks but, nonetheless, it’s an especially easy and affordable way to give your immune system some love.
Sources
Kubala, Jillian. “5 immune-boosting benefits of turkey tail mushroom.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 6 Nov. 2018, https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/turkey-tail-mushroom#TOC_TITLE_HDR_5.
Nieman DC, Wentz LM. The compelling link between physical activity and the body’s defense system. J Sport Health Sci. 2019 May;8(3):201-217. doi: 10.1016/j.jshs.2018.09.009. Epub 2018 Nov 16. PMID: 31193280; PMCID: PMC6523821.
Shah SA, Sander S, White CM, Rinaldi M, Coleman CI. Evaluation of echinacea for the prevention and treatment of the common cold: A meta-analysis. Lancet Infect Dis. 2007 Jul;7(7):473-80. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(07)70160-3. Erratum in: Lancet Infect Dis. 2007 Sep;7(9):580. PMID: 17597571; PMCID: PMC7106401.
Wang Y, Yu H, Zhang X, Feng Q, Guo X, Li S, Li R, Chu D, Ma Y. Evaluation of daily ginger consumption for the prevention of chronic diseases in adults: A cross-sectional study. Nutrition. 2017 Apr;36:79-84. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2016.05.009. Epub 2016 Jun 3. PMID: 28336112.
Zakay-Rones Z, Thom E, Wollan T, Wadstein J. Randomized study of the efficacy and safety of oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza A and B virus infections. J Int Med Res. 2004 Mar-Apr;32(2):132-40. doi: 10.1177/147323000403200205. PMID: 15080016.
