Improve Your Immunity Today!

By

Gennifer Strobo

.

When it comes to vitamins, vitamin C, D and Zinc are some of the most widely known. Do you know why your body likes and needs them so much? Also, how do they keep y

When it comes to vitamins, vitamin C, D and Zinc are some of the most widely known. Do you know why your body likes and needs them so much? Also, how do they keep you healthy? Every year, but more so over the past 2 years these vitamins have been needed in your body more than ever. You need your immune system to be as high functioning as it can be. 

Vitamin C and the Immune System 

Vitamin C can be fast acting and create one type of immunity against chemicals in the blood and foreign cells in the body.  Innate immunity also includes barriers like the skin. Vitamin C is needed for this.

Adaptive immunityis a slower acting immunity., It helps the body to build up antibodies against specific viruses. This kind of immunity is why you don’t catch chickenpox again after you’ve had it before. There are some viruses that mutate and change though. The common cold is an example of this and that’s why you can get it more than once. This is another reason why you need to stay on top of your vitamin C intake.

Vitamin C is important for both kinds of immunity and is needed to prevent and fight infections.

Maybe you’ve heard of the benefit of vitamin C and its ability to support to a healthy immune response. It stimulates the production and function of white blood cells, aka our infection fighting cells. When you get sick, especially during the winter, our Vitamin C levels drop to almost in half.  That is because your body requires more when fighting an infection. Vitamin C also is key in helping your immune cells clear up the areas where your white blood cells killed off the infection you’re trying to fight.

Sources of vitamin C

There are many sources of vitamin C through a healthy diet of fruit and vegetables. If you are not getting enough through your diet, you may need to supplement. Most are not getting the quality and quantity of vitamin C through their diet that is needed to boost immunity as well as improve other body processes

Supplements

No matter how healthy your diet is today you can still have issues not getting enough vitamin C. Supplementing is a safe and easy way to get the increased amount of vitamin C you are needing into your diet.

Benefits of supplementing

Signs of Low or deficient Vitamin C

BODYBUILDING BONUS! Vitamin C improves your mood with dopamine increase and helps you to recover faster. It also improves your nitric oxide uptake (bigger pump). One ey way vitamin C helps with bodybuildng is that it increases your vitamin D absortion.

Vitamin D and the Immune System 

Your immune system needs vitamin D, and without sufficient levels, you cant fight off disease and illness optimally.  If you don’t get enough Vitamin D for your immune system through diet, supplements or exposure to sunlight, you may find that you start to experience symptoms of a deficiency.  Do you have any of the following issues? You could possibly be too low in Vitamin D and need to supplement or increase your dose more than you currently are taking.

Signs of Low or deficient Vitamin D

Vitamin D supports your immune system as the body’s first response to infection. Vitamin D helps your body fight disease and prevent illness. You must ensure your intake is sufficient for what you are needing. Also, that you are absorbing it efficiently as well. Liposomal Vitamin D3 is absorbed more readily as it is protected from your stomach’s lining and stays intact to fully be absorbed in the bloodstream.

Vitamin D is slightly different to other vitamins because it is a hormone made by your body in a chemical reaction which occurs when your skin is exposed to sunlight. For this reason, it is often referred to as the ‘sunshine vitamin’. However, it is only created by your body if you’re exposed to adequate levels of sunlight. Supplementing even more with vitamin D during the months with less sun could help you boost your immune system.

Vitamin D and your immune system play crucial roles in many functions within your body. Your immune system is your body’s first line of defense against infection and disease so it’s important to ensure that you’re not experiencing low levels of nutrients like vitamin D. Low levels could lead to deficiencies which can side effects that are detrimental to your body.

Vitamin D plays a role in the proper functioning many various cells which are all key to immune function and protecting your body from disease.

BODYBUILDING BONUS! Vitamin D helps improve muscle function and cardiovascular health. This is key for building muscle and improving your progress. It also improves insulin sensitivity also. This helps you to utilize your carbs si much more effectively. Plus, you will absorb calcium better, which helps your body to maintain healthy bones.

Zinc and the Immune System 

Lastly, I wanted to mention zinc. You don’t hear about it as much as much as vitamin C and vitamin D when it comes to improving your immunity. However, it plays just as much of a role as Vitamin C & D.  Zinc is essential for the function of the cells that kill foreign microbes in your body. Zinc also is important in the development and function of neutrophils.  These are killer cells or white blood cells and they can ward of viruses and improve your immune response.  

It’s pretty clear that providing your body all 3 of these key nutrients is essential for body functions specifically your immune health, to help get you feeling like your best and improving your lifting at the same time you need to invest in these as you do in your body daily!