Advanced Supplement Formulations for Immune Support:
Single-agent approaches with one herb or nutrient possess disadvantages and limitations. For example, sterolins or mushroom extracts are valuable immune stimulators but they have focused and limited effects on only certain aspects of immune function.
There is a way of producing a dietary supplement that combines nutrients, herbals and botanicals for a greater effect and potential benefit on immunity. Table 1 is a list of dietary supplements that can be used in combination to stimulate immune function in a reasonably global manner. Such combinations do not rely upon an isolated component of the immune cascade.
Andrographis paniculata - Acanthopanax Senticosa - Green tea - Turmeric - Grapeseed extract - Zinc - Vitamin C - Ashwagandha -Oregon grape -Shiitake mushroom - Echinacea purpurea - Goldenseal - Goldenthread - Aloe vera - Garlic - Astragalus - Korean ginseng - Coriolus versicolor -Active Hexose Correlate Compound (AHCC) - Beta glucan
Table 1: A list of nutrients, herbs and botanicals with good scientific agreement of nutritional benefits for immune function.
Any natural agent that exerts an antioxidant function can be potentially valuable in promoting healthy immune function, because oxidative stress (free-radical damage) to components of the immune system is a common reason for disordered immunity. In particular, the following antioxidants are of great value for immune well-being, including: Vitamin C, zinc, green tea, turmeric, grapeseed extract and antioxidants found in a variety of herbs and botanicals (Table 1).
Botanical agents with specific immune-enhancing power include several species of mushrooms, plant sources of beta glucan, various types of Echinacea and the potent and versatile herb Andrographis paniculata (AP). Recent research implies that AP may be a very powerful stimulator of immune function by its specific actions on chemical signals in certain cells, and it has anti-cancer and anti-viral properties.
A Very Important Message
Recent research links excessive intake of simple sugars in the diet with depressed immunity in both the short and long term. Who would have thought that America’s love affair with sweet foods would open the door for chronic disease in a manner that has been unsurpassed in medical history? Seventy million Americans have the metabolic syndrome or Syndrome X, which is the combination of obesity, high blood pressure, and high blood cholesterol as a consequence of insulin resistance.
Simple sugar intake in the diet is promoting the development of Syndrome X. Syndrome X is the most important public health initiative facing Western society, and the dietary supplement industry has still not waken up to the importance of Syndrome X as a death and disability risk from all causes of disease. The risk of Syndrome X is humungous.
While Syndrome X has components that people can identify with cardiovascular disease, Syndrome X also causes liver disease, cancer and diminished immune function. Syndrome X is a forerunner to the development of maturity onset diabetes mellitus. People with diabetes or Syndrome X may present themselves with the consequences of diminished immune function. Early signs of diabetes in many people include recurrent infections, e.g. yeast, Candida. The reduction of refined sugar in the diet may be a simple intervention to help restore balance to the immune system. The far-reaching health consequences of Syndrome X have resulted in a redefinition of Syndrome X as “Syndrome X, Y and Z….”
Conclusion
I believe that nutritional support for immune function must be multifaceted and formulations of dietary supplements that contain several different natural ingredients are the optimal way to provide nutritional support for immune function.
Resources:
Holt S, Miracle Herbs, Carol Publishing, Secaucus, NJ, 1998