Amazing Bodies
Our bodies are amazing. They continually protect us from foreign invaders, pathogens, toxins, bacteria and viruses. Often without us even knowing that it happened. When our immune systems are not functioning as well as they should we may find ourselves getting sick more frequently or being continually fatigued from the work that the immune systems is doing. This is sometimes a consequence of poor diet and vitamin or mineral deficiency and can be improved with some simple dietary changes. There are several vitamins and minerals that work together with our immune system to keep it functioning at its best. A few of these are zinc, selenium, and vitamins C, E and A. Let’s talk about these nutrients for a minute.
Zinc
Zinc plays a big part in our immune system. T-cells are some of the ‘soldiers’ of our immune system. They work together with antibodies and B-cells to neutralize invaders. With a mild deficiency in zinc our T-cell functions can be adversely affected (Saeed, et al., 2015). This means that the ‘soldiers’ of our immune system will not work as well as they should. Viruses and bacteria will be able to flourish and we will get sick. It is estimated that 3 out of 4 persons in the United States get less than 15mg of zinc per day in their diets and 1 in 2 are getting less than 8mg per day. Most adults need 15mg – 30mg per day for maintenance (Haas, 2006, pp. 212-213).
Selenium
Selenium works with both our innate and adaptive immune systems. Some studies have suggested that antibody production is reduced when selenium levels are deficient. This means that our innate immune system may not be producing adequate antibodies and our adaptive system will not be able to recognize and destroy pathogens. Other studies have shown that HIV progression and even the risk of some cancers are increased when persons are deficient in selenium (Saeed, et al., 2015).
Fat Soluble Vitamins E & A
Vitamins E & A are important for immune health. Vitamin A has been shown to improve mortality rates in many infectious diseases such as measles, HIV and malaria (Saeed, et al., 2015). Deficiency in vitamins E & A have been shown to interfere with the production of T helper cells. Vitamin E also reduces the maturation of T-cells in the thymus. Proper levels of these vitamins have been shown to have a ‘disease shielding effect’ (Saeed, et al., 2015). They are fat soluble, meaning that they are dissolved in fat. So, having healthy fats in the diet will help these vitamins to be absorbed and stored for use.
Water Soluble Vitamin C
I grew up being told to take my vitamin C every time that I felt a cold coming on. Vitamin C has long been used to fight viral infections. Vitamin C helps to remove the damage done during the immune response and it also helps with the neutralization of invaders by supporting the immune system cells. A vitamin C deficiency has been shown to impair immune function and increase the susceptibility to infections (Carr & Maggini, 2017).
Where Do I Find These Minerals and Vitamins in Food
A nutrient dense, properly prepared diet of whole foods will make it easy to obtain these vitamins and minerals. This table gives a list of the nutrients and some good food sources.
| Sources | RDA* | |
| Vitamin A | Liver, fish liver oil, egg yolks, cream, whole milk, butter, red & orange veggies, and leafy green vegetables | Adults – 2000 IU / day |
| Vitamin E | Nuts, wheat germ, cold pressed seed oils and green leafy veggies | Adults – 15mg / day |
| Vitamin C | Citrus fruit, melons, strawberries, tomatoes & green veggies | Adults – 75mg – 90mg / day |
| Zinc | Most animal foods, whole grains, nuts, pumpkin seeds, & ginger root | Adults – 8mg – 11mg / day |
| Selenium | Brewer’s yeast, wheat germ, Brazil nuts, liver, butter, most fish, whole grains, & molasses | Adults – 55mcg / day |
| Healthy Fats | Cold-pressed oils such as walnut, avocado, olive and coconut oil. Grass-fed butter & ghee. |
*RDA values (Haas, 2006)
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References
Carr, A. C., & Maggini, S. (2017, November 03). Vitamin C and Immune Function. Retrieved July 6, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5707683/
Haas, E. M. (2006). Staying Healthy with Nutrition: The complete guide to diet and nutritional medicine. Berkeley, CA: Celestial Arts.
Saeed, F., Nadeem, M., Ahmed, R. S., Nadeem, M. T., Arshad, M. S., & Ullah, A. (2015). Studying the impact of nutritional immunology underlying the modulation of immune responses by nutritional compounds – a review. Food and Agricultural Immunology, 27(2), 205-229. doi:10.1080/09540105.2015.1079600