Tired of Your Colds & Flu?

We are in the midst of the season for colds and flu, and added stress certainly does not help the situation, or does it?

Suzanne Segerstrom and Gregory Miller (2004), Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry, examined more than 300 empirical articles describing a relationship between psychological stress and parameters of the immune system in human participants.

Segerstrom and Miller found that acute stressors (lasting minutes) were associated with potentially adaptive up-regulation of some parameters of natural immunity and down-regulation of some functions of specific immunity.  But chronic stressors on the other hand were associated with suppression of both cellular and humoral measures (see also Priyandarshini & Aich, 2012).

Chronic stress compromises our immune system putting us at risk to bacterial and viral infections; where as an acute momentary stressor can enhance/prime the innate immune system to more apply protect us from invading bacteria and viruses.  The trick is knowing how to prime our immune system successfully.

Do you have a tough time getting rid of your sore throat, cold, or flu?  Three BioImmersion products support the more robust functioning of our immune system to nip a cold. The garlic and No7 are famous for kicking out nasty sore throats and colds, while the LactORN alerts our immune system into action.

Recipe for Immune System support against colds and flu

• LactORN- 1tsp. daily (held into the mouth until it dissolves). This paradigm shifter product kicks the fast acting (innate) immune system into gear!
• No. 7 Systemic Booster- 1 tsp. daily (mix in a glass of water).
• Organic Garlic- 1-2 capsules. For sore throats, open the capsules into a cup of water (or your mix with No7) and stir, let sit for one minutes and drink.

Both the LactORN and the No.7 Systemic Booster contain ingredients that challenge our immune system—namely, the oligoribonucleotides (ORNs) and the supernatant broth (whole dead-cells of probiotics, vitamins & minerals, enzymes, bacteriocin, ORNs, and more), respectively.  No.7 and LactORN also contain strong probiotic organisms that actually fight against pathogens. Garlic, especially when it is sourced with high allicin potential and manufactured correctly to preserve its high actives is known to offer a wonderful broad spectrum antimicrobial.  Hard on many pathogens but minimally so on good lactic acid bacteria in our probiotic mix, garlic is a perfect agent against colds and flu.

Food Science

Segerstrom and Miller (2004) divided stressors into 6 categories: Acute time-limited, Brief naturalistic, Event sequence, Chronic, Distant, and Life event.  Each type has a different effect on our immune system ability to defend us from colds and flus.

The Acute time-limited stressor category falls within the fight-or flight responses, an encounter more common to our ancestors.  Fighting and/or fleeing carries the risk of injury and subsequent entry of infectious agents into the bloodstream or skin.  Any wound in the skin is likely to contain pathogens that could multiply and cause infections (Williams & Leaper, 1998).  Stress-induced changes in the immune system that could accelerate wound repair and help prevent infections from taking hold would therefore be adaptive and selected along with other physiological changes that increased evolutionary fitness.

Cells involved in natural immunity do not provide defense against any particular pathogen; rather, they are all-purpose cells that can attack a number of different pathogens and do so in a relatively short time frame (minutes to hours) when challenged.

Bibliography:

• Priyandarshini S, Aich P. (2012). Effects of Psychological Stress on Innate Immunity and Metabolism in humans:  A Systematic Analysis.
• Segerstrom SC, Miller GE. (2004). Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System:  A Meta-Analytic study of 30 Years of inquiry. Psychol Bull; 130(3): 601-630.
• Williams, N. A., & Leaper, D. J. (1998). Infection. In D. J. Leaper & K. G. Harding (Eds.), Wounds: Biology and management (pp. 71– 87). New York: Oxford University Press.