Since 2020, immune health has become front and center in conversations about health, nutrition, and fitness. And for good reason, too — COVID-19 has highlighted just how important immune health is for overall health, and vice versa.
But did you know that in addition to viruses and bacteria, the immune system is also tasked with neutralizing cancer cells before they spread?
As we age, the immune system naturally weakens — making the body more susceptible to illnesses of all kinds as well as cancer. Although there’s no magic bullet that can guarantee you’ll never get sick or develop cancer or another chronic disease, there are many lifestyle changes you can make to help reduce your risk by optimizing your immune health.
In this article, you will learn:
- What T-cells are and the vital role they play in immune health,
- How the body’s immune system attacks and neutralizes viruses, cancer cells, and other harmful agents,
- Several ways to naturally support immune health,
- And now the ingredients in Juvenon’s Immune Wellness can help boost your immune health by strengthening T-cells and helping your body to create more of them.
What Are T-cells?
T-cells are a type of white blood cell, or lymphocyte. They are one of many different types of cells that compose your immune system. These cells originate from stem cells in your bone marrow.
T-cells are highly specialized, and they are custom made by your body to fight one kind of particle or cell. [1]
Additionally, there are two different types of T-cells in your body: killer T-cells and helper T-cells
Helper T-cells play a support role. They promote communication between T-cells and various other types of immune cells to coordinate immune responses.
However, killer T-cells are specifically formed to attack and destroy invaders. They do this in response to antigens released by diseased cells, which provide the information needed for the body to create a highly specialized killer T-cell to fight that particular pathogen. [2]
There are a couple of other immune cell types with similar functions. Macrophages, for example, are like T-cells. However, macrophages can “swallow” any type of cell or disease-causing pathogen. So macrophages have a broader action, but T-cells tend to be more powerful given their more individualized response. [3]
Likewise, natural killer cells have the same function as killer T-cells: they attack foreign pathogens or agents, or diseased cells. However, they can also attack any type, unlike T-cells which are more specialized. [4]
In fact, the specialization of T-cells is what allows these cells to launch more effective attacks against cancer cells in addition to viruses, which can help to prevent cancer from taking hold and spreading in the body if the immune response is strong enough.
All of these various types of cells play a key role in immune health, so it’s important to take steps to optimize your health as much as possible so that your body can create these cells.
Natural Ways to Support Immune Health
Fortunately, there are several healthy lifestyle choices that you can make to help strengthen your immune system naturally. These include:
Exercise
Some research suggests that exercise may help to prevent some of the age-related changes to your T cells and T cell function, promoting a more robust immune response to illness. [5]
Exercise also helps to promote better health by regulating the function of helper T-cells to prevent abnormal immune responses. [6]
Aim for 150-300 minutes of exercise per week, plus two resistance training sessions. Even if you can’t do that much yet, do what you’re able to and slowly work up to that amount over time. [7]
There are also numerous other benefits to exercise too, like helping to improve mental health, muscle mass, and bone strength.
Diet
Your diet can actually play a huge role in your immune function, as well. It’s important to eat a balanced, antioxidant-rich diet that’s full of nutritious fruits and vegetables.
Antioxidants help your body to regulate its immune system and prevent immune cells from attacking healthy parts of the body or remaining continuously activated, which can lead to health problems. [8]
Antioxidants are found in nearly all natural, whole foods, but fruits and vegetables are a particularly good source. Try to eat a rainbow of colors of fresh produce to get a variety of different antioxidants in your diet.
Additionally, added sugars and highly processed foods may disrupt your immune health. They are also linked to weight gain and the development of other chronic health conditions. It’s important to avoid these foods as much as possible.
Sleep
Sleep is another important consideration. Sleep is a necessary period of rest that helps to regulate the immune system, along with various other functions. Researchers have found that sleep and immunity may play a reciprocal role — they may each affect the other. Getting enough sleep may make the immune system more effective, while a properly functioning immune system may help to reduce sleep disturbances. [9]
Most adults need between 7-9 hours per night, and it’s easiest to consistently get enough sleep if you try to go to bed and wake up at the same time each day — even weekends.
Stress Management
Reducing stress is also key for promoting proper immune system function.
Many of us lead high-stress lives, but unfortunately that chronic stress can have far-reaching effects on nearly every aspect of your health — including your immune system.
Research shows that high stress levels may make you more susceptible to both diseases and cancer by suppressing the activity of killer T cells and causing other changes to the body’s immune response. [10]
However, managing stress can be more difficult than changing your diet or adding more exercise to your routine. Engaging in hobbies you enjoy, practicing mindfulness meditation, or keeping a gratitude journal may help to reduce your stress levels.
Supplements That Help Strengthen Your Immune System
One more thing to consider is adding a well-formulated, immune-strengthening supplement to your daily routine. Juvenon’s Immune Wellness contains several powerful, evidence-based ingredients to help boost T-cell proliferation and function — all in the convenience of a single product. Here’s a quick rundown of what’s inside.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is an essential vitamin found in fruits and vegetables. It has a number of antioxidant and immune-strengthening properties.
Starting with the skin — which is the body’s largest immune organ — vitamin C helps to strengthen the physical barrier by promoting collagen formation and preventing oxidative damage to skin cells.
Additionally, vitamin C helps to promote macrophage activity in more generalized immune responses.
Additionally, vitamin C may help to promote the production and proliferation of T-cells as a result of some of its gene regulating properties. [11]
Vitamin D
Vitamin D — the “sunshine vitamin” — also plays a key role in immune health. However, many people are slightly deficient in vitamin D because there are few foods that contain it or because they don’t spend enough time outdoors to get vitamin D through sun exposure. For this reason, supplementing with Immune Wellness is a great way to get vitamin D. [12]
Some research suggests that vitamin D directly regulates T-cell production. Vitamin D also helps to regulate the immune system and keep it from attacking healthy cells. [13, 14]
Zinc
Zinc is an essential mineral that — like vitamin C and vitamin D — also plays a key role in immune health. Zinc is naturally found in animal foods, nuts, and seeds. Research has shown that zinc deficient people are more susceptible to disease.
In particular, zinc has a number of effects on T-cell regulation. Zinc deficiency may prevent T cells from differentiating and activating. Additionally, researchers have noted in test-tube studies that zinc promotes increased numbers of T cells in response to allergens — showing that zinc may play a role in regulating and preventing allergic reactions. [15, 16]
In aging, t-cell dysfunction is common. However, one study showed that zinc supplementation in aging mice may help prevent this dysfunction and maintain immune health. [17]
Quercetin
Quercetin is a powerful antioxidant found in fruits and vegetables like apples and onions. It exhibits some unique anti-cancer properties.
In both test-tube and animal studies, researchers have noted that quercetin may help promote “apoptosis” (cell death) of cancerous tumor cells. One way that it does this is through its effect on proliferation and regulation of specialized T-cells. [18, 19]
Beta-glucan
Beta-glucan is a powerful and unique type of fiber found in oats, yeast, and mushrooms. It provides a number of health benefits, including immune-strengthening and cancer-fighting properties. [20]
Beta-glucan serves as a “bridge” between the innate immune system (including more generalized cells like macrophages and NK cells) and the adaptive immune system (T-cells and other specialized immune cells). It can both promote apoptosis of cancer cells while promoting proliferation of specialized immune cells. [21, 22]
Taken together, these 5 key immune-supportive ingredients found in Immune Wellness may help to promote a healthier and more effective immune response to disease-causing pathogens or cancer cells.
Takeaway
Your immune system is composed of many different types of specialized cells, each of which plays an important role in identifying or neutralizing harmful invaders like bacteria or viruses.
T-cells are specialized cells that form in response to antigens to address one particular type of diseased cell or pathogenic invader. They help your body fight off specific bacteria, viruses, or cancer cells.
T-cell function declines as you age but leading a healthy lifestyle can help to promote more robust T-cell function even in older age. Aim to get plenty of exercise, eat a healthy antioxidant-rich diet, get enough sleep, and reduce stress in your life to help optimize your immune function.
Additionally, Juvenon’s Immune Wellness may be a worthy addition to your daily routine thanks to its powerful, immune-supportive ingredients.
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