The Importance of the Immune System
Your immune system is your body’s defense against harmful bacteria, diseases, germs, and toxins, so you want it to be in tip-top shape. Eating a variety of nutritious foods can give you enough vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients for a healthy immune system. However, you might wonder whether taking certain dietary supplements can improve your body’s immune system and its ability to fight infections.
If your immune system is working properly, you probably don’t even think about it. But, if your immunity is compromised, chances are you will get sick. Maintaining the strength of your immune system is imperative to your well-being and vital to reaching your optimal wellness.
If you tend to get sick often, or if you want to make sure you avoid getting sick, building up your immune system is a great place to start. Which supplements should you take? That all depends on your body’s specific needs — and those specific needs are surprisingly easy to figure out (more on this later).
Immunity can fluctuate during our lives based on diet, but also based on age, stress, hereditary illnesses, and other lifestyle factors like alcohol use, smoking, a lack of sleep, or a lack of exercise. While some of these things can be controlled, many cannot, which makes it that much more important to do what you can, like adding supplements to your daily routine, to support a healthy immune system.
Supplements & Your Immune System
To support a healthy immune system and meet daily recommended nutritional requirements, you could eat a balanced, healthy diet and take a multivitamin that contains 100% of the recommended daily allowance of each nutrient. However, if you suffer from a nutritional deficiency, you may need more of certain nutrients than what the multivitamin provides.
Being deficient in certain nutrients is common. Supporting that deficiency with supplements is also common and a steadfast way to guarantee you’re getting the nutrients your body needs to be its best.
There are certain nutrients that are essential to the proper functioning of the body’s immune system. These include vitamin C, vitamin D, and Zinc.
- Vitamin C: Everyone remembers reaching for a glass of orange juice when they were sick as a child. And there is a good reason: citrus fruits are high in the antioxidant vitamin C, which is important for immune function. Research suggests that vitamin C supplements may be even more effective in people who have a vitamin C deficiency.
- Vitamin D: Vitamin D is necessary for not only immune function, but also strong bones. Being deficient in vitamin D may lead to more respiratory infections. It is also one of the most common nutritional deficiencies in the world.
- Zinc: Zinc is important for a healthy immune system, making proteins and DNA, and for healing wounds. A zinc deficiency can weaken the immune system by impairing the formation, activation, and maturation of lymphocytes, white blood cells that are an active part of the immune system.
Will Immune Supplements Work?
Knowing whether you are deficient in these nutrients or others can be very helpful in not only taking the supplements you need but getting your body on its way to optimal wellness through a strong immune system.
Lacking the correct amount of certain nutrients can put a strain on your immune system. Filling the gap in nutrients with supplements may balance your immune system so that it functions at its best — after all, an immune system functioning at its best results in fewer illnesses and better overall health.
Knowing Which Supplements to Take for Immunity
Building an immune system that can fight off disease, germs, and toxins is important to your overall health. Figuring out which supplements can help you do that is equally important. 10X Health has created the Precision Genetic Test to do just that.
The Precision Genetic Test is an at-home, easy-to-take genetic test that gives you valuable insight into how your body is functioning and ultimately how it could function at its best. Your saliva sample is analyzed by our expert medical team who then makes recommendations for which supplements you should add to your routine, as well as a customized nutritional and workout plan that will help you reach your ultimate wellness goals.
Customized supplementation can be the missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to reaching the best version of yourself. Uncovering exactly what vitamins and minerals your body is deficient in through the Precision Genetic Test gives you the opportunity to supplement for just those vitamins and minerals.
Want to learn more about immunity health and customized supplementation? Order your Precision Genetic Test to get started.
