Nutritional Boost to Immune System

[judeimo]

Are there any foods suggested to boost one's immune system?

[Linda196]

There are some (mostly herbs), but people with autoimmune disease need to be very careful about boosting the immune system. Foods that claim to regulate immunity may be a better choice, and if you plan to Google this, may I suggest you use regulate instead of boost?

As with any food additive, supplement or natural remedy, you should check with your doctor before taking anything, because there can be interactions with medications, or "naturals" can alter lab results, causing errors in the assessment of the patient's status.

[Joe S.]

I use carrot Juice! 8oz / day

[DesignerS]

Linda,
Could you enlighten me more LOL  I am new at this and am so confused about helping the immune system out.  You said that we need to be careful, please tell me what you  know.  Thanks so much.

Designer

[kim31072]

SJS like SLE and many other autoimmune illnesses occur when the immune system is overactive on its own and attacks it own tissue...the drugs that they use to treat us are to supress our immune system function and lower it...allowing our conditions to "ease" off,leave our bodies systems alone and hopefully at some point enter the stage of remission.

If you are prescribed an immunosuppressant drug by your dr and then taking on your own a Immune system booster med OTC or herbal you are in fact counteracting what the drs are trying to achieve.You are supplying an over active immune system with even more ammo with which to boost your own system...bad idea.

Which is why it is so very very important to let your dr know all the meds/supplements you take and not to take anything that claims to "help out" the immune system....that is the last thing you need...esp things like echinacea,etc....they are going to hurt you by continually helping to keep your immune system working well ....which is not what the drs want...they try to supress it to get it to leave your own tissue and organs alone.

hope this helps....no immune system building meds/supplements/vitamins  ...bad ju-ju!

[DesignerS]

Hi Kim,
Thank you so much for explaining this all to me.  I keep thinking that my immune system is "weak" and cannot fight anything off.  So maybe I should do something to give it a boost.  But now I understand.  Out goes the Elderberry.   

Thanks again,
Designer

[fluffiebunnie]

hope this helps....no immune system building meds/supplements/vitamins  ...bad ju-ju!

Hmmm since this all started for me two months ago i have been taking multi vitamins.... should I stop???  I thought I was doing the right thing trying to get more vitamins into me...

[Linda196]

My doc and I have a deal, I only take vitamins that I have a proven need for, and he, in turn, monitors levels of them so we both know when or if I have to change things.

I take a B complex and Vitamin D only...and I'm tested routinely for levels of both, so far always in normal range. I avoid Vitamin C except naturally occurring in food, and I limit that. Other than Calcium and magnesium, I don't take any other supplements, and if I planned to, I'd check it out with the doc first. I've never been inclined to take a multi-vitamin, because I like to keep things individual, and can get better balance if I can chose the dose of each vitamin.

[Maria3667]

Hi Linda,

H'mmmm... And my rheumy prescribes me 3.000 mg of Vit. C daily.
I find it helpful with improving dry mouth.

Besides that, I take all the things you mention. Plus some Evening Primrose Oil + vit. B6.

Goes to show how individual we all are! 

Cheers,
Maria

[judeimo]

Thanks, all, for explaining the basis of "feeding" the immune system.  Now it makes much better sense NOT to overstimulate it.  I shall take your advice to check everything out with the doctor--WHEN I get to see him.  Still another two months away.  You have been so very helpful.

[Jesse88]

My RD said the very same thing about being careful not to undo what he's trying to do.....that is, make my immune system more normal.  I thought it was OK to take vitamins because my it's so hard to get all the vitamins we need from food, but now I wonder if that's also defeating the purpose of regulating our immune systems.  The RD didn't say to stop them, but I'm really re-thinking the whole thing now.  I think Googling "regulate" the immune system is an excellent suggestion. 

[Sjenny]

Everybody's body is different, but I found that if I took an immune booster like echinacea, my symptoms got much worse, but when I took methyl-B12, my symptoms were significantly alleviated.

Sue

[Maria3667]

Hi Sjennie,

I got the exact same thing from echinacea, coupled with headaches. 
But vitamines seem to help me. 

Maria

[kim31072]

If you are taking vitamins and such those should be fine...the ones I mean are the ones specifically promoted to "bolster' the imune system...like echinacea,Vit E which has been linked to an improved immune system reponse,etc...not just your run of the mill vitamins.Please make your dr aware of all you take and amount...you might be suprised to find you are overtaking or not taking appropriate things.Just because they arent prescribed doe not mean they dont do as advertised .....I often drink Ensure and they market one for Immune support...helps increase/improve immune function...I dont get that one ...so just read and watch...here is a link to a site that has some of the foods the vitamins are grouped in and just ask your dr...are there any that maybe we should not take/or limit intake of...you are just not wanting to keep the immune system pumped up all the time because the drs are working very hard to keep it down...I would rather have a cold than have my SLE flare up because of what I was taking...so watch and when in doubt ask...if you cant get ahold of the dr...call your pharmacist and explain what you are on and why...and ask if it would be ok or not...or should you hold of til the dr gives the ok.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0854/is_/ai_n18611980

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Kim

[Jag]

OTC supplements including vitamins don't contain the amount of each thing that they claim to. Each vary by brand, and even by lot number! If you need a vitamin supplement (REALLY need it) your doc will prescribe it. I had a flukey doc tell me to take sublingual B-12 once when it was low. When another doc checked it, it was still low. I told him what the other doc had told me to take. He disagreed... much... and put me on prescription injections. He also found my Vit. D EXTREMELY low and prescribed a dose that I NEVER would have dreamed of taking OTC.

The problem turns out to be my gut, and what it won't absorb. For the huge amount I take, little is actually taken in. If you aren't eating properly, then you need to tell your doc. If you are, then you probably aren't shy of any vitamins, unless you have a medical problem causing it. Even supplements like ensure should be reported to your doc. When I told mine I was drinking one on days that I was too nauseated to eat, he was very concerned, because I have Graves, and there is a high level of iodine in them. I had no idea....