Summary
In reality, you don’t actually want to ‘boost’ all of your immune system during this pandemic. When we hear ‘boost’ we assume we are strengthening or fortifying our immune system, when in reality, for this disease (COVID-19) we want to improve or optimize some parts of the immune response and suppress other parts or phases of the disease. Depending on what what stage of the disease we are in, we want to “OPTIMIZE” our immunity differently, not boost it.
Background
A common phrase is “boosting” one’s immune system. Semantics aside, the phrase is inaccurate. I propose we change the terminology to “OPTIMIZE” one’s immune system. The immune system is one of the most complex systems in the body. Blindly ‘boosting’ one’s immunity is not possible without stimulation of stem cells (an abnormal proliferation of these stem cells in the bone marrow is what is know as Leukemia, a blood cancer). Depending on what the disease is & where we are in the disease process, we want to “OPTIMIZE” our immunity differently, not boost it.
Science
There are two subsets of the immune system: the innate immune system & the adaptive immune system. The immune system has 22 cell types, each with 10-1000 different variants & roles. Each organ has a unique population of resident immune cells & systemically circulating immune cells. Immune cells communicate using cytokines, small cell-signaling proteins involved in autocrine, paracrine, & endocrine communication. There are 33 cytokines produced by a range of cell types responsible for the immune response & inflammation.
In COVID19, there are two immune-responses: the first phase of the immune response is protective where specific cells try to clear the virus, this is when we should optimize our immune system. The second phase of the immune response, which only some people experience, is an exaggerated destructive response where overstimulation of specific cells cause excessive inflammation leading to more damage than the virus itself. During this phase, we want to suppress the immune system. To understand how complex the immune system is see some of the graphics below.
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Disclaimer: Opinions on this site or on social media do not reflect that of my institutions. I do not provide medical advice. If you have a medical question please see your doctor or if you have a medical emergency, please go to the nearest emergency room.. I have a PhD in Nutrition and Metabolic Biology and three masters degrees including two master’s in nutrition & metabolism. I am a personal trainer & have researched nutrition for 12 years. The info I post is my interpretation of the medical and scientific literature.
