Immunity Boosting Micronutrients
Since it’s flu season – and most of us at the office are feeling it – we thought we’d shine a light on how you can use Cronometer to help fight off seasonal illnesses. Making sure your body has enough macro and micronutrients helps to create an effective defence system against harmful viruses. Read on for tips on keeping your immune system in tip-top shape!
Understanding Your Immune System
Micronutrients To Keep An Eye On
Vitamin A
Your skin and the lining of your intestine, lungs and eyes provide a barrier to pathogens entering your body. Vitamin A and folate are needed to make the tissues that keep foreign material from entering your body. It also helps to make mucus that coats some of these tissues, without which become more prone to
infection.
There are several different immune cells that your body produces, depending on the threat identified. Vitamin A helps determine the population of cells your body produces so that you have the right cells to do the job when an infection hits.
Vitamin D
Omega-6 and Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Inflammation is a normal part of your body’s defence against infection. Omega-3
and omega-6 are types of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that integrate into
the cell membrane of immune cells where they help relay information across the cell membrane to respond to infection. They send signals that determine the
intensity and duration of an immune response.
In general, omega-6 tend to promote the inflammatory response to a greater extent, while omega-3 have a weaker effect, resulting in a less intense response. Keeping your intake of omega-6 in relative proportion with omega-3 helps maintain a more moderate immune response, that helps fight off infection without overdoing it.
Upgrade to Gold to easily see an Omega-6:Omega-3 nutrient balance at the bottom of your Daily Report.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C helps maintain your physical defence system, in other words our skin and other tissues that are exposed to materials found outside your body. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant, meaning it can also fight free radicals in the body, thereby decreasing inflammation and supporting the immune system.
Vitamin E
Zinc
Don't Forget About
Water
We know it may not be one of the first things people think about when talking about supporting immunity but water plays a crucial role in supporting your immune system! Water carries nutrients vital for immune health to where they need to go within the body.
It helps maintain healthy skin which is our first line of defence against viruses and infection. Water also plays a role in eliminating the bacteria that can be harmful and weaken your immune system. If you are sick, sometimes we don’t feel like drinking but staying hydrated can lessen symptoms like headache and muscle stiffness.
Wondering how to track water in Cronometer? Read this blog.
Sleep
Since sleep is imperative for all of your body’s functions, it will probably come as no surprise that sleep can have a major impact on your immune system. Research shows that hours of sleep has an inverse relationship with the risk of catching a cold. To ensure your immunity is up to snuff, make sure you’re getting a good night’s rest with between 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night.
Our friends at Oura Ring further break down how sleep can affect your immune system.
How Cronometer Can Help
Cronometer Gold subscribers, however, have access to change their Nutrition Report to any date range. They also have access to our Nutrition Scores, including the Immune Support score, which bundles all of the above-mentioned micronutrients together and gives you a percentage value for how you are hitting your targets.
