Your Immune System Needs Some Extra Love Right Now

Give Your Immune System a Break

Long-term immunity is built as the immune system becomes stronger by reacting to bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses that pose a threat to our health. By severely restricting our exposure to these microbes by regularly sanitizing our environment, we risk the lack of creating our usual natural immunity to common bacteria and viruses.

Emotions also have a profound impact on our immunity. Loneliness, stress (particularly chronic stress), and depression can lower our resilience to these same microbes. The lifestyle changes, isolation, and financial insecurity of the pandemic have not only affected our daily lives, but they have also impacted our immunity and overall health.

Supporting our natural immunity needs to be at the top of our minds right now as we prepare for the cold and flu season, along with the ongoing threat of viruses. By focusing on what we can control (i.e., being in top physical condition with sharp mental health), we can maintain a strong first line of defense during these challenging times.

Lifestyle Habits that Support a Healthy Immune System

When it comes to strengthening and supporting a healthy immune system, aim for improvement, not perfection. Trying to achieve perfectionism at a time like this will only create more stress, which (as we know) directly and negatively impacts immunity. So be kind to yourself and try one or more of these lifestyle recommendations at a pace that works for you.

1.   Practice Hand Hygiene

Continue to regularly wash your hands properly to prevent spreading germs. Regular hand washing with natural soap and water when leaving and entering your home or workplace is a great primary strategy when it comes to protecting yourself and your family from contracting a seasonal illness or Covid-19 infection, and no harsh chemicals are necessary. Hand sanitizer is meant to be your back up, and it shouldn’t replace normal handwashing when available.

2.   Practice Mindfulness Meditation

Focusing on the present moment can greatly reduce the stress that threatens immunity.   There are many free online resources and guided meditations that can help you get started. A simple practice you can start today is to concentrate on your breath for 5 minutes each day upon waking; this is a form of mindfulness meditation.

3.   Get The Sleep You Need

Sleep is paramount to maintaining a healthy immune system, as the body performs many of its maintenance functions during the sleep cycle. Aim to get a minimum of 7 hours of quality sleep each night. We recommend starting the practice of good sleep hygiene by going to bed at the same time every day, avoiding any screen time 1 hour before bed, and sleeping in a cool, dark, quiet room.

4.   Stay Active

Regular physical activity greatly helps to reduce stress and increases blood flow. In fact, a 2019 study showed how exercise mobilizes immune cells throughout the body to fight invading pathogens and reduce inflammation. Exercise also helps slow the effects of aging to keep the immune system strong. Aim to get at least 30 minutes of daily, moderate exercise to give your immune system the support it deserves. Going for a walk, a jog, or a bike ride, performing light strength training, or working out with an online fitness video are all great ways to stay active.

5.   Stay Hydrated

Staying hydrated is extremely beneficial, yet all too often it is overlooked. Water is the vehicle that assists vitamins to move between cells and helps those cells to detoxify while you sleep. Water flushes all the bad stuff out of your lymphatic and urinary systems. Being properly hydrated helps your immune system and strengthens your body’s main germ barrier — your skin, while helping to build strong hair and muscles. Aim to drink at least eight to ten 8-oz glasses of clean, fresh, preferably filtered water every day. If you aren’t a fan of water, then try adding a bit of lemon or lime, or both, which have immune-supportive and detoxifying properties in addition to being quite tasty.

6.   Eat Foods that Your Body Needs

Providing our bodies with the vitamins, minerals, and enzymes that our cells need daily helps to keep inflammation at bay and supports our immunity. Eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. Eat fermented foods, too, as they are rich in probiotics and enzymes that enhance gut health, which in turn supports healthy immunity. Limit processed foods (or ideally, eliminate them altogether). This includes refined sugar, sulfates, and foods laden with chemical additives and low-quality oils, in addition to avoiding alcohol.

7.   Do Something You Love

The “new normal” has caused a shift in what our daily lives look like. Added responsibilities have been placed on individuals, as we try to manage the hurdles the pandemic has brought to our lives. Despite this, finding something you love to do, and dedicating time to it every week, or even every day, can help you add more joy to your life. Studies show that smiling can activate the release of neuropeptides that help fight off stress. Making the conscious intent to do something you love and committing to it can greatly reduce stress and release those feel-good immune-supporting endorphins.

Supplements that Support Immune Health 

1.   Probiotics

Probiotics contribute to healthy gut flora, which is paramount to good health, especially when you consider that 70% of the immune system is housed in the gut, and the mucous membrane of the digestive system is one of the main barriers we have against pathogens. You can directly help to create an environment in your body that soothes inflammation and fights infection for optimal digestive function maintenance by supporting your gut flora and following a healthy diet.

2.   Vitamin D

Research has shown that adequate vitamin D levels are crucial to good health. Vitamin D plays many roles in the body. Vitamin D supports the immune system, promotes a healthy inflammatory response, and supports a healthy mood. The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency is known to occur in individuals with autoimmune disease, and more than half of North Americans don’t get enough vitamin D. Extended time indoors, lack of sunlight during the winter, and an imbalanced diet can all contribute to vitamin D deficiencies for which supplementation is highly recommended.

3.   Vitamin C

Vitamin C is an essential nutrient, meaning that the body is not able to create it, and it must come from the diet. It is a powerful antioxidant, helping to protect cells from damaging free radicals.

4.   Zinc

Zinc is a mineral that plays many roles in supporting immune health and function.

5.   Garlic

Garlic is a pungent culinary herb, and its use in supporting the immune system is honored by time and science alike. Although eating garlic every day in the amounts needed to have a noticeable effect on immune health may not be realistic (think nose clip), taking an odorless supplement can be an effective measure.

6.   Elderberry

Elderberry, particularly elderberry syrup, is a potent herbal remedy that supports immune function. Elderberry isn’t meant to be taken daily as a supplement. Rather its properties are most supportive when taken only when needed and as soon as possible at the first sign of feeling rundown due to occasional stress.

7. Glutathione

Glutathione is the body’s Master Antioxidant and provides numerous immune system benefits. The main problem with glutathione supplements in general is that they don’t work, that is, they are oxidized and in their dormant state in supplement form. The other issue is that glutathione supplements in powder or drink forms get digested and broken into its three amino acid components. VARS Glutathione from Physician Designed is the only glutathione supplement that provides reduced or active glutathione in a transmucosal way. Get a bottle to have on hand the next time you get sick, or better yet, take it to help avoid getting sick!

You’ve Got This!

Staying on top of immune health is extra important. By being proactive and taking the precautionary measures that help to protect and support your healthy immune system, you can be prepared. 

If you are feeling run down and would like to discuss a tailored action plan to help keep your body functioning at its best, give us a call, we can help.

References

1.    Aranow C. Vitamin D and the immune system. J Investig Med. 2011;59(6):881-886. doi:10.2310/JIM.0b013e31821b8755.

2.    Carr AC, Maggini S. Vitamin C and immune function. Nutrients. 2017;9(11):1211. doi:10.3390/nu9111211.

3.    2020-2021 Flu Season Summary. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Updated October 25, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/flu/season/faq-flu-season-2020-2021.htm. Accessed December 17, 2017.

4.    Finlay BB, Amato KR, Azad M, et al. The hygiene hypothesis, the COVID pandemic, and consequences for the human microbiome. [Erratum in: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021;118(11):e2102333118]. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021;118(6):e2010217118. doi:10.1073/pnas.2010217118.

5.    Firth J, Gangwisch JE, Borisini A, Wootton RE, Mayer EA. Food and mood: how do diet and nutrition affect mental wellbeing? [published correction appears in BMJ. 2020; 371:m4269]. BMJ. 2020;369:m2382. doi:10.1136/bmj.m2382.

6.    Cole SW, Capitanio JP, Chun K, Arevalo JMG, Ma J, Cacioppo JT. Myeloid. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015;112(49):15142-15147. doi:10.1073/pnas.1514249112.

7.    The hygiene hypothesis, the COVID pandemic, and consequences for the human microbiome. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021;118(6):e2010217118.  doi:10.1073/pnas.2010217118.

8.    Saper RB, Rash R. Zinc: an essential micronutrient. Am Fam Physician. 2009;79(9):768-772. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20141096/.

9.    ​​Seaward BL. Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett; 2009:258.

The Unfulfilled Promise of Glutathione

Glutathione is not only an antioxidant it is one of only a few SUPER ANTIOXIDANTS another other one being superoxide dismutase, or SOD. 

What does it mean to be a super antioxidant? Vitamin C, the best known antioxidant, obviously helps with colds and other viral illnesses but in theory, reduced glutathione, the form we can use in our body, is a MILLION TIMES more potent! A million times more effective! It should be but so far has not been. 

WHY?

And what is glutathione? Why is it supposed to be such an amazing vitamin? 

Well, it’s not really a vitamin as we know it, nor is it a hormone but something in between. It’s just a simple, elegant even, tripeptide which means it Is made up of three amino acids, one of which has an INCREDIBLY STICKY sulfhydryl group on it. 

This is the real story of glutathione. This sulfhydryl group is the sharp point of glutathione, and the sharp end of our immune defense system. This is also what gives glutathione its distinctive smell and taste. And it’s supposed amazing benefits.

These benefits are detailed in literally hundreds of research studies and articles, many of which are by the NIH, the National Institutes of Health — check them out on PubMed where all the medical research articles are stored.

Lack of REDUCED glutathione is at the root cause of many diseases.

Lack of Reduced glutathione production in the lungs is what causes CYSTIC FIBROSIS

Lack of reduced glutathione in the eyes is what causes Wet Macular Degeneration, the #1 cause of blindness in the world.

AND lack of reduced glutathione has been associated with various forms of hepatitis, chronic renal failure or kidney disease, cardiovascular disease, neuropathy, Parkinson’s disease, HIV/AIDS, herpes, shingles, decreased stamina with exercise, and other diseases...

Look on PUBMED to confirm my claims. While you're there look at the 2013 reduced glutathione study by Bastyr University in Seattle — they could not get 2000 mg of encapsulated reduced glutathione to even work.

But the many glutathione products on the market today have not fulfilled any of those promises. 

And you have to ask why?

Let me help with that and share my observations...

We were doing a study on metallothionein dysfunction being the cause of fibromyalgia, by the way — a video discussion for another day, and we realized reduced glutathione, a critical third of every metallothionein enzyme, was necessary for the study. There are 23 known metallothioneins in the human body, one to mobilize each known metal, and having a lack of reduced glutathione would cause the metallothionein to become dysfunctional, causing a metal imbalance, which causes pain, brain fog, and a MYRIAD of other problems.

We looked at and ordered ALL the glutathiones on Amazon and elsewhere, reviewed all the reduced glutathione patents, and dug into numerous studies trying to prove efficacy of glutathione, ANY glutathione, and saw that no one, no university or pharmaceutical company had any success. Again see that Bastyr University study. 

Why? Why was there no glutathione that was reduced, and stable in its reduction, easily and readily absorbable, and validated in its efficacy?

Well all the ones we looked at from Amazon, more than fifty, were all oxidized and essentially worthless. It was usually the actual manufacturing process. Well, air contains oxygen and reduced glutathione when exposed to oxygen in the air immediately oxidizes and is then worthless. Even the dry or powdered and encapsulated forms are broken down in your stomach and you absorb none of it. Again look at that recent study performed by Bastyr University — after 2 months of two grams a day of one of Amazon’s top encapsulated forms of so called reduced glutathione they had no changes in any of their lab results. NONE!

Remember, the problem with humans isn't that they can’t make glutathione, it’s that as they age or due to genetics or illness they cannot REDUCE the glutathione they’ve made.

So our struggle was with developing a VALIDATED ABSORBABLE REDUCED GLUTATHIONE that was relatively inexpensive, easily absorbed, and strongly efficacious.

After much review and study, myself and a fellow named Steve Pitcher, who’d started with NASA and had eventually become the head of R&D at a major supplement company, had a plan. We partnered with a company in Iowa, the manufacturer of the top selling CoQ10, Qunol, because they had specialized equipment to accomplish what we needed. And we made it.

We did it.

We created the first validated, absorbable, reduced, and stable glutathione on the market. We have a well written patent with plans to achieve FDA approval to treat several horrible diseases. And yes, It starts to fulfill several of the amazing promises the research world made in regards to glutathione and its benefits.

But guess what? The FDA still just considers it a safe and effective supplement.

We purposefully, despite the cost and complexity of its manufacture, despite the bottling, made it easy to use, and not completely horrible tasting. But more importantly it is incredibly effective and stable. Please try some.

Get it now. And try it.

Lotus Life - Melissa Soria

Aloha cherished Friends & Guests!

My name is Melissa, and I am excited to share a little of my story and how Dr. Purser’s passion for preventative care continues to improve my overall life and well being! I am a 33-year-old (Island girl at heart) living in the city. My loves include family, Leilani (my corgi/lab puppy), and the beach! I am a former Division 1 collegiate water polo athlete, coach, breast cancer survivor. I have worked in education for nine years after completing my master’s degree in Teaching & Learning. It wouldn’t surprise me if you think, “She doesn’t have any experience or background in the medical field.” But I believe my experience will be relate as they are real-life experiences.  I have extensive knowledge of experiences with doctors from sports injuries, life-threatening infections, and Stage 3 breast cancer. You will be able to read about my own journey and experience with what is discussed each week as my story unfolds and how truly amazing life can be when you get your mind and body balanced appropriately. Just like a lotus flower, we all continue to rise from the ‘mud’ of life, bloom in the dark, and continue to be vibrant and beautiful. Our paths may all be different, but we are all here to find ways to better our well being. There is so much advice to share and I look forward to sharing the wealth of knowledge Dr. Purser’s research. He truly is compassionate and vested to help us all live a long, cheerful, healthy, and vibrant life. I invite you to follow along each week to see what new healthy lifestyle changes you can incorporate into your life.

Glutathione, is it the cure all? I’m not sure about that, but I do know that the antioxidant benefits of ensuring you have enough glutathione in your system will help prevent many symptoms. NIH (National Institution of Health) still doesn’t know if it should be classified as a hormone, vitamin, or supplement. For now, it is considered a vitamin/supplement. I’ve been raving about glutathione and how amazing it is, and it surprised me to have a reaction from Rebekah Thompson as she loves it as well! I was able to visit with Rebekah and I want to share a little of what she told me.

She is currently going to school to be a Certified Clinical Herbalist she has a strong passion for the realm of holistic healing, Shamanic Traditions and Native healing. She first heard about glutathione when she was working for a chiropractor who had a herbalist and would advise every patient, “Take this forever!”. Rebekah uses glutathione everyday and said, “My body likes it, it helps support tissue regeneration, repairing body matrix, and helps with the root of a lot of other symptoms.”

I was able to share my own experiences about glutathione and why I started to take it. The intense cancer treatments completely destroyed my body, I didn’t feel like me anymore. Glutathione has been helping me to recover to former self and is healing the neuropathy in my feet and legs (one of my biggest hardships). Being an athlete and experiencing the depletion of my body through chemotherapy was the hardest physical, mental and emotional set back I have gone through. Not being able to move around and be as active as I once was left me feeling depressed and feeling unattractive. Adding glutathione into my regimen accelerated my healing process. No one would ever guess a year after treatment I ever went through cancer. I like to refer to glutathione as our family’s ‘Windex’ (I am a huge My Big Fat Greek Wedding fan). We use it for everything from a bug bites, illnesses, sunburns, to neuropathy.

As Rebekah mentioned there are many benefits of glutathione, in fact thousands of ways this vitamin/supplement helps heal and protect your body. You may have watched Dr. Dan Purser in one of his YouTube videos explaining what glutathione does including supporting the Immune System Functionality. Glutathione covers your white blood cells (resembling a porcupine or blow fish) and these spikes protect white blood cells from viruses trying to kill them off. Viruses such as HIV, Shingles, Herpes, Hepatitis that try to turn off your ability to reduce glutathione to its functional state in your body.

If that doesn’t help you start using glutathione everyday, understand how important and refreshing glutathione is. It helps remove and detox heavy metals, relieve burns (especially with summer time approaching!), improve neuropathy, reduce arthritis and osteoarthritis, stimulate anti-aging properties, reduce cell damage, lower cholesterol, protect heart. Glutathione also lowers the risk of stroke, coronary artery disease, kidney disease, and chronic renal failure. If one of these symptoms you would like to prevent, adding glutathione into your daily routine is going to have you glowing like the sun and have a rejuvenated spring in your step.

Keep smiling,

Melissa Soria

Contact us at (801) 796-7667 or info@danpursermd.com for help. Check back often for the newest updates!

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If you would like to try our newest version of Glutathione – VARS Mint Burst * GASP *  follow this link: physiciandesigned.com

New Products Coming!

Just Some HUGE ANNOUNCEMENTS!

Four NEW or super IMPROVED PRODUCTS!

Our incredible improved all natural VARS MINT BURST LIPOSOMAL GLUTATHIONE — works great and tastes AMAZING! Available this week...

Our new MTHFR SUPPORT PLUS is almost (nothing’s perfect— right?) for A1298C MTHFR or Compound Heterozygous MTHFR. This contains FOLINIC ACID and not the Quatrafolate that the C677T errors need. Great stuff. Try the PLUS with the MTHFR SUPPORT.

MTHFR SUPPORT is available now from us with our Physician Designed label (me). Try it if you have MTHFR — BEST BASE product out there for MTHFR especially the C677T error. Super good (but start low go slow).

More METALLOTHIONEIN SUPPORT for those who suffer from metal toxicity or fibromyalgia. Supports your copper levels (and other metals) and makes them normal. Don’t believe? Try it — again start low and go slow but build up to 4-5 a day and see what happens. Ask others who take it.

Contact us at (801) 796-7667 or info@danpursermd.com for help. Check back often for the newest updates!