The best defence against infection - whether bacterial or viral - is as Louis Pasteur realised, a healthy host defence or strong immune system. you are low in vitamin D, fewer numbers of natural killer cells are formed and your innate immune defence against viruses becomes impaired. Since the other function of natural killer cells is to kill tumour cells, D-depletion also increases our risk of cancer. But a strong immune system is built on good nutrition - and our knowledge of the key dietary elements that support a powerful immune system has expanded greatly in the last few yearsThey are regarded as the plant kingdom's equivalent of cholesterol. Beta sitosterol is a natural immuno-modulator as it up-regulates (enhances) certain aspects of immune function while down-regulating others. It is present in a number of plant foods and especially seeds and nuts..Researchers at the University of North Carolina compared mice that received a selenium-deficient diet with non-deficient animals, all of which were exposed to the human influenza virus. The deficient mice had more severe cases of the flu and it lasted for a longer period of time than the non-deficient mice.
which are important components of the body's innate immune system - recognize the beta glucan particles as foreign bodies and 'assume' that a potential enemy has arrived. In response, the number and activity level of the body's immune cells is increased.
Many well-conducted research papers have shown that this sequence results in a significant enhancement of resistance to infection - so it is worth examining how this nutrient works in a little more detail.
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