Immune Health Supplements

Health Is PowHer Podcast Episode 74 with Dr. Anna Esparham, MD

We are on our final part 3 podcast “Immune Health” series! 

And we are going to talk about supplements that may promote immune health. 

The supplements we talk about today are not an exhaustive list, but at least ones that I found to be researched and hold promise. 

And immune health is part of the whole system, meaning that supplements, nutrition, lymphatics are just parts of the whole. We have to take into account our environment, stress levels, energetics, relationships, detox, genetics, and so much more that involves our immune system. 

So, first and foremost, I want to address how important medicinal mushrooms are for the immune system.  

Medicinal mushrooms may offer more than 130 therapeutic properties.

Antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, antitumor, antioxidant, antidiabetic.

And they support the cardiovascular system as well!

There still is a lot more work to be done on supplements in general, including medicinal mushrooms - especially more studies that consist of human clinical trials. 

But for now, let’s dive in:

Cordyceps mushroom

Cordyceps is a mushroom that is beneficial for the neuroimmune system especially! 

It can decrease inflammation and stimulate and suppress the immune system!  So in essence, it acts as an immunomodulator, whether that means beefing up your immunity or downregulating it if you have autoimmunity.

Reishi mushroom

Reishi is an amazing mushroom that improves your natural immune response while also helping improve sleep!  So double duty.  

Reishi may also boost anti-tumor activity. And new research is showing that reishi may also decrease allergies and airway inflammation. 

AHCC extract

AHCC extract are basically beta-glucans (polysaccharides) from medicinal mushrooms that may also improve your resilience to stress (thus protecting your immune system) and has been studied in cancer, as well as improving sleep throughout the night!

On to other supplements known to support the immune system!

Colostrum

This is exactly what it sounds like - the nutrient dense stuff that comes from breast milk!  Colostrum is mostly sold as cow’s milk colostrum which contains an immunoglobulin (IgG) that provides passive immunity and helps the gut by decreasing inflammation. 

This usually comes as a powder supplement and I usually put this in my smoothies or yogurt!

Astragalus

Astragalus is a flowering plant and the root is used in Chinese medicine to boost the “qi”. It also has several properties: antidiabetic, cardioprotective, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, protects the kidneys, and may be an immunostimulant. 

Astragalus may enhance our natural immune function through several different mechanisms.  Would love more research on astragalus, as there is even some foundation for astragalus to protect against tissue injury. 

Andrographis

Andrographis is commonly used as a medicinal herb in ayurvedic medicine and Asian countries. Many people have used this herb to adjunctively treat the flu, respiratory infections, gastrointestinal infections, and malaria. 

Andrographis also has several therapeutic properties, including anticancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, neuroprotective, and immunomodulatory!

Most often it has been studied for respiratory infections, with data showing that it may be superior to placebo in calming symptoms from an upper respiratory tract infection.

Hopefully, that was a little bit helpful for you to understand what some of these supplements are used for!

Let us know if you have any questions or want to learn more on a topic of interest - just send us a message or comment on Instagram @Health_Is_PowHer