Herbal

Immunity and Vax Support

Health has never been as topical as it is right now. Being health practitioners, we have recently had many questions from customers on how to support immunity, as well as wanting to know how they can support themselves when they get the vaccine.

Following vaccination, spike proteins are produced in the body and elicit an antibody immune response, enabling the body to recognise the virus in the future. However, excess free floating spike proteins may cause inflammatory side effects, through their strong attraction to ACE2 receptors in our body. It seems to be that where ACE2 receptors are found in large amounts— lungs, nervous system, gastrointestinal tract—is where most inflammatory side effects can occur.

Making sure your health is the very best prior, during and after vaccination can help to prevent side effects and ensure your immune system receives optimal benefit from the vaccine.

Therefore, the following recommendations are aimed at supporting the immune system, calming inflammatory responses and bringing emotional and physiological resilience to the vaccination process.

1. The first step in maintaining good

health is diet. A significant contributor to chronic inflammation comes from what we eat; therefore swapping out inflammatory foods for their anti-inflammatory counterparts will help improve your health and wellbeing. • Eat an array of (ideally organic) fruit and vegetables. • Wholegrains and legumes are a good source of fibre, which is essential for gastrointestinal health and for maintaining a healthy balance of good bacteria. An imbalance of good and bad bacteria (called “dysbiosis”) can increase the production of toxic byproducts which can contribute to chronic inflammation.

• Nuts and seeds are highly nutrient-dense, providing good fats, protein, fibre and antioxidants. Choose a wide variety of raw and organic (where possible). • Add anti-inflammatory herbs and spices, such as rosemary, turmeric and ginger, to your meals. • Consume good quality anti-inflammatory oils, such as virgin olive oil and omega 3s from oily fish, such as salmon. • Moderate red meat intake 1–2 times a week.

2. To help reduce any gastrointestinal side effects from the vaccine, address dysbiosis with pre and probiotics.

Prebiotics (fibre) and probiotics can also increase short-chain fatty acids, which have many researched benefits on enhancing the immune response and improving resilience.

3. Keep blood sugars in a healthy range with diet, and herbs such as cinnamon.

Glucose increases viral replication, increases inflammation, may increase blood clotting and increase the binding of the spike protein to ACE2 receptors.

4. Stress is well known to adversely affect the immune system; therefore managing

this is key. Chronic stressful events are likely to generate oxidative stress, inducing DNA damage which can compromise both the immune system and vaccine. • Do some daily exercise, ideally in nature. • Go to bed before 10pm. • Take some nervous system supporting herbs and nutrients, such as oats,

Withania, holy basil and magnesium.

5. Further supplements that may also be worth considering:

• Zinc is well known to have a positive effect on the immune system and reducing damage associated with inflammation. • Inflammation can cause glutathione deficiency, which can lead to oxidative stress negatively impacting our immune (particularly T cell) response. • N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) is the major building block to glutathione, plus has independent anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating properties. It also plays an important role in detoxification processes, supporting removal of waste through the liver. • Vitamin D is another nutrient which has well-researched benefits to the innate and adaptive immune responses, and therefore may contribute to the effectiveness of the vaccine. Vitamin

D can also bind to spike proteins, preventing adherence to ACE2 receptors. • Turmeric has well-known antiinflammatory and immune modulating activities, as well as supporting the removal of toxins through the liver. • Nigella or black cumin seed may block

ACE2 receptors, reducing the ability of spike protein adherence. • There is growing interest for the use of proteolytic enzymes, such as nattokinase, to inhibit viral replication and dissolve the free-floating spike proteins. Keeping all of this in mind, we are all individual with different genetic make-ups, lifestyle choices and health issues. Please consult with your health care practitioner to find out what is best for you.

By Natalie Jacques Naturopath & Medical Herbalist

BHSc, AdvDip Herb Med, AdvDip Naturopathy The Herbal Dispensary 07 825 7444 6 Wallis Street, Raglan www.raglanherbaldispensary.nz