It’s always a good idea to support your immune system, but your immune system is complicated. It can be hard to know how best to do that.
You can make it easier by understanding how the different parts of your immune system work. Your immune system provides multiple layers of defenses. Those defenses can be broken down into three main categories: your body’s physiological, or physical, barriers, innate immunity and adaptive immunity, also known as humoral immunity.
Another way to think about these three categories is like this: your body’s natural shields, quick response teams and superheroes all working to support your health. Let’s take a closer look at innate immunity, or, as we like to call it, your quick response system.
What is?
Your first line of defense is your physiological, or physical, barriers. They include your skin, mucous membranes, saliva, tears, intestinal walls and important immune cells located in your gut. These barriers act as physical shields trying to protect you from the outside environment.
The second line of defense that kicks in when needed is your innate immunity – your quick response team that’s always ready. That includes things like your white blood cells and other internal mechanisms that jump into action when called on to support your health.
You want to give them all the support they need, right? Here are three ways to support your innate immunity.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is a powerhouse to support the production of white blood cells and their function as part of your innate immunity. Vitamin C contains antioxidants used to fight against free radicals from sources like pollution, stress and aging.
Nutrilite™ Vitamin C Extended Release tablets made with acerola cherry extract provides vitamin C to help support your body’s natural defenses.* It’s also specially formulated to release vitamin C slowly into your system giving your quick response team all-day support.*
Vitamin D
Vitamin D, also known as the sunshine vitamin, is an essential vitamin for optimal immune function. Adequate daily intake of vitamin D is needed for the proper functioning of the rapid response team of your innate immunity.
Getting a daily dose of sunshine is the best way to get your vitamin D, but you can also look to the food you eat or supplements. Fatty fish, egg yolks, cheese and mushrooms are natural sources and other foods may be fortified with vitamin D.
Nutrilite™ Vitamin D offers a powerful combination of both D3 and D2 and includes mushrooms – one of nature’s most concentrated botanical sources of the nutrient – grown on a Nutricert™ certified farm. Vitamin D also helps support the third line of defense – the superheroes of your adaptive immunity.*
Echinacea
Finally, echinacea has long been a leader in providing targeted support for your body’s innate immunity. Nutrilite™ Immunity Echinacea includes three distinct forms of echinacea, providing a wide spectrum of benefits that has been clinically tested to support immune function.*
Learn more
While regular exercise, sleep and self–care are all important ways to maintain a healthy immune system, these targeted vitamins and supplements can provide some extra support for your innate immunity.
But remember, innate immunity is only one part of your body’s defenses. Learn about the physiological barriers that make up your natural shields here and the superheroes of your adaptive immunity here.
* This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. [Use for U.S. only]
