Vitamins to Help the Immune System Against Cancer
When your oncologist says “We think we got it all,” what he or she is really saying is “We have destroyed all DETECTABLE cancer cells, and now it is up to your immune system to find and destroy the cancer cells that are inevitably remaining in your body.” A billion cancer cells are about the size of this word. We must rely on the capabilities of the 20 trillion cells that compose an intact immune system to destroy the undetectable cancer cells that remain after medical therapy. There is an abundance of data linking nutrient intake to the quality and quantity of immune factors that fight cancer. Consider vitamins to help the immune system.
Covid Update
As of this writing, the Covid plague of 2020/21 has infected 75 million people worldwide with 1.6 million deaths, or 0.02% of global population. The Center for Disease Control admitted that 94% of the USA “victims” of Covid actually had an average of 3 comorbidities, i.e. heart disease, cancer, diabetes, COPD, etc. So only 6% of that death rate is actually due to Covid.
The media hails the arrival of the Covid vaccine as if the cavalry is coming to rescue the settlers. In fact, the pre-vaccine recovery rate from Covid is 99.7%. The lockdowns imposed were unconstitutional, unwarranted, and unprecedented. Harvard researchers find that 50% of children who were forced to stay home in front of a computer monitor for the past 8 months are now suffering depression and suicide. The Great Barrington Declaration has 39,000 physicians and 13,000 scientists worldwide agreeing that the lockdown has created astronomical financial and emotional hardships for billions of people. Harvard, Stanford, and Oxford experts agree “Keeping students out of school is a grave injustice.”
Vitamins to Help the Immune System
Meanwhile, extremely effective nutrition therapies exist to treat Covid, including vitamin D, zinc, iodine, vitamin A, magnesium, and potassium. Essentially, Covid has picked off the elderly who are infirmed and malnourished. Hydroxychloroquine is a safe and effective medicine for Covid. The cost of Covid has been bearable. The cost of the Covid lockdown has been unbearable for millions in the USA.
As we age the immune system weakens in many people (aka immune senescence), which is why the vast majority of cancer patients and COVID victims are older. The state of Pennsylvania found the average age of COVID victims to be 80, with 2/3 occurring in nursing homes. Underlying conditions of obesity, diabetes, heart disease, medications all increase risk factors for COVID mortality. Both COVID and cancer strike the weakened immune systems. In a surprise to the aggressive vaccination community, the flu vaccine increased the risk for COVID infection by 36%. The purpose of this newsletter is to get your immune system up to the challenge of reversing your cancer.
Essential Vitamins to Boost the Immune System
There is an abundance of scientific documentation linking nutrient intake with immune quality and quantity. This is a very crucial issue for the cancer patient.
Many nutrients taken orally can provide pharmacological changes in immune function in humans. Protein, arginine, glutamine, omega-6 and omega-3 fats, iron, zinc, vitamins E, C, and A have all been proven to modulate immune functions.
Vitamin A
Vitamin A deficiency causes reduced immune response while beta-carotene supplements stimulate immune responses. Vitamin A (retinol) improves immune response to fungal infections. In developing countries, vitamin A deficiency causes the blindness of 250,000 to 500,000 children annually. Oral doses of vitamin A at 200,000 iu (40 times the Recommended Daily Allowance) lowered measles mortality by 80% in children in developing countries with no side effects. Vitamin A and synthetic derivatives have been used worldwide to treat and prevent various cancers.
Vitamin B-6
Vitamin B-6 has been used to prevent and treat cancer and as a blood marker that determines outcome in cancer treatment. B-6 supplements (50 mg/day) provided a measurable improvement in immune functions (T3 and T4 lymphocytes) for 11 healthy, well-fed older adults.
Various B vitamins have been linked to the proper functioning of antibody response and cellular immunity.
Folate
Folate deficiency decreases mitogenesis, or the normal division of cells. Folate deficiency increases the risk for various cancers.
Vitamin C
Deficiency of vitamin C impairs phagocyte functions (immune cells that gobble invaders) and cellular immunity. Intravenous vitamin C is a viable cancer treatment option.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E deficiency decreases antibody response to T-dependent antigens, all of which gets worse with the addition of a selenium deficiency. Vitamin E succinate is a viable cancer treatment agent.
Iron
While iron deficiency can blunt immune functions, iron excess can increase the risk for cancer. Iron presents an interesting case: 1) because it is one of the most common nutritional deficiency problem worldwide, 2) because low levels of iron will depress the immune system, and 3) because high levels of iron will stimulate both bacterial and tumor growth. Iron intake needs to be well regulated…not too much, and not too little.
Zinc can Stimulate Natural Killer cells
Zinc exerts a major influence on the immune system. Lymphocyte function is seriously depressed, and lymphoid tissues undergo general atrophy in zinc-deficient individuals. The lymphocytes in zinc-deficient animals quickly lose their killing abilities (cytotoxicity) and engulfing talents (phagocytosis) for tumor cells and bacteria. Natural killer cell and neutrophil activity is also reduced. Zinc has become a proven therapeutic agent in treating advanced COVID patients.
Health Benefits of Zinc in Your Diet
Copper Can Boost a Depressed Immune System
Copper plays a key role in the production of superoxide dismutase and cytochrome systems in the mitochondria. Hence, a deficiency of copper is manifested in a depressed immune system, specifically reduced microbicidal activity of granulocytes.
Selenium with Vitamin E
Selenium works in conjunction with vitamin E to shield host cells from lipid peroxidation. Humoral immune response is depressed in selenium deficient animals. Selenium and vitamin E deficiencies lead to increased incidence of enteric (intestinal) lesions. Lymphocyte proliferation (making more warriors) is reduced in selenium deficiency. The theory is that selenium and vitamin E help to provide the host immune cells with some type of “bullet-proof plating” against the toxins used on foreign cells. Hence, one immune body can live on to destroy many invaders if enough vitamin E and selenium allow for these critical chemical shields.
Magnesium Has Multiple Health Benefits
In magnesium deficiency, all immunoglobulins (except IgE) are reduced, along with the number of antibody forming cells. Magnesium is crucial for lymphocyte growth (involvement in protein metabolism) and transformation in response to mitogens. Prolonged magnesium deficiency in animals leads to the development of lymphomas and leukemia.
Magnesium Deficiencies and How to Resolve Them
Iodine
Iodine plays an important role in the microbicidal activity of polymorphonuclear leukocytes. Activated neutrophils may use the conversion of iodide to iodine to generate free radicals for killing foreign invaders. Iodine is one of the more common deficiencies worldwide. Iodine has the unusual role in nature of being essential to humans and lethal to most microbes, but not your friendly gut microbes.
Boron
Boron prevents osteoporosis, yet is still not considered an essential mineral in human nutrition. Boron deficiency in soil is a worldwide problem with boron soil amendments dramatically enhancing plant growth. Boron has shown activity in preventing and reversing cancer. In a human study, the more boron in the diet, the lower the risk for prostate cancer.
Toxic Trace Minerals
Toxic trace minerals, like mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and lead all blunt the immune system.
The quality and quantity of fat in the diet play a major role in dictating the health of the immune system. Since fat directly affects prostaglandin pathways, and prostaglandins (depending on the pathway) can either depress or enhance immune function, fat intake is crucial in encouraging a healthy immune system.
There are many foods and supplements that can have a favorable impact on the immune system. Beating Cancer with Nutrition is dedicated to reinforcing your immune system to recognize and destroy your cancer using nutrition as a key modality.
Your Health, Vitality and Longevity
Your health, vitality, longevity, and ability to prevent and reverse cancer or infections is directly tied to the ability of your immune system to recognize “self” from “non-self”, which is heavily dependent on your nutritional status.
What to Eat to Help the Immune System?
Follow a plant based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, medicinal spices and seaweed with a sprinkling of animal based foods, such as grass fed meat, wild caught fish, free range chicken and eggs, yogurt, and cheese. Avoid junk food. If it will not rot or sprout, then throw the food out. If you can’t read the label on the package then don’t buy it.
Take supplements in reasonable dosages. Due to poor food selections, stress, soils depleted of essential minerals, drugs and alcohol, many people are deficient in many nutrients. Consider ImmunoPower Gold as a “one stop shopping” supplement in pure powder form for those who cannot or will not take pills.
Feed your immune system with the appropriate quantity and quality of precursor nutrients and your cabin in the woods will become a fortress against cancer and disease. Nutrients and vitamins can be very beneficial and help the immune system.
Part 3 of a 3 part series. Excerpt from Beating Cancer with Nutrition
Part 1 of 3 – Overcome Metabolic Disorders
Part 2 of 3 – Immune System Functions
Part 3 of 3 – Vitamins to Help the Immune System
