Nutrition Unlocked · Nestlé Health Science

14. Immunity: Can good nutrition improve your immune system in preparation for the chilly winter ahead?

·25 min·1 clip

Stress is described as the greatest ager and the greatest risk to the immune system.

1. Nutrition Unlocked episode 14 focuses on how nutrition may shape the immune system before winter illnesses arrive. 2. Anna Moll hosts Dr. Michael Roizen, who is described as an anesthesiologist, chief wellness officer, chief nutritionist, officer emeritus at the Cleveland Clinic, and an award-winning author. 3. The episode asks what people can do through sleep, food, exercise, and stress management to support immunity. 4. Roizen says the immune system protects against cancers, viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites, while skin, mucous membranes, and the gut act as early barriers. 5. He explains that a little exercise strengthens immune reactions, but a marathon can leave someone more vulnerable to infection for two to three weeks. 6. He describes innate immunity as the fast response that shoots at a threat, and acquired immunity as the antibody-based response that recognizes an invader. 7. He uses polio vaccine protection and plasma cells in bone marrow to explain why some vaccines last for decades. 8. Roizen says COVID-19 immunity has not yet shown the same predictable plasma-cell propagation seen with some childhood vaccines. 9. He says flu-shot and RSV success rates improve with more sleep for the three days before vaccination and a multivitamin for about two weeks beforehand. 10. He names vitamin D, chicken soup, cruciferous vegetables, extra virgin olive oil, walnuts, and omega-3s as foods or nutrients tied to immune function. 11. He points to a randomized study where 30 minutes of physical activity a day and five fruits or vegetables a day reduced breast cancer recurrence by 50%. 12. He says cruciferous vegetables may be especially useful, and he mentions lycopene in cooked tomatoes as another possible factor. 13. Roizen describes a Spanish study in which extra virgin olive oil or walnuts, at doses such as half a tablespoon a day, were linked to more than a 30% reduction in breast cancer recurrence. 14. He adds that omega-3s help produce resolvins, which clean up infections so pus and other discharge do not linger as long. 15. On the microbiome, he says it includes bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and other organisms on and inside the body, and he calls this area the “second inning” of learning. 16. He says lactobacillus species and bifidobacteria together may decrease depression, osteoporosis, and some skin infections, but he says the field still does not know enough. 17. Roizen calls stress the “greatest ager” and says it is a major risk for immune weakness, cancer, and infection propagation. 18. He frames his stress advice as “posse, purpose, and play,” and ties purpose to passion, friendship, and vulnerability with other people. 19. Listeners who want practical winter immunity advice and nutrition-based prevention will get the most from this episode. 20. Listeners looking for a fast entertainment format or detailed lab-heavy microbiome discussion may skip it.

As heard by us

A steady look at immunity and nutrition, with practical food advice and a careful caveat where the evidence is still unsettled.

Nutrition Unlocked treats immune health as one part of a larger story about how nutrition supports the body. Dr. Michael Roizen keeps the discussion practical, moving from fruits and vegetables to cruciferous plants, olive oil, walnuts, omega-3s, and vitamin D without turning it…

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A practical, evidence-leaning listen on how nutrition may support your immune system.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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