For optimal immune support, forget the boost — the power is in maintenance

The science of immune support

Immune support can be best achieved through a holistic approach. Foundational nutrition is a great way to contribute to your overall immune health practice, and it promotes balance — the immune system thrives with nutrient replenishment, optimal gut health, and a diverse microbiome, all of which are at the core of foundational nutrition. It’s at the intersection of whole foods, adequate rest, exercise, stress management, and a variety of vitamins, minerals, probiotics, and antioxidants that the immune system can respond to the diverse factors that have an impact on your immune health. Want to feel good and have vitality? Well, the key lies in micronutrients, including vitamins A, C, D, E and others that are essential for immune health.

Immune System 101

Essentially, the immune system is a network made up of cells, tissues, and molecules that work together to defend the body against environmental stressors like toxins, pollution, chemicals, and other pathogens that can be harmful. Our immune system is made of three main lines of defense: physical barriers like skin and mucus and “first and second responders,” also known as our innate and adaptive immune systems. Identification and memory are a few key ways the immune system functions to support the body — identifying and eliminating potential threats and retaining a memory of past exposures to better respond in the future.

A holistic strategy to immune health

Because the immune system has many working parts, the need for balance becomes crucial in understanding immune health and the beneficial steps needed to cultivate it. Our bodies send signals when something is out of balance, which is why it’s necessary to reimagine how we look at immune support and what may be helpful for overall immune health.

There's nuance, individuality, and responsiveness to account for when thinking about immune health. Targeting specifics as they relate to immune support may seem effective, but it’s important to recognize that at the baseline, many of us are still deficient in key nutrients that are important for a well-functioning immune system. Many key factors can contribute to comprehensive immune health:

• Exercise: Strengthens the immune system and teaches it to react better under stress for longevity, restful sleep, improved mood, and more. Too much exercise without proper recovery can also produce too much of an immune response. It is about balance.
• Sweat: Helps to clear toxins and waste from the body.
• Sunlight: A natural Vitamin D source that strengthens the immune system, regulates our circadian rhythm for a healthy stress response, and brightens your day (literally and neurologically).
• Food & Nutrition: Nutrient-rich foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats, provide antioxidants, phytonutrients, and fiber to support a strong immune system.
• Several micronutrients are needed to maintain a well-functioning immune system, including A, C, D, E, and Zinc. In a 2020 study, 45% of US adults didn’t consume enough of these nutrients on a daily basis through food consumption alone.1

There are alternative ways to think about immune health other than targeting specific symptoms or boosting. If there’s curiosity around what you do for support and if the steps you’re taking are enough to make a difference — it’s important to not look for a quick fix and consider steps that add balance to the body. The good news is that when it comes to the immune system, adopting a holistic perspective can prove to be best so that your immune health is set to ready mode.

Nutrients & immune health

Many vitamins, antioxidants, and minerals play an active role in providing immune support. As vital components of a responsive immune system, they function synergistically as building blocks for protection. AG1 ingredients like vitamin C defend our cells against oxidative stress and work collectively with vitamin E, another robust antioxidant, which supplies immune support and defends our cells from environmental damage. Together, we see there’s power in vitamins and minerals, as they aid in immune responsiveness, which is an essential factor in whole body health.

Meeting your body at its baseline by integrating regular exercise, restful sleep, and balanced eating can yield the full potential fundamental vitamins and minerals provide. Zinc, the standout mineral in AG1, supports how the immune system functions, and bioflavonoids, a phytonutrient derived from whole foods, namely orange and lemon, provides environmental stress defense.*

Our bodies are functioning ecosystems, much like things found in nature — all dependent on the well-being of each other. The healthy habits we practice daily may seem small or insignificant, but they have positive compounding effects when we consider how interconnected each part is. Tapping into all aspects of whole body health means making the daily choice to support the system that supports you.

Immune support starts with a good night’s sleep

Did you know that a lack of sleep can make you sick? Well-rested resiliency is a thing, and it’s important that you know that elevating your sleep quality means elevating your immune health. There is a significant link between immune health and sleep — they have a bidirectional bond, meaning consistent sleep strengthens the immune system, ensuring balance and effective immune function. When we are sleep deprived, it interferes with the normal functioning of our immune system.

This is because we produce immune cells while we sleep, and studies reveal that adequate sleep improves the ability of our immune cells to remove threats from the body. In addition to sufficient sleep, it’s necessary for us to get quality sleep, a slow wave sleep which is believed to be the most restorative stage of sleep.

During this stage, a growth hormone is released to promote physical recovery, restoration, and immune strengthening. Optimization doesn’t have to come in the form of a boost, a consistent sleep schedule, monitoring how you feel, and curating a comfortable sleep environment is another building block towards a holistic approach to immune health.

Being well in a world of stress

Stress spells trouble for immune health, but adaptogens are here to help with that. Adaptogens are herbs and botanicals that aid in the body’s ability to adapt and manage with stress. When adaptogens come in contact with our body’s stress-response system, known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), it can have a stabilizing effect on the body, helping it maintain a healthy response to stressors. Resiliency is the goal, and lowering our reactivity to stress promotes it — a process called stress adaptation.

An adapted stress response leads to the ability to sustain our energy, attention, and performance when things get stressful, hence the importance of adaptogens. AG1 has a powerhouse of adaptogens like rhodiola, ashwagandha, and eleuthero that, combined, help to promote resilience to mental and physical stressors to improve mental clarity, focus, and mood.* Together, they harmonize to support the various facets of stress and the immune response in the body.*

Gut health & immune support

We can’t talk about immune health without talking about gut-health — they’re more connected than you may think. Seventy percent of the immune system resides in the gut and what we eat provides essential nutrients that support the wholeness of our gut lining. These nutrients influence the make up of our gut microbiota which is responsible for balancing immune responses for proper immune function. A strong gut is able to help our bodies absorb the right nutrients and better withstand permeability — and introducing probiotics can help support the immune system by increasing the diversity of gut microbiomes to encourage a healthy intestinal barrier, protecting our gut from environmental stressors that can have an affect on our metabolism and hormones.

Immune health is essentially a daily practice with many components contributing to your overall well-being. Replacing the “boost” with “balance” and focusing on whole body health is the AG1 way. Daily habits lead to big improvements that amount to you feeling your best, consistently. So if you’re already taking the steps, celebrate yourself and your efforts, and if you find that you can add one more practice towards supporting your immune health, remember to start at the foundation with AG1.*

^{* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.}