Strengthening A Severely Weak Immune System

[milkboi]

I get a cold pretty much every time I exert myself a little bit. The cold symptoms are present almost always, but when I put just a little mental or physical effort into something I get a full-fledged cold (or something similar). This seems to be connected to my chronic fatigue.

Are there specific and effective measures to strengthen the immune system?

Things that I‘ve tried and that were not effective (enough):
- Gelatine/Glycine
- Methylene Blue
- Aspirin. Cyproheptadine
- Fixing my gut/Digestion
- T3/T3+T4
- Vitamin D (although I want to try again, in combination with the other fat-solubles)

 

[charlie]

Thymus.

 

[milkboi]

Thymus.

Great, thanks, will try that. Seems to be pretty high in PUFA tho (7g/100g), any idea why that is?

 

[charlie]

Great, thanks, will try that. Seems to be pretty high in PUFA tho (7g/100g), any idea why that is?

It does not take much.

 

[milkboi]

It does not take much.

Ok, so how much does it take? Do you have personal experience with it?

 

[Inaut]

I think anything that moves the lymph will help the immune system. Another thing that comes to mind is zinc

 

[rob]

@milkboi There's a lot of possibilities here. Obviously, if your diet is lacking on particular fronts that can compromise your immune function. Stress, too much alcohol etc will do it too.

Have you used Cronometer to get an idea of where you currently stand?

 

[milkboi]

@milkboi There's a lot of possibilities here. Obviously, if your diet is lacking on particular fronts that can compromise your immune function. Stress, too much alcohol etc will do it too.

Have you used Cronometer to get an idea of where you currently stand?

Yeah, that‘s the thing, basic diet optimization doesn‘t do the trick for me. I hit almost every micronutrient target daily, and supplement nutrients that I might be a little short on (Bs, zinc, magnesium, Vitamin K2 etc.)

 

[Dave Clark]

I think anything that moves the lymph will help the immune system. Another thing that comes to mind is zinc

How about the ayurvedic herb manjistha? Been reading how this herb is good to help with lymph drainage.
Ayurveda’s Key to Healthy Blood and Lymph—Manjistha

 

[rob]

@milkboi Ah, okay. I can relate as I have Crohn's (fatigue was a major symptom) and, though electrolyte optimisation improved my general health given the site of my disease, simply hitting the numbers wasn't a magic bullet.

What worked for me was keeping a food diary and developing a diet based around my body's reactions, regardless of what others were saying – I'm very much of the opinion that optimal nutritional can be highly individual. Also, I worked on my parasympthetic nervous system, keeping anxiety and excitement in check. And, finally, after a lot of research a couple years back on mitochondria – which seems talked about loads now – subsequent intake of nicotinamide riboside at high dose proved massive for me.

 

[charlie]

nd, finally, after a lot of research a couple years back on mitochondria – which seems talked about loads now – subsequent intake of nicotinamide riboside at high dose proved massive for me.

Boom!
SIBO, GERD, LPR, IBS, & Colitis Could Be Vitamin B3 Deficiency - "Niacin Treats Digestive Problems"

 

[Tarmander]

Yeah, that‘s the thing, basic diet optimization doesn‘t do the trick for me. I hit almost every micronutrient target daily, and supplement nutrients that I might be a little short on (Bs, zinc, magnesium, Vitamin K2 etc.)

I used to get a lot of colds and sore throats. What is your diet like? Does it have a lot of liquids or tomatoes?

 

[milkboi]

I used to get a lot of colds and sore throats. What is your diet like? Does it have a lot of liquids or tomatoes?

Liquids - yes, OJ and milk are where it‘s at. I don‘t think symptoms were any better when I ate predominantly solid foods.
Tomatoes - Yup, I really like them. I probably eat something with tomatoes (passata most often) 2-4 times per week. Do you suspect I‘m allergic? I might try cutting out every nightshade for a month and look at my symptoms.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that I have very inflamed and naturally narrow nasal pathways basically all day and especially throughout the night (after waking it‘s always stuffed). A doctor gave me some corticosteroid spray for that, but I stopped using it because of nosebleeds and I wasn‘t comfortable spraying a powerfully catabolic substance at my brain. I don‘t really if that‘s a cause or a result of my weak immune function.

 

[Tarmander]

Liquids - yes, OJ and milk are where it‘s at. I don‘t think symptoms were any better when I ate predominantly solid foods.
Tomatoes - Yup, I really like them. I probably eat something with tomatoes (passata most often) 2-4 times per week. Do you suspect I‘m allergic? I might try cutting out every nightshade for a month and look at my symptoms.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that I have very inflamed and naturally narrow nasal pathways basically all day and especially throughout the night (after waking it‘s always stuffed). A doctor gave me some corticosteroid spray for that, but I stopped using it because of nosebleeds and I wasn‘t comfortable spraying a powerfully catabolic substance at my brain. I don‘t really if that‘s a cause or a result of my weak immune function.

Yeah tomato paste and salsa were always triggers for me to get sick. Also too much liquid and not enough solid food. In chinese medicine those are too "yin," meaning liquidy and cold. Meaning you need more yang, warming stuff like broths, meat, salt, oregano, and less liquids. I bet you anything you cut back on liquids, cut back on tomatoes, and up the warming stuff, and you'll stop getting colds all the time.

 

[rob]

@charlie Yes, high-dose nicotinamide riboside (1.25g - split evenly morning and afternoon) literally abolished my major Crohn's symptom of GI bleeding in 24 hours (my Crohn's is limited to the colon like colitis). I've never seen anything like it and I've wasted a small fortune on supplements of all kind. I get my health markers measured all the time and everything is now normal, it's amazing. NR is new but given the results I'm happy to take the chance and I'm even more confident than ever of my original theories.

Compared to niacin and niacinamide, NR is particularly potent in NAD+ upregulation and it has interesting sirtuin effects (a big subject in of itself, especially on the gene expression side), which may be very beneficial. Also it uniquely side steps regular B3 metolism via NRK, which may be a factor depending on whether there are any enzyme defects causing tissue-specific bioenergetic issues.

 

[LLight]

Dry fasting and boron should augment the immune system.

 

[charlie]

@charlie Yes, high-dose nicotinamide riboside (1.25g - split evenly morning and afternoon) literally abolished my major Crohn's symptom of GI bleeding in 24 hours (my Crohn's is limited to the colon like colitis). I've never seen anything like it and I've wasted a small fortune on supplements of all kind. I get my health markers measured all the time and everything is now normal, it's amazing. NR is new but given the results I'm happy to take the chance and I'm even more confident than ever of my original theories.

Compared to niacin and niacinamide, NR is particularly potent in NAD+ upregulation and it has interesting sirtuin effects (a big subject in of itself, especially on the gene expression side), which may be very beneficial. Also it uniquely side steps regular B3 metolism via NRK, which may be a factor depending on whether there are any enzyme defects causing tissue-specific bioenergetic issues.

Incredible. Sincerely appreciate you sharing.

 

[milkboi]

Dry fasting and boron should augment the immune system.

Mmh, those aren‘t usually looked at favorably in the „Peatosphere“, what would the MOA, that‘s beneficial for immune function, be?

 

[milkboi]

Yeah tomato paste and salsa were always triggers for me to get sick. Also too much liquid and not enough solid food. In chinese medicine those are too "yin," meaning liquidy and cold. Meaning you need more yang, warming stuff like broths, meat, salt, oregano, and less liquids. I bet you anything you cut back on liquids, cut back on tomatoes, and up the warming stuff, and you'll stop getting colds all the time.

Alright, I‘ll look into that, thanks.

 

[Cirion]

Charlie beat me to the thymus comment, dang it lol.

Ray peat says that the thymus is the first organ in the body to be catabolized in hypothyroid, even before muscle mass is catabolized.

And, the thymus is one of the most important (but overlooked) organ in the body, as it is the main regulator of the immune system. If the thymus is damaged (and it will be as its the first to be damaged) in disease, then NOTHING else will work right, including the liver. So if the liver doesn't work right, the thymus could actually be to blame for it so sometimes looking at the liver directly might actually not solve its problems if the thymus is damaged. Ray also says that the damaged thymus could be the reason for many or even all of the so called auto-immune diseases.

According to ray even just a few days or even a few hrs of intense stress can severely damage or even destroy the thymus. So it doesn't take much.

The good news is that the thymus also regenerates quickly, given favorable nutrition and stress levels.