The state in which food is consumed can be just as impactful on the body as the food itself. As a simple practice, I recommend patients take a few gentle breaths before starting to eat, and remove screens, in an effort to slow down the process so they can give their full attention to the food and perhaps the conversation around them.
+ Mind–body interventions Mind–body interventions, like Tai Chi and meditation, have been shown to reduce the expression of genes which code for proteins that lead to inflammation.119 In many studies, different types of stress-relieving and relaxation techniques have demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory effects.120 There should be no doubt that stress and psychological ill health are associated with inflammation and, conversely, stress-relieving techniques are anti-inflammatory.121 When appropriate I discuss these studies with patients and I find that describing the clinical research underpinning my belief in the utility of mind–body interventions is really motivating for them. Think of mind–body interventions as any practice that encourages inner calm, whether that be the simple act of reading in a quiet space or meditation and yoga practices.
+ Walking If the thought of joining a yoga class or even deep breathing is too overwhelming, you’ll be pleased to hear about the mountains of research that consider the effectiveness of simple walks in nature. The Japanese practice of ‘shinrin yoku’, which literally translates as ‘forest bathing’, has a large body of evidence examining the physiological as well as mental health benefits of this practice.122, 123 Along with a reduction in heart rate, blood pressure and improvements in mood, forest bathing practices have reduced laboratory measures of inflammation such as cortisol and inflammatory proteins measured in the blood. Taking yourself to a park or forest at least once a week for a relaxing stroll could be one of the most hassle-free and effective ways to reduce your inflammatory burden without having to adjust your diet or do much at all.
‘If we can harness the incredible effects of not only our food, but the anti-inflammatory potential of our lifestyle, we could drastically reduce the problems that excess inflammation poses to our health.’
+ Sleep Given the number of homeostatic mechanisms that occur during sleep, it’s unsurprising that even a single night’s lack of shut-eye increases inflammatory signals in the body.124 During sleep our blood pressure lowers, our temperature drops and levels of rejuvenating hormones like melatonin, which have powerful antioxidant effects, rise to their highest levels. As told in exceptionally certain terms in his book Why We Sleep, the sleep medicine expert Professor Walker has warned that a lack of sleep puts us at greater risk of diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. It’s often noted that people with high inflammation, as a result of conditions such as arthritis, diabetes or obesity, often have disturbed sleep. It appears that inflammation and the proteins that signal inflammation have an interconnected relationship to sleep and may even regulate our need for slumber.125 The advice for now is to at least allow yourself the opportunity to enjoy about 8–9 hours of rest per day. Put your electronic devices away a couple of hours before bed, eat early if possible and give yourself potentially the best dose of anti-inflammatory medication available to us.
If we can harness the incredible effects of not only our food, but the anti-inflammatory potential of our lifestyle, we could drastically reduce the problems that excess inflammation poses to our health. What this chapter represents is a medicinal package for many patients without the need for strong drug interventions. We will always need pharmaceuticals and as a doctor I do not hesitate to use them where appropriate. But the primary consideration should always be what we put on our plates and the way we live. These should be the first therapeutic interventions before we entertain more invasive measures that can carry a greater risk versus benefit.
The purpose of this chapter on immunity is to get you thinking about immune health in a different way. Rather than thinking of immunity as an isolated system that requires ‘boosting’ with individual ingredients, think about it from the perspective of making healthy lifestyle choices to build your metabolic and energy reserve. This strengthens all of the specialised cells and organs needed to support your body’s natural immunity and homeostatic mechanisms.
Your immune system is a collection of proteins, organs and parts of the body that work in unison to protect us from harm. This includes everything from the acid found in your stomach to prevent harmful bacteria invading your gut, to the thick protective protein layer of your skin that physically keeps harmful microbes out. Immunity also includes the complex network of specialised cells that work in superb coordinated sequences to maintain the harmony of your internal ecosystem.
We need a resilient immune system to protect us from infective organisms like viruses and bacteria, but we also rely on this complex network to protect us from the malfunctioning of our own cells. Immunity is traditionally thought to be just our defence system, protecting us from harmful microbes that live in the external atmosphere, but it also ensures the correct functioning of our internal environment. Our immune system is responsible for identifying and appropriately clearing away mutated or malfunctioning cells that can lead to, for example, inflammation and uncontrolled growths that can become tumours.
Trillions of times a second, chemical reactions are occurring in your body and as a product of normal metabolism and sheer probability, some cells are created that are malfunctioning or damaged.126, 127 In addition, normal radiation from the sun or environmental pollution from smoke inhalation can also damage your skin and lung cells respectively and this needs to be dealt with. We rely on our body to clear these damaged cells effectively, so they don’t lead to further negative effects. This is the job of our wonderful immune system. It is what we depend on to carry out these processes and it does so with beautiful precision and efficiency without us having to think about it.
The wonderful thing about our immune system is that it is everywhere. You might think of our detoxification system as our liver and kidneys, or our mental activity centre as our brain, but our immune system has to be prepared to step into action at any site in the body. Whether it’s to protect us from a skin-cut to the leg that could be an entry point for bacteria invading the bloodstream, or recognising a malfunctioning cell in an organ and clearing it away so it doesn’t develop into a growth, your immune system is ready.
I hope this gives you a broad idea of the magnitude of immunity and why simply eating or medicating ‘to boost’ it is a misnomer. I appreciate it’s a nice idea and an easy-to-understand concept; you eat something, it ‘boosts your immunity’ and you become a common-cold-kicking superhuman. But in reality, our bodies do not work like that. Our vast interconnected systems of cells do not simply respond to one element like Echinacea or zinc. It is called your immune system because it is an incredibly complex network of cells that require balance and harmony, and for this reason alone I hope you can already appreciate that there is no ‘silver bullet’ nutritional supplement or pharmaceutical product that magically improves your immune health.
