can a blood test provide clues to strengthen your immune system?

When your immune system is strong, it is a powerful warrior that can fight off viruses, bacteria, fungi and other foreign invaders. Many contagions have the potential to infect you with varying degrees of severity. We learned this lesson when the coronavirus pandemic struck in early 2020, causing thousands of people around the world to fall ill with COVID-19. Contagions are less likely to cause a severe illness when your immune system is strong.

You can take proactive steps to strengthen your immune system. The first step is testing your immunity through a simple blood test that detects your levels of natural immunity biomarkers. Once you identify your weak areas via an immune system test, you can take the next steps needed to boost your immunity and help your body fight off potential illnesses.

Fighting Off Viruses and Other Foreign Invaders

Exposure to contagions won't necessarily make you sick unless the contagions can overcome your body’s natural defenses. Once foreign invaders enter the body—most likely via the eyes, nose or mouth—they must overcome the body’s internal “helpers” that work to fight off infection. These internal helpers are immune cells, which require an adequate supply of vital substances—amino acids, minerals and vitamins—to stay strong and protect your body against infectious pathogens.

Three Steps to a Stronger Immune System

According to an article by nutritionist Jennifer Ann Steinort in Germany, more than 80% of your immune cells are located in your stomach and intestinal system. Steinort advises that if you want to strengthen your immune system, you should definitely pay more attention to your gut health. Eating foods like Greek yogurt, which contains live cultures and probiotics, can help. In addition to improving your gut health, you can strengthen your immune system by taking these steps:

• Get a simple blood test to find out which components of your immune system are weak. Your blood sample can be tested for 15 immunity biomarkers, indicating if you have low levels of essential amino acids, minerals and vitamins needed for optimal immunity.
  
  
• Fortify the natural “helpers” (immune cells) of your defense system with appropriate nutritional supplements geared toward boosting immunity.
  
  
• Take additional steps to strengthen your immune system with the 3 pillars of immunity: physical fitness, nutrition, and rest/relaxation.

Using an At-Home Health Kit to Screen Your Immune System

Some health & wellness companies offer home health kits that enable you to collect your own blood sample at home for analysis in a lab. One such company, the Germany-based for you eHealth, offers an at-home immune system kit that includes the Mitra^® device for remote blood collection from Neoteryx.

Customers order the at-home "immunsystem-test" online, which ships to customers in Europe in two days. The customer uses the Mitra devices included in the kit to collect a small blood sample using a simple finger-stick method. Blood samples are placed inside the provided packaging and sent to the designated laboratory for testing.

The lab analyzes the blood samples and sends results via a secure online interface to the company, which then privately imports the results and notifies their customer via email that test results are ready. The customer logs into a personal health account to get their test results and the recommendations for strengthening their immunity based on their results. For those interested, this company also offers a self-test kit that screens gut health.

Fortifying Your Body’s Immune Cells

If you tend to feel tired or get sick a lot, you may have a weak immune system that is deficient in certain vitamins, minerals and amino acids. According to the wellness team at for you eHealth, taking an individualized regimen of supplements can improve your immune system by bolstering these properties, including amino acids such as:

• Isoleucine & valine — these supply energy, maintain muscles, and protect immunity.
• leucine — protects the liver, guards against fatigue and depression, improves immune response.
• lysine — has antiviral properties that boost immunity and inhibit viral infections.
• methionine — has antioxidant, stress-relieving properties that positively impact the immune system and lowers histamine levels to help alleviate allergies.
• phenylalanine — relieves pain, improves mood and supports the body in the production of vital substances that improve immunity and well-being.
• threonine — supports the production of antibodies and immunoglobulins, keeps the blood vessels young and elastic, protects the stomach and intestines, and is essential for connective tissue and bones.
• tryptophan — plays a role in the production of serotonin and melatonin, which affects sleep quality and hormonal balance, which are needed to guard against illness and infection.

Reinforce the 3 Pillars of Immunity

1. It should come as no surprise that the traditional tenets of good health—plenty of exercise, good nutrition, and plenty of rest—are also the pillars of a strong immune system. First, if you can exercise daily, whether that means walking or engaging in sports, the physical activity will keep your immune system functioning at a higher level
2. Try to eat a fresh and varied menu that includes five servings of whole fruits and vegetables daily. Drink eight glasses of mineral water or herbal tea every day, and try to eat more high-fiber foods. Consider reducing your alcohol intake, since it weakens the immune system.
3. Make sure you get at least 6-8 hours of quality sleep every night, and also find ways to reduce your stress every day. Sleep is the time when your body heals itself. During the night, your body releases immunologically active substances to replenish your system. Too much stress and too little sleep equate to lowered immunity, so do what you can to rest and relax as much as possible.

In this new age of “Super Bugs,” a strong immune system is our best defense against disease. For people with strong immunity, most pathogens are destroyed before causing illness. Or, if an illness develops, it is usually mild and doesn’t require medical intervention. For people who wish to avoid unnecessary exposure to contagions, remote blood collection and home health kits can help protect them from disease as they manage their health. 

Related Articles (in German):
https://www.foryouehealth.de/gesund-leben-blog/schwaches-immunsystem-ursachen-folgen-und-tipps/ 

https://www.foryouehealth.de/gesund-leben-blog/deine-immunabwehr-und-sein-helfer/

All content provided by Neoteryx, including without limitation all information discussed herein, is furnished for informational purposes only and does not constitute or replace medical advice obtained from your medical practitioner. Readers and listeners of our content understand and acknowledge their responsibility to obtain medical care, treatment, and guidance from their physician or other medical practitioner. Never delay or disregard professional medical advice or treatment based on information provided in our blogs, podcasts or other materials at www.neoteryx.com.