Overview
It seems like everywhere we look these days, there’s chronic disease. Our bodies are extremely intelligent, so why are they acting so dumb and having so many dysfunctions? Using the lens of Functional Medicine, we can see that a disease is so much more than its location. With inflammation smoldering throughout the body in many people, we need to zero in on the immune system, how it’s functioning, and what factors are negatively impacting it. We’re in an exciting time for research in this area, as we continue to learn how to fix the problems behind an aging immune system. There’s no better person to talk to about this topic than the one and only Dr. Jeff Bland. Dr. Bland and I take a deep dive into how the immune system works and why we don’t want to “boost” it, but actually modulate it. He explains the importance of bone marrow and stem cell production and how when our environment damages this process (through things like toxins, poor diet, lack of sleep, etc.) the immune system becomes dysregulated and the door opens for chronic disease. While the immune system regenerates every two months in a healthy person, senescent cells can carry injuries onto the next generation. This is aging of the immune system, and Dr. Bland and I talk about the science of reversing it. Emerging science in this field means we have the ability to measure our biological immune age from home with a simple blood spot test; Dr. Bland shares which tests he recommends the most. Like me, Dr. Bland is all about food first. We discuss the incredible world of phytochemicals that science is just starting to crack open, and how these plant compounds are the key for avoiding and reversing chronic disease. Dr. Bland’s research in this field led him to what he considers one of the most immune-active, nutrient-dense foods in the world: Himalayan tartary buckwheat. This super-powered seed has the ability to rejuvenate the immune response, helping immune cells clean up their old and tired mitochondria to revitalize energy production and immune balance. We also talk about rhythmic eating, how to discover your own immune identity, and other exciting nutritional discoveries, like pro-resolving mediators found in fish oil that appear to regulate inflammatory processes, modulate infection, and influence cellular repair after tissue injury. This episode is full of so much groundbreaking information that will change the way you think about the immune system. I hope you’ll tune in.Listen Here
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