True or false: the only time you think about your immune health is when you’re already sick. For most of us, the answer is always TRUE. That’s probably because when your immune system is firing on all cylinders, you don’t even need to think about it. That said, it doesn’t hurt to give it some love—especially in these strange times. One way to do that is to incorporate a solid dose of vitamin C into your daily ritual.
Wellness Starts with Balance
The fact is "boosting" your immunity isn't as clear cut as a magic pill. The immune system isn't just one unit, it's a complex network of organs, cells, and chemicals. There isn't a lot of sound science that directly links high immune function to diet and lifestyle. That's because your immunity is also impacted by how much you exercise, your age, stress level, and more. The best thing you can do is try to maintain homeostasis—or balance—in your body, to improve overall health and immune function.
Here are some tried and true healthy lifestyle choices:
- Eat a diet loaded with fruits and vegetables.
- Exercise on the regular.
- Avoid alcohol or drink in moderation.
- Get a good night of rest as often as possible.
- Wash your hands.
- Keep your stress at bay.
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Daily Immunity - Terpenes+™ Liposomal Vitamin C · 6oz$29.95 |
Sometimes, You Need to Supplement
As ideal as the scenario above is, real-life means you aren't always loading up on healthy foods or working out all the time. That's where supplementation comes in. One essential vitamin that your body can't make on its own is vitamin C. When it comes to immune function, vitamin C is critical.
The current recommended dose of vitamin C is approximately 75 mg for women and 90 mg each day for men (source 1). That said, in this age of coronavirus, some doctors are turning to higher doses of vitamin C to see if it can help people in their recovery from the illness. One intensive-care facility in New York has been administering 1500 mg of vitamin C per day via IV, three or four times a day to patients with COVID-19.
“The patients who received vitamin C did significantly better than those who did not get vitamin C,” says Dr. Andrew G. Weber, a pulmonologist and critical care provider. Weber's protocol is based on experimental treatments of coronavirus patients in Shanghai, whose government is now recommending vitamin C in the treatment of the virus. So far, the FDA isn't on-board with this recommendation; however, and there are no FDA-approved products to prevent or treat COVID-19. However, there is no harm in taking higher doses of vitamin C and a whole host of reasons to incorporate it into your daily regimen.
Vitamin C and Immunity
Vitamin C won't keep a cold from coming on, but it can help your body respond to illness more effectively. That's because it helps your body produce white blood cells that can protect you against infections (source 2). In addition to helping create white blood cells, vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. This means it can also protect white blood cells, but reducing free radicals from your system. Some studies show that taking vitamin C helps your wounds heal faster, and help you recover from an illness like pneumonia more efficiently.
Vitamin C can also enhance your cognitive function. Studies suggest that oxidative stress to the brain can raise your risk of dementia. As we mentioned, vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that can slow the damage to your cells caused by oxidative stress.
If you’re wondering what oxidative stress is—picture an apple that you’ve taken a bite out of and left out on the counter. Notice that it turns brown or rusty? That’s oxidation. And it’s basically what’s happening at the cellular level in your body. This degradation can lead to illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Antioxidants can combat free radicals by neutralizing them, rendering them unable to harm you.
Not All Vitamin C Supplements Are Equal
First, the science: "You aren't what you eat, you're what you absorb," says Dr. Emek Blair, a 20-year lipid industry veteran and founder of Puffin Hemp. "Most of the vitamins and supplements you take, even the food you eat, isn't absorbing efficiently in your body. Different ingredients don't absorb for various reasons. Take Vitamin C, for example. It upsets your digestive system, and your body rejects it if you take too much. So you don't see any of the benefits of the vitamin you're consuming.”
If you’ve been taking chewable vitamin C every day, you’ve probably only been absorbing about 14-30% of it. If you're able to eat several servings of foods like berries, citrus, and broccoli every day, you're probably getting enough vitamin C. Because that's not a reality for a lot of us, vitamin C supplements are a common substitute. The problem is, those supplements you're taking probably aren't delivering on the mg's promised on the label, simply because unlike food, your body doesn't read these types of vitamins as nutrition. That's where liposomes come in.
"The trick is to send a signal to your body that what you're giving it is nutrition. Nutrition in the form of healthy fats, called liposomes. Liposomal technology means that you break nutrients down to the molecular level and wrap them in a tiny bubble of healthy fat. Your body recognizes this fat, understands it's nutrition and absorbs it immediately into the bloodstream," says Blair.
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Daily Immunity - Terpenes+™ Liposomal Vitamin C · 6oz$29.95 |
Wait...What The Heck Are Liposomes?
Liposomes are kind of like cells. They have an outer shell made of healthy fats, and they carry the nutrient in their core. They're like tiny delivery bubbles. Liposomes absorb through your lymphatic system, which allows them to bypass your digestive system—and absorb more quickly in higher concentrations.
What this means is that they’re more bioavailable (they absorb better), and this helps to get more of their antioxidant goodness into your bloodstream where it belongs. The tests in New York and Shanghai administered vitamin C by IV. Although liposomal vitamin C isn't as potent as it would be from an IV, it has proven to be nearly as effective.
Why Quality Matters When It Comes To Liposomes
There is a lot of gray area about liposomal vitamin C on the market. That's because while the word "liposome" is clearly defined, "liposomal" isn't. Technically, if a supplement contains fat, brands can call them liposomal even if they don't have liposomes at all. This means that you might not be reaping the benefits of vitamin C you're taking.
Trilogia Daily Immunity is made up of the highest quality on the market. We use natural, non-hydrogenated sunflower oil in our manufacturing process, derived from non-GMO certified sunflower oil from Europe. It undergoes a multi-step purification and filtration process—making for some of the purest liposomes available. It's naturally non-gluten, alcohol-free, vegan, and made of non-GMO ingredients. Our manufacturing facility is cGMP certified, and each element is tested in-house and by a world-recognized third-party certified lab. Even the water we use exceeds pharmaceutical grade standards.
The Bottom Line
Nourishing your immune system with supplements like liposomal vitamin C and cultivating balance in your body is the key to staving off illness and infection. There's no miracle pill to prevent you from getting sick. Still, you can give your body a fighting chance to recover more quickly by fostering a healthy immune system when you're already feeling your best.
