Which Supplements Support Our Immune System?

Hey, it's J.J. here. You know, I've been talking about environmental toxins forever, and laundry detergent is a sneaky one. A lot of them contain harsh chemicals like dyes, preservatives, and even UV brighteners. Those brighteners don't actually clean anything. They just coat fabric so your eyes think things look whiter or brighter. That's more chemicals I don't want on my family's sheets or skin. And if you've got sensitive skin or allergies around the house, this can be a big problem. That's what got my attention about Earth Breeze. It looks like a dryer sheet, but it's actually laundry detergent. You toss one in the washer and that's it. No pouring, no mess, and no heavy plastic jug. Their packaging is lightweight cardboard, which helps reduce plastic waste. And if you choose the fragrance free option, it's gentle, hypoallergenic, non irritating, and non sensitizing. I really like how simple it is and how fresh and clean everything comes out without those unnecessary chemicals. Right now you can try Earth Breeze for up to 40% off with free gifts@earthbreeze.com virgin that's earthbreeze.com virgin for up to 40% off plus free gifts on your first order. Hey, JJ here. Can you believe how fast the holidays are knocking at the door this year? One minute it's pumpkin spice season, the next you're getting your guest room ready and wondering where their wrapping paper went. And that's when I turned to Wayfair. From bedding and towels to holiday decor and last minute stocking stuffers, Wayfair has everything you need to get your home and holidays together fast. And for way less. With Wayfair, I know I can refresh my guest room in no time. Maybe I'll add a soft new comforter or a few holiday throw pillows. With Wayfair, it's so easy and everything arrives super fast. Plus, there's free shipping for any order over $35 easy and total peace of mind. So whether you're hosting, gifting, or just adding those final festive touches, Wayfair has your back. And when the holidays wind down, Wayfair has everything you need to tuck it all neatly away. Smart storage solutions for every room from the kitchen to the closet. Get organized, refreshed and ready for the holidays. For way less, head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. Wayfair. Every style, every home that's W a Y f a I r.com saving on.

Your education should be a right, not a competition. At University of Phoenix, you'll get the best scholarship or savings you qualify for. Simple as that. Explore scholarship options at University of Phoenix which Supplements Support Our Immune System? This is JJ Virgin, four time New York Times bestselling author, celebrity nutrition expert, and Fitness hall of Famer. I've been on a lifelong quest for answers to the toughest health questions, and now I'm sharing what I found with you.

Welcome to Amazon.

Ask the Health Expert John from Facebook asks which supplements support our immune system? Well, turns out there's quite a lot that do, and I'll be right back with that answer.

Hey, it's J.J. here. Now let's be honest. The holidays are basically a financial ambush. Travel, hosting gifts, surprise holiday school things. Suddenly you're wondering how December turned into a spending spree. If you want to keep your finances under control this holiday season, you need to be using Monarch. It's rated the Wall Street Journal's best budgeting app of 2025. Monarch is the all in one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean interface on your laptop or your phone. What really grabbed my attention is how fast those little holiday expenses pile up with Monarch. Seeing everything in one place makes it a lot harder to accidentally overspend, and honestly, I appreciate anything that keeps me from starting January with a money hangover. You'll love exploring the holiday spending category. Imagine how good it will feel to actually see what's happening before your credit card statement does that whole dramatic reveal thing. Monarch basically shows you exactly where the money is going in real time, and that level of clarity could change everything, right? Don't let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use the code virgin@monarch.com in your browser for half off your first year. That's 50% off your first year@monarch.com with code Virgin Ray Ban Meta glasses come with open ear audio so you can listen to your favorite music without blocking out the world around you.

Hey Meta, Play Gorgeous.

Here's Gorgeous by Doja Cat.

You can also ask Meta AI questions.

Hey Meta, when's Doja Cat's next concert?

Doja Cat is playing at the Los Angeles Theater next Tuesday.

Sweet Ray Ban Meta Glasses available at Ray Ban stores and other authorized retailers.

There are a lot of supplements that can support our immune system. I'm going to really focus on the ones that are tough to get from food alone and that can move the biggest rocks. Those are Vitamin C, Vitamin D with K, Zinc, Vitamin A, Quercetin probiotics, Elderberry and silver. But I'm also just going to give you a shout out, not go into these in detail. Ones to also consider are andrographis, medicinal mushrooms, beta glucan, astragalus, GG or geranol, geranol, curcumin and glutathione. All right, let's dive in with vitamin C. And of course you would have totally expected me to say that one Vitamin C supports immune cell function and enhances their ability to protect against infection. It's been shown to reduce the duration and severity of upper respiratory infections. Plus it's a powerful antioxidant. Now, it's important here we don't make it in our bodies, so you will need to take it. You're not going to get enough from food. When you're really working on your immune system, you're going to want to have two grams a day. If you're sick, you'll want to go up higher to 5 grams or more a day. This is where getting IV vitamin C can be helpful. And remember, it's water soluble so you want to take it daily and you'll want to take it in divided doses. If you try to take a high dose of vitamin C at once, you will probably end up in the bathroom. So divide it up throughout the day. Next, vitamin D. And I always say vitamin D with K because vitamin D, the sunshine vitamin, helps you absorb calcium and K directs it to the right spots. But that's not all it does. That's what we think of it for. But really, vitamin D is essential for your immune system and can reduce the risk of respiratory, I can say it, infections. And many people are deficient in it, mainly because they're either avoiding the sun, they're wearing sunscreen, or they live in a seasonal area. And that's not good news because low vitamin D is associated with increased risk of respiratory infections. Also, vitamin D may enhance the effect of antiviral treatments. So I'm going to read a study. It was a 2019 study review of randomized control studies in over 11,000 people. And they found that supplementing with vitamin D significantly decreased the risk of respiration respiratory infections in people deficient in this vitamin and lowered infection risk in those with adequate vitamin D levels. So you probably ask next, what are adequate vitamin D levels? Well, I'm glad you asked. So ideally you're testing and that test is called 25 hydroxy vitamin D. And you want to hit between 50 to 80 ngs per milliliter. That's the goal, depending on where you are There your dosing is going to be somewhere between 2 to 10,000 IUs. Again, take with vitamin K1 and K2 and this, you'll be taking vitamin D3. Now, if I didn't have a test, in the absence of testing, I would take 5,000 IU's. And if you get sick, 50,000 IUs a day for the time that you are sick. So a week or two. All right, let's go to vitamin A which helps maintain the cell structure of skin, the respiratory tract and gut. And again, that's super important because remember that gut barrier creates the protective barrier against infection. Vitamin A is needed to make antibodies to neutralize the pathogens that cause infection. So you want to get about 5,000 IUs of vitamin A. Now here's a caveat because you'll see beta carotene and carotenoids used here. But if you've got any kind of thyroid issues, low thyroid function impairs your body's ability to convert that beta carotene to A. So really want to see you taking 5000ius of retin a a day. And if you're sick, if you have a respiratory infection, the recommendation is for short term take 150,000 IUs of vitamin A. But again, just like the vitamin D, that's a short term recommendation. While that viral infection is active zinc, zinc is needed for immune cell development. If you are deficient, your immune system can't function properly and you are at increased risk of infection and disease, including pneumonia. And deficiency is very common. Probably 30% of older adults are deficient. I used to do this zinc challenge test on my clients and it was the majority of them seemed to be deficient. Numerous studies reveal that zinc supplements may protect against respiratory tract infections. And what's more, supplementing with zinc may be beneficial for those who are already sick. In a 2019 study in 64 hospitalized children with acute lower respiratory tract infections. I can say it. I know I can. Taking 30 milligrams of zinc per day decreased the total duration of infection and the duration of the hospital stay by an average of two days compared with the placebo group. I mean, that's a big effect. So what should you be taking? 25-50mg a day. And if you're sick, during the time that you're sick, that short window, 100 milligrams a day, very important. Here, take this with food. Zinc on itself will make you nauseous. Do not do that. Next up, quercetin. So quercetin is an amazing antioxidant it stimulates the immune system, inhibits histamine as an antiviral, and decreases pro inflammatory cytokines. Those are the little signaling molecules released by the immune system. And it helps transport zinc into the cells. Now, you can get this from red onions, from apples, but probably not enough. You're going to want thousand milligrams a day. If you're sick, you want to take 1,000 milligrams three times a day. Probiotics. All right, so a healthy gut is critical for a healthy immune system. It's critical for that immune system to be able to function optimally. 80% of your immune system is in the gut, and probiotics can help support healthy gut function and to balance gut gut microbiome. So probiotics may help give your immune system a boost and inhibit the growth of harmful gut bacteria. And some probiotics promote the production of antibodies. Plus, probiotics may reduce the likelihood and duration of respiratory infections. Finally saying respiratory, Right? I just want to get some bonus points for that. Took a while. All right. Never said respiratory so much in my life than the past couple weeks. Wow. All right, let's talk about silver. So silver is really interesting. It's a mineral and it's safe, and it's used in places where people have built up a resistance to antibiotics. It's a natural antibiotic, antifungal, and antiviral and anti inflamflammatory mineral. And in fact, a study published in the International Forum for Allergy and rhinology in 2015 found that silver can help with sinus infections. I'm actually using silver just if I get anything, I'll use a little bit in my nose and down my throat. So interesting one. And you can get a liquid and use it that way. Elderberry. Elderberry is a potent antibacterial and antiviral potential against bacterial pathogens responsible for upper respiratory tract infections and strains of influenza virus. It enhances the immune system response and may help shorten the duration and severity of colds and symptoms of viral infections. All right, so as you can tell, that's a lot of stuff. And here's what I will tell you that I've been doing personally. So I generally travel a lot. I've been grounded lately. Right now, as I'm recording this, we are in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak. I was traveling starting at the beginning of the year. We already knew this was happening. So I was taking. I have been on vitamin C, vitamin D with K, zinc, vitamin A, quercetin, probiotics and then I've been taking kind of a multi that's got Andrographis, Elderberry, beta Glucan, Astragalus, and then I'm also taking GG and Curcumin. But I also was all over the place so I wanted to make sure my immune system was as supported as possible. And so if I was prioritizing here, my priorities would be vitamin C, vitamin D with kids, zinc, vitamin A, quercetin and probiotics. And then if we can add in the rest, awesome. All right, just want to keep you from total overwhelm, but I also want to keep you having a very supported immune system because it is so key and critical. Especially now. This is JJ with Ask the Health Expert. I do this five times a week so make sure you never miss a show by going to subscribetojay.com.

Toyota Thon is on so stop by your local Toyota dealer and test drive a rugged Tacoma or full size Tundra with great, great financing and lease options available to qualified customers. Visit buyatoyota.com for more Toyota let's go places.

Hello listeners, this is Anne Bogle, author, blogger and creator of the podcast what Should I Read next? Since 2016, I've been helping readers bring more joy and delight into their reading lives. Every week I take all things books and reading with a guest and guide them in discovering their next read. They share three books they love, one book they don't, and what they've been reading lately, and I recommend three titles they may enjoy reading next. Guests have said our conversations are like therapy, troubleshooting issues that have plagued their reading lives for years and possibly the rest of their lives as well. And of course, recommending books that meet the moment, whether they are looking for deep introspection to spur or encourage a life change or a frothy page turner to help them escape the stresses of work, school, everything. You'll learn something about yourself as a reader and you'll definitely walk away confident to choose your next read with a whole list of new books and authors to try. So so join us each Tuesday for what Should I Read Next? Subscribe now wherever you're listening to this podcast and visit our website what Should I read next podcast.com to find out more.