(WATCH) Bulletproof Immunity

Scientists are gaining new insight into the human immune system after the COVID experience. But far beyond COVID, our immune system factors into everything from chronic disease to cancer. Kristina Carman is a functional medicine practitioner who speaks on how to build a bulletproof immune system.

The following is a transcript of a report from “Full Measure with Sharyl Attkisson.” Watch the video by clicking the link at the end of the page.

Sharyl: When people hear about the immune system, I think, typically they may say, “Gosh, I need my immune system to be healthy so I don’t catch a bad cold or this flu doesn’t turn into something serious.” Can you scratch beyond the surface and say why it’s important beyond that to have a healthy immune system?

Carman: Absolutely. So, the prevalence of allergies and food and sensitivities and intolerances is enormous now. And a lot of this comes down to the fact that our immune resiliency isn’t there or it isn’t what it used to be. What’s in our home environment, you know, what are we eating, what are we consuming constantly that’s actually putting the stress on the body? And when the body’s in a stress state, we know that that will lower our immune response. It will affect your gut microbiome, which is the epicenter of our immune cells.

Sharyl: What else does it do when you have a healthy immune system? I know now immune problems are associated with cancer.

Carman: Absolutely.

Sharyl: Immune problems are associated with, you know, just chronic tiredness and all kinds of problems.

Carman: All kinds of — Type 2 diabetes. We look at cardiovascular presentation, autoimmune driven diseases are all immune-related. And this is where it becomes so, so important that we’re looking after the immune system. So it’s not just the colds and the flu and these things, but it goes so much deeper than that.

Sharyl: People watching this will want to know if you have any short hits, tips for these things.

Carman: If we start with hydration, I would look at making sure that you’re consistently drinking water throughout the day. Then when it comes to obviously diet, you know, eliminating those sugars as much as possible. Again, we talk about this so much, but we’re not doing it. So eliminating the sugar, eliminating the processed foods as much as possible. When it comes to sleep, obviously, this gets very complex. But it’s not something that we prioritize. But we know now there’s so much evidence on all of our body’s processes, all of the regeneration, all of the digestion, the resetting happens when we sleep. Obviously, movement. Movement is a very tricky one for many people. I mean, it’s a personal experience. It shouldn’t be, it’s not a one-shoe-fits-all.

Sharyl: There are explosions of immune disorders and new immune disorders, whether we’re talking about juvenile diabetes, which used to be unheard of. POTS, Crohn’s, juvenile Crohn’s, which again, used to be unheard of, almost unheard of. Will the healthy immune system allow people to fight off a disease that you may not even understand your body could fight off.

Carman: Potentially. I mean, I think it gets a little bit more complex than that obviously, but one of the things that we really see, certainly in, within my field and within naturopathic medicine, is our toxic burden is really impacting the immune resiliency. And this is why often we see so much more of these illnesses and diseases maybe happening younger, and feels much more common practice or commonplace.

Sharyl: And if there’s a takeaway people have, if they listen to you talk and they remember one thing about it, or they get one important message, what would be something you would want them to remember?

Carman: Simple, consistent, and varied, when it comes to your diet, the way that you move, the way that you approach all of those things that look after your body and support your body. Keep it simple, but keep it consistent.

Sharyl (on-camera): Scientists aren’t sure why people’s immune systems often weaken with age. But there’s ongoing research looking for clues as to how to rejuvenate immunity at any age.

Watch video here.