September 25, 2025 • 30 mins
Immune health is intricately connected to nutrition, genetics, and activity level, with each person requiring a unique approach based on their genetic makeup and lifestyle. Chris ties in how nutrition, genetics, supplements and immunity all relate for active people and athletes.
Educational only; not medical advice.
You’ll hear about:
- The one plate shift most athletes overlook—and why it changes everything
- A simple number that helps you right-size protein for longevity and immunity
- How certain genetics can influence your immune health, food choices and supplement strategy
- A surprising pre-race sip that showed promise in a study 🤔
- The trendy powder everyone’s asking about—and what we really think
- Why timing beats megadosing for certain supplements for immunity
- The unsexy lifestyle levers that quietly bulletproof your season (hint: wash your hands!)
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (01:00):
Welcome back to the Find your Edge podcast.
I am your host, coach ChrisNewport, and today we are
talking all about immune health,nutrition, your genes and being
active, or maybe even anathlete, through this whole
process.
So let me back up by sayingthat this information is for
educational purposes only andshould not be constituted as
medical advice.
(01:20):
And let me also say that yourimmune system is amazingly and
incredibly complex.
I am not here to go into all ofthe different details about
dendritic cells, macrophages,neutrophils, antibodies and all
of those different pieces ofyour immune health, but what do
we know, at least right now,because I always reserve the
(01:43):
right to change my mind as newinformation comes out and then
that creates better steps foryou to be able to integrate into
your plan and into your healthstrategy so that you can live as
fantastically active andamazing as you'd like.
And that's really, at the endof the day, my goal with the
(02:03):
Find your Edge podcast and withwhat I do here at the Endurance
Edge.
All right, so, first andforemost, we're going to work on
a food-first immune framework.
So, at the end of the day, Ihope that you're getting most of
your food from whole foods, notgenerally over-processed foods
and that we're getting somelevel of balance.
And, in particular, I want tomake sure that we're all getting
(02:25):
adequate amounts of protein,unless you have been told by a
healthcare provider that you arenot able to have a certain
amount of protein.
Otherwise the rest of us,generally speaking, should take
our body weight in pounds,divide it by 2.2, that gives us
your weight in kilograms and,according to the American
government, we should be getting0.8 grams per kilogram of body
(02:45):
weight in order to be generallydisease-free.
When it comes to people who aresuper active or who are
athletes, just like you, thatnumber moves up quite
considerably, especially as weare perimenopausal, menopausal
or just generally getting alittle bit older and need to be
more conscientious of keepingthe lean body mass that we have
(03:06):
and not losing it, which, ofcourse, can spell disaster later
on in life.
That's always kind of what I'mthinking of is yes, most of you
out there are probably in your20s, 30s, 40s, maybe 50s.
Possibly we've got some folksin their 60s and 70s.
By the way, if you're in your80s, shoot me a DM.
I would love to hear from you.
But I'm always thinking ofwhat's going to happen in 10
(03:27):
years and 20 years and 30 yearsas it relates to your health and
wellness.
So I'm trying to think of yourlongevity.
What are some of the things thatwe can do that can be
sustainable, that can bespecific to you and your needs?
So, as it relates to protein,going back to that, protein is
necessary to create antibodies.
Among the many of the differentthings that all of those
(03:49):
essential amino acids andoverall amino acids do, it's
super important that you'regetting your protein.
That's not to say that I don'twant you to get your fruits and
vegetables also, because, yes, Iwant you to do that too.
So that is where we come into alot of our various nutrients,
vitamins, our minerals.
So does that mean you'regetting multiple colors on your
(04:12):
plate on a daily basis, on aweekly basis?
Multiple plants?
At least four to five plantsper day.
That can be from beans, thatcan be from nuts, seeds, fruits,
vegetables, etc.
Most of you, I hope, are atleast achieving that.
So that's important for gettingsome of our nutrient balance.
(04:33):
Because when people end upcoming to me, what I start to
think of are are there anynutrient imbalances?
And some of this could berelated to your genes.
Some of this could be relatedto the quality of your diet.
Some of this could be relatedto the level of stress your body
is under, and so on and soforth.
So there's some key nutrientsthat we want to look at too, and
(04:54):
this is where it tiesspecifically into your genetics,
because here's the deal there'sso many messages out there
about nutrition, and nutritionis also incredibly hard to
research and to study, and youare beautifully and wonderfully
made and you need unique things.
It's a little bit differentthan and PSM.
(05:16):
By the way, you will never hearme on this show advertising one
specific supplement for everysingle person to take, because
that, in my mind, is incrediblyirresponsible.
So let's get dive into a littlebit more why that's the case.
So, when we look at some of yourgenetics that relate to your
immune health, there are someB12 genes that we look at.
(05:39):
Vitamin C of course, everybodylikes to think of vitamin C as
it relates to immunity.
Vitamin C Of course everybodylikes to think of vitamin C as
it relates to immunity.
Vitamin D is also related toyour immune system.
We also look at your ApoE4status.
These are some of the variousgenetic pathways, or certain
genetic SNPs, that we look foras it relates to your ability to
(06:02):
absorb and actually use some ofthese nutrients.
So let me give you an example.
With B12, there's a particulargenetic snip that we like to
look at.
It's called the FUT2 gene, orFUT2 gene.
There are certain folks thatare non-secreters and have an
altered gut flora and a higherB12 deficiency risk.
(06:27):
So when we see that there aresome things that we want to take
into action, be sure that youare testing your B12 status on a
regular basis so that you'relooking at your trends and
seeing how you feel, and alsolet's support your gut flora as
(06:47):
much as we can.
So things like B12 rich foods,perhaps a supplement that is a
methylated B12 supplement.
So if you look at your labelsof your, so grab whatever it is
that you're taking.
It could be an energy drink.
That's where you're going tosee a lot of B12.
It could be a multivitamin.
(07:07):
It could be some sort of agreens powder.
It could be a protein powder.
So look at the label.
Search around it might actuallybe not specifically on for
supplement facts.
It's typically listed separatelyas B12, but it might also be
somewhere in the ingredients.
Can you find the name of it?
(07:29):
And typically it's going to becobalamin and then it's going to
be attached to something.
So cyanocobalamin is whatyou're typically going to see
off of something that you justbuy off of the grocery store
shelves or just a multi that youbuy at Costco or Target or
whatever.
That type of B12 is very stableand it's generally pretty cheap
(07:51):
and it's easy to put that intoa supplement.
The reason why I don't like itis because cyanocobalamin is
cyanide and I generally thinkthat that's not what we need to
be getting.
So I prefer to see themethylated version or
methylcobalamin, and sometimesthe adenosylcobalamin variation
(08:13):
is more necessary, depending onwhere the person is at.
So anyway, if you've got that,just be aware that it's probably
not going to be absorbed verywell, especially if you're one
of these non-secretersspecifically who have that
higher B12 deficiency risk.
Other things that we can do inthat foot to secreter status is
(08:34):
emphasizing things likeprebiotic fibers.
Y'all, I love some prebioticfibers and these are things like
asparagus, artichokes andonions and garlic.
We have a whole modulededicated to that specifically
on our longevity program.
Just getting it and recipesgalore.
Oh, my goodness.
Just focusing on prebioticsBecause, if you'll remember from
(08:55):
the gut health episode,prebiotics help as a source of
food for the probiotics to dotheir work.
So other things that we look atare vitamin C pathways.
So there are a couple ofdifferent genetic SNPs that
relate to vitamin C handling, ifyou will, in your body, which,
of course, vitamin C is anantioxidant.
(09:17):
It also helps with collagen andwith wound healing, sort of
neutralizes cellular rust, ifyou will, and it supports your
blood vessels.
It aids in iron absorption andaids in healings and things like
that.
So different genetic variantsmay influence your ability to
transport or sort of activatevitamin C.
(09:37):
So having that information orhaving that empowerment about
your body, is this somethingthat you should focus on.
From a food perspective, gettingfruits and vegetables and
especially some diversity there,some of my favorite things that
are high in vitamin C arethings like bell peppers,
strawberries, guava, things likethat, and then supplementing if
(10:02):
your diet is low or if yourgenetic needs are a little bit
higher.
But then otherwise, why are wetaking it Right?
So that's where I like to comein is let's really dial in to
just the things that wespecifically need, rather than
taking everything under the sunthat Instagram told us to take
All right.
So a couple other things thatwe look at are specifically your
(10:25):
vitamin D pathways andhopefully this is something else
that, no matter what yourvitamin D genetic status is that
you are testing this on anannual basis with your physical.
So the vitamin D pathways arerelated to your immune
regulation, in addition to manyother different things that
vitamin D does.
But vitamin D helps T celldifferentiation and tempers
(10:48):
excessive inflammation.
So, like I said, be sure tocheck your vitamin D status on a
consistent basis.
This is the nutrient that youalso get from the sun, but of
course, then we have thecatch-22 of when we absorb it
from our sun, then it also putsus at higher risk for things
like skin cancer.
So ensuring that you aretalking to your doctor of what
(11:11):
is the best route for you as itrelates to vitamin D Anytime
somebody cuts out dairy, just ingeneral, I'm also looking at
great, no problem, you canabsolutely eliminate whole food
groups, but then just prove tome how are we going to get your
vitamin D.
And then also ensuring thatyour magnesium and your vitamin
K status is also ideal.
(11:32):
And lastly, from a geneticperspective, is knowing your
ApoE status.
So there are different variantsthere's two, three and four,
and then, of course, you havetwo of those.
So if you are a 4-4 or if youhave 1-4, then that's going to
affect your body's lipidhandling and inflammation.
So ApoE is kind of like yourinflammatory fires might be
(11:57):
easier to start, but then,knowing that information, you
can strategically prevent themfrom starting at all or knowing
how to better extinguish them.
So, making the shift towardshigher consumption of omega-3
fatty acids things like salmon,anchovies, maybe some algae oil
(12:19):
if you're vegan, somemonounsaturated fatty acids,
especially things like olive oil, avocados, avocado oils and
loading up on polyphenolsPolyphenols is these compounds
that are so fantasticallymagical for our bodies,
especially when it comesdirectly from food.
Your body knows what to do withthat.
(12:41):
When I say polyphenol,basically it means the rainbow.
So eat your raspberries andyour blackberries and your red
bell peppers and your green kaleand your green bok choy and
your orange carrots and thingslike that.
And then, similarly,prioritizing sleep.
So these are some of the toolsthat we like to use is looking
(13:03):
specifically at what your bodyneeds.
What's your genetic propensity?
Where do we need to get alittle bit more dialed in?
Whether it's for immune healthor really for any part of your
health, for brain health, memory, health activity, etc.
So that covers the geneticpiece of the puzzle.
But what about supplements?
Now, what I did specifically insome of the resources that I
(13:27):
have access to, both forsupplements and for probiotics
specifically, is there is acondition tool that it uses.
So what I did is looked up.
What is the immune enhancementor decreased risk of infection,
specifically in athletes?
(13:48):
So, as an athlete or somebodywho wants to stay active and
take care of their household orwhatever it is that you're doing
as a high performer, myassumption is that you don't
want to get sick and you stillwant to be pushing your body and
your mind in a way that is funand exciting and feels good and
(14:10):
helps you operate optimally inall different avenues of your
life.
So when I say immunesupplements, probably a lot of
different things come up for youguys, and I'm going to go over
these specifically one by one,but I find this first one pretty
hilarious.
All right, so are you ready forthis?
(14:32):
One of the things that is nowI'm air quoting here possibly
effective is beer.
Okay, don't get too excitedright now, because this is not
the alcohol-containing beer thatyou might think of.
Remember how I was just talkingabout your polyphenol ingestion
, especially as it relates toanybody with that ApoE4?
(14:55):
And really anybody can benefitfrom that.
So that's a really fantasticthing to focus on.
Well, in a specific researchstudy, non-alcoholic beer
consumption seemed to reduce theincidence of exercise-induced
respiratory infections in maleathletes and I can link to the
(15:16):
study but this was a clinicalstudy in male healthy runners
that drinking one to one and ahalf liters of non-alcoholic
beer daily, starting three weeksbefore a marathon and
continuing for two weeks afterthe marathon, reduced the
incidence of exercise-inducedupper respiratory infection by
(15:39):
threefold when compared withplacebo.
So this is a common thing Ihear from athletes or folks who
are doing big events or going toconferences and they're just
running, running, running.
Think of that when you dosomething like that, which can
be stressful for obviously thebody, and then our immune system
(16:00):
gets really haywire and thenwe're more susceptible to upper
respiratory tract infections.
So that's why they call thisspecifically exercise-induced
upper respiratory infections.
So, hey, I'm not telling you todrink beer, nor am I telling
you to drink non-alcoholic beer,but I found this fascinating
(16:21):
that, due to the increased levelof polyphenols that's what
they're guessing this wasrelated to, and of course, you
can't study within the sameperson whether they get sick
with something or they don't,but they can compare groups
after doing a marathon, whichtypically your immune system is
decreased for about 72 hourspost marathon Some people a
(16:42):
little bit more, some people alittle bit less, of course,
depending on how hard you pushyourself and how well you
trained, etc.
Etc.
But I found that sort offascinating.
I figured you guys would beentertained by that too.
The next one that I want to makesure to bring up because
somebody in our longevity groupbrought this up and was asking
about it because it's all overher Instagram feeds is bovine
(17:06):
colostrum.
So colostrum is the very earlyrich milk, both in humans, but
specifically this is for cows.
It is very rich inimmunoglobulins, which, of
course, is related to immunehealth, so of course, that's
what we want to give our infantswhen they're first born.
(17:27):
Is that really rich, lovelycolostrum?
So now it is being packaged andput into.
Actually, it's been for quite awhile.
Colostrum has been on the marketbut for whatever reason, now
it's become trendy, so this maybe something that is possibly
effective in reducingexercise-induced respiratory
(17:52):
infections.
Small clinical studies suggestthat oral bovine colostrum
reduces the risk ofexercise-induced respiratory
infection in healthy adults.
While results from individualclinical studies are mixed, a
meta-analysis of five smallclinical trials in healthy
adults showed that by takingbovine colostrum 10 to 20 grams
(18:13):
daily for 8 to 12 weeks duringexercise training reduces the
rate of upper respiratorysymptom days by 44% and the rate
of episodes of upperrespiratory symptoms by 38% when
compared to a placebo.
So is that something that iswarranted for you?
Maybe?
I feel like there's going to bea lot more research targeted
(18:36):
specifically at bovine colostrum.
I found it on the site that weuse.
We use Fullscript and I'm happyto connect with this if you
want to learn more about thisspecific product, but it's
oftentimes combined with otherthings or in smaller amounts.
This meta-analysis focused on10 to 20 grams a day, so I found
(18:58):
a specific product that wassafe to use.
If you listen to our supplementepisode, go check that out with
the safety and effectiveness ofvarious supplements.
If this is something that fitsinto your routine typical use.
Again, 10 to 20 grams per day.
That's what they focused on forthis short period of time, 8 to
12 weeks.
It is about $100 a month, soconsider that.
(19:23):
Could you maybe spend thiselsewhere?
Or if this is something reallyimportant to you.
Is this something that fitsinto your health strategy?
Okay, another one, and ofcourse we hear about this all
the time Vitamin C.
Is it possibly effective forexercise-induced respiratory
infections?
So high-dose oral vitamin Cseems to reduce the risk of
(19:45):
respiratory infectionsassociated with strenuous
exercise.
So if you're going out doing anIronman, doing a marathon,
whatever, so let me give you alittle bit more details about
vitamin C, because vitamin C isa little bit tricky.
The beauty of it is that it'spretty cheap, it's pretty easy
to get so and again, we've gotthose genetic markers that
relate to our ability toactually use vitamin C.
(20:07):
But some preliminary clinicalresearch suggests that
prophylactic use of vitamin C indoses of 600 milligrams to one
gram daily for three to eightweeks before heavy physical
exercise, like a marathon, mightprevent upper respiratory
infections that sometimes followheavy exercise.
More recently, high doses ofvitamin C have been studied.
(20:29):
So a large clinical study inarmy recruits undergoing basic
military training because it'sjust so darn easy to research
those guys shows that takingvitamin C six grams daily for
one month reduces the odds ofgetting a cold by 20% when
compared with a placebo.
I'm not.
I mean 20% is 20% right.
(20:51):
I'm not in love with the sixgrams daily.
So keep in mind, with any highdose antioxidant it can
eventually shift to being morepro-oxidant.
So my professional strategythat I would use here is cycling
sort of on and off vitamin Cand not always taking this
(21:15):
incredibly high dose all thetime.
But also keep in mind humansdon't make vitamin C, so we have
to get it from our fruits andvegetables and or supplements
when intake is low.
Reminds me of good old scurvythat I studied in school.
So I feel more comfortable withsomewhere around 600 milligrams
to one gram per day, which canhelp those at least in small
(21:40):
doses.
You might find that you've gotsome GI upset or it can
aggravate kidney stones in someindividuals.
So typically under two gramsper day, I feel like is a safe
place, unless for a short periodof time you're doing a higher
dose.
There's also been some mixedresearch as it relates to
inhibiting recovery in athletes.
(22:01):
So that's one that I try to bea little bit more conservative
with, instead of just packingyou full of tons and tons of
vitamin C and being a little bitmore specific with that All
right.
So here's another one that Ifound as it relates to
supplements and immune health.
Again, this is immuneenhancement for the decreased
risk of infection in athletes.
(22:24):
So there were a couple ofspecific strains of probiotics.
Here's the tricky part aboutprobiotics is that you've got
various strains and doses andit's all strain and dose
specific, and then how is itactually delivered?
And then are you getting itfrom a good quality company?
So some good evidence for aspecific strain called
(22:48):
lactobacillus fermentum.
So over a four month winterperiod, elite male athlete
runners taking the probioticreported less than half the
number of days of respiratorysymptoms, so that was 30 days
versus 72 compared with theplacebo, and the illness
severity was also decreased.
So that is a product that's alittle bit more available in
(23:11):
Australia and United States, butyou can find it mixed into
certain other products as well.
And then, similarly,lactobacillus bravis,
bifidobacterium bifidum, andthis goes into.
This reminds me of those foot 2secretors or non-secretors.
Those B12 folks definitelywould benefit from some
Bifidobacteriums to help outthat flora so that the invaders
(23:34):
are less sticky to the gut florawall.
So there was another productthat was a combination of
different strains, includinglactobacillus brevis,
bifidobacterium bifidum,lactococcus lactis,
bifidobacterium lactis, and moreAthletes receiving that
(23:54):
particular multi-strainprobiotic which was 10 CFUs per
day.
So if you look at the back ofthe package it's to say how many
CFUs are on the package For 12weeks during winter training
significantly reduced theincidence of upper respiratory
tract infections when comparedwith placebo.
So while that particularproduct was not I couldn't find
(24:19):
that specific product I found asimilar product with similar
strains that I am happy to linkin the show notes if you want to
check that product out andconsider that.
So the beauty of taking mostsupplements, or I should say
probiotics, is generally youdon't have to cycle on and off
of them like you would withsomething like vitamin C.
(24:39):
So there's other things toconsider when it comes to
various supplements.
Okay, last one up is goodold-fashioned zinc, so zinc
lozenges, which is zinc acetateor gluconate, starting within 48
hours of symptoms of getting acold, because the cold
(25:00):
prevention is a little bit morecomplicated, like I was
indicating.
But if you feel like you have acold coming on and you take
every two hours while you'reawake, you can modestly reduce
the duration of something likethe common cold.
From a prevention standpoint,evidence is mixed.
So I definitely wouldn't takehigh-dose zinc on a regular
(25:23):
basis unless for some reason, itis prescribed by a
functionally-minded healthcarepractitioner.
Zinc can be a little trickybecause it can reduce the
absorption of other nutrients,in particular things like copper
, which we want in little, tinydoses.
So definitely don't do theintranasal zinc.
(25:43):
That puts you at risk of losingyour sense of smell, and then
if you have any nausea or if youhave a sort of metallic taste
because at the end of the daythat's what zinc is then you may
be taking a little bit too much.
All right, so let's wrap allthis guy up.
So nutrition and genetics andimmune health are complex, but
(26:05):
there are certain things that wecan lean into a little bit more
that will support your immunehealth, and that is, of course,
getting that healthy diet,including good sources of and
plenty of good quality proteinand good quality plants like
your fruits and vegetables, soyou get a whole spread of
(26:27):
various nutrients in your diet.
I would be remiss to say thatsleep is not important.
Getting anywhere from seven tonine hours and this is also one
of the things that we look at asit relates to genetics is your
recovery needs, and how much dowe need to be leaning into your
(26:47):
sleep for that opportunity foryour body to heal, and this is
really where your immune memoryconsolidates.
And PSM, by the way, you cannotout supplement solidates and
PSM, by the way, you cannot outsupplement bad sleep Training.
Also, looking at that, youmight notice that your body gets
a little bit more rundown.
Maybe you're more susceptibleto colds and infections when
(27:10):
you're training really hard, sothat might mean some adjustments
in your programming.
This is another thing that welove to look at with our genetic
tests and in our longevityprogram is so many people are
either getting some sort of atraining plan, however you're
getting it, or going to the gymor whatever, which is great.
But how do you need to maybemake some tweaks to that so you
(27:32):
optimize not only your fitnessbut you optimize your health?
And sometimes there's anassumption oh well, if Sally is
doing all of those hard workouts, can't I?
Well, no, you may not be ableto do that, but you can still
get a lot out of your fitnessand you can still keep your body
running at a beautiful pace andsupport your immune system so
(27:54):
that it's not totally run down,and then you're out for several
days and then it always feelslike it's so hard to get sort of
back on the wagon, if you will.
So watching out for training.
Similarly, overtraining cansuppress immunity, so it starts
off as overreaching and thenturns into overtraining.
So, being really conscientiousof things like that and working
(28:14):
with qualified coaches andhealthcare providers to keep an
eye on what that looks likespecifically for you.
Other things that are lifestylelevers that matter most, other
than your sleep, your training,your nutrition, working on your
stress, because that's one ofthe pieces that can affect your
(28:36):
body and nutrition.
Also, your mindset, yourspiritual connection.
If you're somebody who's like,oh my gosh, I'm going to get
sick, I'm going to get sick, I'mso worried about getting sick,
oh, I'm so, yeah, you'reprobably going to get sick.
So really focusing on positivelanguage to yourself in
particular, and certainly toothers as well.
And then, of course, wash yourdang hands.
(28:56):
Y'all you know, make sure thatyou are doing that simple act of
just washing your hands,certainly before you eat, after
using the restroom, and ifyou're in large crowds and being
around a lot of people theamount of times that we touch
our faces and bring our dirtyhands to our noses, to our eyes
just wash your hands to our eyes.
(29:23):
Just wash your hands All right.
So hopefully that was helpfulto give you some deeper insight
into nutrition, genetics, immunehealth and how to prevent
getting sick as an awesomeathlete.
So don't forget to check outthe show notes in the links
below.
There's lots of different freeresources in there that you guys
can check out, and I would loveto catch you next time on the
Find your Edge podcast.
Thank you so much for listening.
Welcome back to the Find your Edge podcast.
I am your host, coach ChrisNewport, and today we are
talking all about immune health,nutrition, your genes and being
active, or maybe even anathlete, through this whole
process.
So let me back up by sayingthat this information is for
educational purposes only andshould not be constituted as
medical advice.
(01:20):
And let me also say that yourimmune system is amazingly and
incredibly complex.
I am not here to go into all ofthe different details about
dendritic cells, macrophages,neutrophils, antibodies and all
of those different pieces ofyour immune health, but what do
we know, at least right now,because I always reserve the
(01:43):
right to change my mind as newinformation comes out and then
that creates better steps foryou to be able to integrate into
your plan and into your healthstrategy so that you can live as
fantastically active andamazing as you'd like.
And that's really, at the endof the day, my goal with the
(02:03):
Find your Edge podcast and withwhat I do here at the Endurance
Edge.
All right, so, first andforemost, we're going to work on
a food-first immune framework.
So, at the end of the day, Ihope that you're getting most of
your food from whole foods, notgenerally over-processed foods
and that we're getting somelevel of balance.
And, in particular, I want tomake sure that we're all getting
(02:25):
adequate amounts of protein,unless you have been told by a
healthcare provider that you arenot able to have a certain
amount of protein.
Otherwise the rest of us,generally speaking, should take
our body weight in pounds,divide it by 2.2, that gives us
your weight in kilograms and,according to the American
government, we should be getting0.8 grams per kilogram of body
(02:45):
weight in order to be generallydisease-free.
When it comes to people who aresuper active or who are
athletes, just like you, thatnumber moves up quite
considerably, especially as weare perimenopausal, menopausal
or just generally getting alittle bit older and need to be
more conscientious of keepingthe lean body mass that we have
(03:06):
and not losing it, which, ofcourse, can spell disaster later
on in life.
That's always kind of what I'mthinking of is yes, most of you
out there are probably in your20s, 30s, 40s, maybe 50s.
Possibly we've got some folksin their 60s and 70s.
By the way, if you're in your80s, shoot me a DM.
I would love to hear from you.
But I'm always thinking ofwhat's going to happen in 10
(03:27):
years and 20 years and 30 yearsas it relates to your health and
wellness.
So I'm trying to think of yourlongevity.
What are some of the things thatwe can do that can be
sustainable, that can bespecific to you and your needs?
So, as it relates to protein,going back to that, protein is
necessary to create antibodies.
Among the many of the differentthings that all of those
(03:49):
essential amino acids andoverall amino acids do, it's
super important that you'regetting your protein.
That's not to say that I don'twant you to get your fruits and
vegetables also, because, yes, Iwant you to do that too.
So that is where we come into alot of our various nutrients,
vitamins, our minerals.
So does that mean you'regetting multiple colors on your
(04:12):
plate on a daily basis, on aweekly basis?
Multiple plants?
At least four to five plantsper day.
That can be from beans, thatcan be from nuts, seeds, fruits,
vegetables, etc.
Most of you, I hope, are atleast achieving that.
So that's important for gettingsome of our nutrient balance.
(04:33):
Because when people end upcoming to me, what I start to
think of are are there anynutrient imbalances?
And some of this could berelated to your genes.
Some of this could be relatedto the quality of your diet.
Some of this could be relatedto the level of stress your body
is under, and so on and soforth.
So there's some key nutrientsthat we want to look at too, and
(04:54):
this is where it tiesspecifically into your genetics,
because here's the deal there'sso many messages out there
about nutrition, and nutritionis also incredibly hard to
research and to study, and youare beautifully and wonderfully
made and you need unique things.
It's a little bit differentthan and PSM.
(05:16):
By the way, you will never hearme on this show advertising one
specific supplement for everysingle person to take, because
that, in my mind, is incrediblyirresponsible.
So let's get dive into a littlebit more why that's the case.
So, when we look at some of yourgenetics that relate to your
immune health, there are someB12 genes that we look at.
(05:39):
Vitamin C of course, everybodylikes to think of vitamin C as
it relates to immunity.
Vitamin C Of course everybodylikes to think of vitamin C as
it relates to immunity.
Vitamin D is also related toyour immune system.
We also look at your ApoE4status.
These are some of the variousgenetic pathways, or certain
genetic SNPs, that we look foras it relates to your ability to
(06:02):
absorb and actually use some ofthese nutrients.
So let me give you an example.
With B12, there's a particulargenetic snip that we like to
look at.
It's called the FUT2 gene, orFUT2 gene.
There are certain folks thatare non-secreters and have an
altered gut flora and a higherB12 deficiency risk.
(06:27):
So when we see that there aresome things that we want to take
into action, be sure that youare testing your B12 status on a
regular basis so that you'relooking at your trends and
seeing how you feel, and alsolet's support your gut flora as
(06:47):
much as we can.
So things like B12 rich foods,perhaps a supplement that is a
methylated B12 supplement.
So if you look at your labelsof your, so grab whatever it is
that you're taking.
It could be an energy drink.
That's where you're going tosee a lot of B12.
It could be a multivitamin.
(07:07):
It could be some sort of agreens powder.
It could be a protein powder.
So look at the label.
Search around it might actuallybe not specifically on for
supplement facts.
It's typically listed separatelyas B12, but it might also be
somewhere in the ingredients.
Can you find the name of it?
(07:29):
And typically it's going to becobalamin and then it's going to
be attached to something.
So cyanocobalamin is whatyou're typically going to see
off of something that you justbuy off of the grocery store
shelves or just a multi that youbuy at Costco or Target or
whatever.
That type of B12 is very stableand it's generally pretty cheap
(07:51):
and it's easy to put that intoa supplement.
The reason why I don't like itis because cyanocobalamin is
cyanide and I generally thinkthat that's not what we need to
be getting.
So I prefer to see themethylated version or
methylcobalamin, and sometimesthe adenosylcobalamin variation
(08:13):
is more necessary, depending onwhere the person is at.
So anyway, if you've got that,just be aware that it's probably
not going to be absorbed verywell, especially if you're one
of these non-secretersspecifically who have that
higher B12 deficiency risk.
Other things that we can do inthat foot to secreter status is
(08:34):
emphasizing things likeprebiotic fibers.
Y'all, I love some prebioticfibers and these are things like
asparagus, artichokes andonions and garlic.
We have a whole modulededicated to that specifically
on our longevity program.
Just getting it and recipesgalore.
Oh, my goodness.
Just focusing on prebioticsBecause, if you'll remember from
(08:55):
the gut health episode,prebiotics help as a source of
food for the probiotics to dotheir work.
So other things that we look atare vitamin C pathways.
So there are a couple ofdifferent genetic SNPs that
relate to vitamin C handling, ifyou will, in your body, which,
of course, vitamin C is anantioxidant.
(09:17):
It also helps with collagen andwith wound healing, sort of
neutralizes cellular rust, ifyou will, and it supports your
blood vessels.
It aids in iron absorption andaids in healings and things like
that.
So different genetic variantsmay influence your ability to
transport or sort of activatevitamin C.
(09:37):
So having that information orhaving that empowerment about
your body, is this somethingthat you should focus on.
From a food perspective, gettingfruits and vegetables and
especially some diversity there,some of my favorite things that
are high in vitamin C arethings like bell peppers,
strawberries, guava, things likethat, and then supplementing if
(10:02):
your diet is low or if yourgenetic needs are a little bit
higher.
But then otherwise, why are wetaking it Right?
So that's where I like to comein is let's really dial in to
just the things that wespecifically need, rather than
taking everything under the sunthat Instagram told us to take
All right.
So a couple other things thatwe look at are specifically your
(10:25):
vitamin D pathways andhopefully this is something else
that, no matter what yourvitamin D genetic status is that
you are testing this on anannual basis with your physical.
So the vitamin D pathways arerelated to your immune
regulation, in addition to manyother different things that
vitamin D does.
But vitamin D helps T celldifferentiation and tempers
(10:48):
excessive inflammation.
So, like I said, be sure tocheck your vitamin D status on a
consistent basis.
This is the nutrient that youalso get from the sun, but of
course, then we have thecatch-22 of when we absorb it
from our sun, then it also putsus at higher risk for things
like skin cancer.
So ensuring that you aretalking to your doctor of what
(11:11):
is the best route for you as itrelates to vitamin D Anytime
somebody cuts out dairy, just ingeneral, I'm also looking at
great, no problem, you canabsolutely eliminate whole food
groups, but then just prove tome how are we going to get your
vitamin D.
And then also ensuring thatyour magnesium and your vitamin
K status is also ideal.
(11:32):
And lastly, from a geneticperspective, is knowing your
ApoE status.
So there are different variantsthere's two, three and four,
and then, of course, you havetwo of those.
So if you are a 4-4 or if youhave 1-4, then that's going to
affect your body's lipidhandling and inflammation.
So ApoE is kind of like yourinflammatory fires might be
(11:57):
easier to start, but then,knowing that information, you
can strategically prevent themfrom starting at all or knowing
how to better extinguish them.
So, making the shift towardshigher consumption of omega-3
fatty acids things like salmon,anchovies, maybe some algae oil
(12:19):
if you're vegan, somemonounsaturated fatty acids,
especially things like olive oil, avocados, avocado oils and
loading up on polyphenolsPolyphenols is these compounds
that are so fantasticallymagical for our bodies,
especially when it comesdirectly from food.
Your body knows what to do withthat.
(12:41):
When I say polyphenol,basically it means the rainbow.
So eat your raspberries andyour blackberries and your red
bell peppers and your green kaleand your green bok choy and
your orange carrots and thingslike that.
And then, similarly,prioritizing sleep.
So these are some of the toolsthat we like to use is looking
(13:03):
specifically at what your bodyneeds.
What's your genetic propensity?
Where do we need to get alittle bit more dialed in?
Whether it's for immune healthor really for any part of your
health, for brain health, memory, health activity, etc.
So that covers the geneticpiece of the puzzle.
But what about supplements?
Now, what I did specifically insome of the resources that I
(13:27):
have access to, both forsupplements and for probiotics
specifically, is there is acondition tool that it uses.
So what I did is looked up.
What is the immune enhancementor decreased risk of infection,
specifically in athletes?
(13:48):
So, as an athlete or somebodywho wants to stay active and
take care of their household orwhatever it is that you're doing
as a high performer, myassumption is that you don't
want to get sick and you stillwant to be pushing your body and
your mind in a way that is funand exciting and feels good and
(14:10):
helps you operate optimally inall different avenues of your
life.
So when I say immunesupplements, probably a lot of
different things come up for youguys, and I'm going to go over
these specifically one by one,but I find this first one pretty
hilarious.
All right, so are you ready forthis?
(14:32):
One of the things that is nowI'm air quoting here possibly
effective is beer.
Okay, don't get too excitedright now, because this is not
the alcohol-containing beer thatyou might think of.
Remember how I was just talkingabout your polyphenol ingestion
, especially as it relates toanybody with that ApoE4?
(14:55):
And really anybody can benefitfrom that.
So that's a really fantasticthing to focus on.
Well, in a specific researchstudy, non-alcoholic beer
consumption seemed to reduce theincidence of exercise-induced
respiratory infections in maleathletes and I can link to the
(15:16):
study but this was a clinicalstudy in male healthy runners
that drinking one to one and ahalf liters of non-alcoholic
beer daily, starting three weeksbefore a marathon and
continuing for two weeks afterthe marathon, reduced the
incidence of exercise-inducedupper respiratory infection by
(15:39):
threefold when compared withplacebo.
So this is a common thing Ihear from athletes or folks who
are doing big events or going toconferences and they're just
running, running, running.
Think of that when you dosomething like that, which can
be stressful for obviously thebody, and then our immune system
(16:00):
gets really haywire and thenwe're more susceptible to upper
respiratory tract infections.
So that's why they call thisspecifically exercise-induced
upper respiratory infections.
So, hey, I'm not telling you todrink beer, nor am I telling
you to drink non-alcoholic beer,but I found this fascinating
(16:21):
that, due to the increased levelof polyphenols that's what
they're guessing this wasrelated to, and of course, you
can't study within the sameperson whether they get sick
with something or they don't,but they can compare groups
after doing a marathon, whichtypically your immune system is
decreased for about 72 hourspost marathon Some people a
(16:42):
little bit more, some people alittle bit less, of course,
depending on how hard you pushyourself and how well you
trained, etc.
Etc.
But I found that sort offascinating.
I figured you guys would beentertained by that too.
The next one that I want to makesure to bring up because
somebody in our longevity groupbrought this up and was asking
about it because it's all overher Instagram feeds is bovine
(17:06):
colostrum.
So colostrum is the very earlyrich milk, both in humans, but
specifically this is for cows.
It is very rich inimmunoglobulins, which, of
course, is related to immunehealth, so of course, that's
what we want to give our infantswhen they're first born.
(17:27):
Is that really rich, lovelycolostrum?
So now it is being packaged andput into.
Actually, it's been for quite awhile.
Colostrum has been on the marketbut for whatever reason, now
it's become trendy, so this maybe something that is possibly
effective in reducingexercise-induced respiratory
(17:52):
infections.
Small clinical studies suggestthat oral bovine colostrum
reduces the risk ofexercise-induced respiratory
infection in healthy adults.
While results from individualclinical studies are mixed, a
meta-analysis of five smallclinical trials in healthy
adults showed that by takingbovine colostrum 10 to 20 grams
(18:13):
daily for 8 to 12 weeks duringexercise training reduces the
rate of upper respiratorysymptom days by 44% and the rate
of episodes of upperrespiratory symptoms by 38% when
compared to a placebo.
So is that something that iswarranted for you?
Maybe?
I feel like there's going to bea lot more research targeted
(18:36):
specifically at bovine colostrum.
I found it on the site that weuse.
We use Fullscript and I'm happyto connect with this if you
want to learn more about thisspecific product, but it's
oftentimes combined with otherthings or in smaller amounts.
This meta-analysis focused on10 to 20 grams a day, so I found
(18:58):
a specific product that wassafe to use.
If you listen to our supplementepisode, go check that out with
the safety and effectiveness ofvarious supplements.
If this is something that fitsinto your routine typical use.
Again, 10 to 20 grams per day.
That's what they focused on forthis short period of time, 8 to
12 weeks.
It is about $100 a month, soconsider that.
(19:23):
Could you maybe spend thiselsewhere?
Or if this is something reallyimportant to you.
Is this something that fitsinto your health strategy?
Okay, another one, and ofcourse we hear about this all
the time Vitamin C.
Is it possibly effective forexercise-induced respiratory
infections?
So high-dose oral vitamin Cseems to reduce the risk of
(19:45):
respiratory infectionsassociated with strenuous
exercise.
So if you're going out doing anIronman, doing a marathon,
whatever, so let me give you alittle bit more details about
vitamin C, because vitamin C isa little bit tricky.
The beauty of it is that it'spretty cheap, it's pretty easy
to get so and again, we've gotthose genetic markers that
relate to our ability toactually use vitamin C.
(20:07):
But some preliminary clinicalresearch suggests that
prophylactic use of vitamin C indoses of 600 milligrams to one
gram daily for three to eightweeks before heavy physical
exercise, like a marathon, mightprevent upper respiratory
infections that sometimes followheavy exercise.
More recently, high doses ofvitamin C have been studied.
(20:29):
So a large clinical study inarmy recruits undergoing basic
military training because it'sjust so darn easy to research
those guys shows that takingvitamin C six grams daily for
one month reduces the odds ofgetting a cold by 20% when
compared with a placebo.
I'm not.
I mean 20% is 20% right.
(20:51):
I'm not in love with the sixgrams daily.
So keep in mind, with any highdose antioxidant it can
eventually shift to being morepro-oxidant.
So my professional strategythat I would use here is cycling
sort of on and off vitamin Cand not always taking this
(21:15):
incredibly high dose all thetime.
But also keep in mind humansdon't make vitamin C, so we have
to get it from our fruits andvegetables and or supplements
when intake is low.
Reminds me of good old scurvythat I studied in school.
So I feel more comfortable withsomewhere around 600 milligrams
to one gram per day, which canhelp those at least in small
(21:40):
doses.
You might find that you've gotsome GI upset or it can
aggravate kidney stones in someindividuals.
So typically under two gramsper day, I feel like is a safe
place, unless for a short periodof time you're doing a higher
dose.
There's also been some mixedresearch as it relates to
inhibiting recovery in athletes.
(22:01):
So that's one that I try to bea little bit more conservative
with, instead of just packingyou full of tons and tons of
vitamin C and being a little bitmore specific with that All
right.
So here's another one that Ifound as it relates to
supplements and immune health.
Again, this is immuneenhancement for the decreased
risk of infection in athletes.
(22:24):
So there were a couple ofspecific strains of probiotics.
Here's the tricky part aboutprobiotics is that you've got
various strains and doses andit's all strain and dose
specific, and then how is itactually delivered?
And then are you getting itfrom a good quality company?
So some good evidence for aspecific strain called
(22:48):
lactobacillus fermentum.
So over a four month winterperiod, elite male athlete
runners taking the probioticreported less than half the
number of days of respiratorysymptoms, so that was 30 days
versus 72 compared with theplacebo, and the illness
severity was also decreased.
So that is a product that's alittle bit more available in
(23:11):
Australia and United States, butyou can find it mixed into
certain other products as well.
And then, similarly,lactobacillus bravis,
bifidobacterium bifidum, andthis goes into.
This reminds me of those foot 2secretors or non-secretors.
Those B12 folks definitelywould benefit from some
Bifidobacteriums to help outthat flora so that the invaders
(23:34):
are less sticky to the gut florawall.
So there was another productthat was a combination of
different strains, includinglactobacillus brevis,
bifidobacterium bifidum,lactococcus lactis,
bifidobacterium lactis, and moreAthletes receiving that
(23:54):
particular multi-strainprobiotic which was 10 CFUs per
day.
So if you look at the back ofthe package it's to say how many
CFUs are on the package For 12weeks during winter training
significantly reduced theincidence of upper respiratory
tract infections when comparedwith placebo.
So while that particularproduct was not I couldn't find
(24:19):
that specific product I found asimilar product with similar
strains that I am happy to linkin the show notes if you want to
check that product out andconsider that.
So the beauty of taking mostsupplements, or I should say
probiotics, is generally youdon't have to cycle on and off
of them like you would withsomething like vitamin C.
(24:39):
So there's other things toconsider when it comes to
various supplements.
Okay, last one up is goodold-fashioned zinc, so zinc
lozenges, which is zinc acetateor gluconate, starting within 48
hours of symptoms of getting acold, because the cold
(25:00):
prevention is a little bit morecomplicated, like I was
indicating.
But if you feel like you have acold coming on and you take
every two hours while you'reawake, you can modestly reduce
the duration of something likethe common cold.
From a prevention standpoint,evidence is mixed.
So I definitely wouldn't takehigh-dose zinc on a regular
(25:23):
basis unless for some reason, itis prescribed by a
functionally-minded healthcarepractitioner.
Zinc can be a little trickybecause it can reduce the
absorption of other nutrients,in particular things like copper
, which we want in little, tinydoses.
So definitely don't do theintranasal zinc.
(25:43):
That puts you at risk of losingyour sense of smell, and then
if you have any nausea or if youhave a sort of metallic taste
because at the end of the daythat's what zinc is then you may
be taking a little bit too much.
All right, so let's wrap allthis guy up.
So nutrition and genetics andimmune health are complex, but
(26:05):
there are certain things that wecan lean into a little bit more
that will support your immunehealth, and that is, of course,
getting that healthy diet,including good sources of and
plenty of good quality proteinand good quality plants like
your fruits and vegetables, soyou get a whole spread of
(26:27):
various nutrients in your diet.
I would be remiss to say thatsleep is not important.
Getting anywhere from seven tonine hours and this is also one
of the things that we look at asit relates to genetics is your
recovery needs, and how much dowe need to be leaning into your
(26:47):
sleep for that opportunity foryour body to heal, and this is
really where your immune memoryconsolidates.
And PSM, by the way, you cannotout supplement solidates and
PSM, by the way, you cannot outsupplement bad sleep Training.
Also, looking at that, youmight notice that your body gets
a little bit more rundown.
Maybe you're more susceptibleto colds and infections when
(27:10):
you're training really hard, sothat might mean some adjustments
in your programming.
This is another thing that welove to look at with our genetic
tests and in our longevityprogram is so many people are
either getting some sort of atraining plan, however you're
getting it, or going to the gymor whatever, which is great.
But how do you need to maybemake some tweaks to that so you
(27:32):
optimize not only your fitnessbut you optimize your health?
And sometimes there's anassumption oh well, if Sally is
doing all of those hard workouts, can't I?
Well, no, you may not be ableto do that, but you can still
get a lot out of your fitnessand you can still keep your body
running at a beautiful pace andsupport your immune system so
(27:54):
that it's not totally run down,and then you're out for several
days and then it always feelslike it's so hard to get sort of
back on the wagon, if you will.
So watching out for training.
Similarly, overtraining cansuppress immunity, so it starts
off as overreaching and thenturns into overtraining.
So, being really conscientiousof things like that and working
(28:14):
with qualified coaches andhealthcare providers to keep an
eye on what that looks likespecifically for you.
Other things that are lifestylelevers that matter most, other
than your sleep, your training,your nutrition, working on your
stress, because that's one ofthe pieces that can affect your
(28:36):
body and nutrition.
Also, your mindset, yourspiritual connection.
If you're somebody who's like,oh my gosh, I'm going to get
sick, I'm going to get sick, I'mso worried about getting sick,
oh, I'm so, yeah, you'reprobably going to get sick.
So really focusing on positivelanguage to yourself in
particular, and certainly toothers as well.
And then, of course, wash yourdang hands.
(28:56):
Y'all you know, make sure thatyou are doing that simple act of
just washing your hands,certainly before you eat, after
using the restroom, and ifyou're in large crowds and being
around a lot of people theamount of times that we touch
our faces and bring our dirtyhands to our noses, to our eyes
just wash your hands to our eyes.
(29:23):
Just wash your hands All right.
So hopefully that was helpfulto give you some deeper insight
into nutrition, genetics, immunehealth and how to prevent
getting sick as an awesomeathlete.
So don't forget to check outthe show notes in the links
below.
There's lots of different freeresources in there that you guys
can check out, and I would loveto catch you next time on the
Find your Edge podcast.
Thank you so much for listening.
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