For years, there has been an ongoing notion that people are more likely to get sick during winter. Is this true, though? What is the science behind colder months and potentially increased susceptibility to illness? And what effect does the Covid-19 pandemic have on any increased risk that people may face during winter?
Let’s explore these issues, and let’s also take a look at what kind of natural remedies one can take for boosting immune response during winter.
Cold Weather and the Immune System
Many people associate cold weather with the common cold, the flu, and other illnesses. And as it turns out, there is quite a bit of legitimate science here. There is a direct connection between cold weather and increased disease, but the relationship is not what most people think it is.
Firstly, cold weather is not directly responsible for making people sick. However, viruses that cause colds do spread more easily in lower temperatures. And to make circumstances worse, the human body’s immune system can experience an adverse impact when exposed to cold, dry air.
The science on this is pretty well thought out. According to one article in Medical News Today, “Some research suggests that rhinoviruses (the viruses that cause the common cold) may replicate more efficiently at temperatures lower than 37°C, or 98.6°F, which is the average core body temperature in humans. The temperature inside the nasal cavity is approximately 33°C (91.4°F), which may make it an ideal breeding ground for rhinoviruses.”
And now for the second point. Not only are cold climates more ideal breeding grounds for viruses, but cold weather negatively impacts the human body’s immune system, creating a double threat for illness risk during wintertime. There are four key ways in which cold weather negatively impacts the immune system:
- Reduced vitamin D levels. Most people get less vitamin D in the winter due to reduced sun exposure. Vitamin D plays an essential role in maintaining immune function. If people do not ensure they are getting enough vitamin D from supplements during winter, they may become more susceptible to illness.
- Spending more time indoors. Viruses spread more easily when people are close to each other, and people tend to spend more time indoors during winter.
- Lower temperatures may negatively impact a healthy immune response. Some science suggests that when the airway is exposed to cold air, it is more likely to decrease the body’s overall immune response to virus cells taken in through the airway.
- Blood vessels narrow in cold weather. Breathing cold, dry air causes the blood vessels in the upper respiratory tract to narrow. Those vessels narrow to conserve heat (a survival mechanism). But the narrowed vessels might prevent white blood cells from reaching the mucous membrane, making it more difficult for the body to fight off germs, viruses, bacteria, and other pathogens.
We see here a doubly negative effect. First off, cold weather (but not too cold) is an ideal breeding ground for viruses. Secondly, cold weather negatively impacts human immune response, making humans more susceptible to contracting various diseases during prolonged incidences of cold weather.
Winter, Covid-19, and the Immune System
Cold weather and increased risk for disease go hand-in-hand. Quoting the Harvard Medical School, “Cold weather and respiratory disease, including flu, also go hand in hand. Research has shown that cold spells are reliably followed by upticks in the number of deaths from respiratory disease. Some of this may have to do with a few infectious organisms, like flu viruses, thriving in colder temperatures, but there’s also evidence that exposure to cold temperatures suppresses the immune system, so the opportunities for infection increase.”
While there is no doubt that Covid-19 can spread whether it is warm or cold outside, some specialists believe people may be more at-risk for Covid-19 transmission during the winter months. For example, Dr. Rossi A. Hassad wrote an article for MedPageToday that detailed how Covid, like many other respiratory infections, is more likely to spread during winter due to the nature of the airborne illness.
Quoting Hassad, “It is biologically plausible that SARS-CoV-2 will adapt to the cold weather, developing a thicker outer membrane, making the virus more hardy, and hence potentially more available to spread. This increases the probability that a potential host or susceptible person will be exposed to the virus.”
Because of the multiple threat factors of cold weather, decreased immune response, less vitamin D, more people packed together indoors, and the presence of Covid-19, people must take extra precautions to keep themselves and their families safe and healthy.
Raw Organic Kamut Wheatgrass – An Overall Boost to Health
Immune Solution offers multiple natural alternatives for people who want to boost their immune health without pharmaceutical drugs. Furthermore, because Immune Solution’s products are entirely organic, raw, and unaltered, they do not pose a risk for side effects (unlike pharmaceutical drugs).
Consider the Raw Organic Kamut Wheatgrass Powder. This supplement can support healthy immune function by alkalizing the body, improving gut health, providing prebiotics to the digestive system, detoxifying the body, and adding vitamins, minerals, and essential superfood nutrients to the bloodstream. All of this together can help improve immune response naturally.
Natural Zinc – A Crucial Mineral for a Healthy Immune System
Zinc is an essential mineral that the human body needs to function. But as the quality of food in America gradually deteriorates, it’s becoming more difficult to meet the daily nutritional requirements in zinc consumption. And this is unfortunate because zinc is an integral building block for the body. Zinc provides the body with immune system support, antioxidant support, wound healing, mood boost, increased energy, and properly regulated hormone function.
Immune Solution makes a 100% Natural Zinc product that enables customers to get enough zinc. Remember, zinc by itself is responsible for over 300 different enzymatic functions within the body! Without sufficient zinc, the body does not have the nutrients it needs to carry out proper immune system support and function.
Liposomal Vitamin C – The Best Vitamin C for Immune Response
Vitamin C is famously known for its ability to reduce common cold symptoms and for its ability to potentially help people recover from the common cold more quickly. The best way to get enough vitamin C into the body to stay healthy is to supplement with highly potent vitamin C.
Approximately 8-10 times more potent than IV vitamin C and hundreds of times more potent than capsule or tablet vitamin C, Immune Solution’s Liposomal Vitamin C gives the body a powerful immune boost, as well as a clean-up of free radicals and antioxidants. Liposomal vitamin C is also a potent detoxifier and a natural anti-microbial.
Organic Turmeric with Black Pepper – What Can Turmeric Do for Your Immune System?
Inflammation of areas of the body has a direct, negative effect on one’s immune response. That’s why turmeric has been in use for hundreds of years as an alternative herbal medicine for treating various forms of illness. An antioxidant, an anti-inflammatory, an antiviral, and an anti-fungal supplement, Immune Solution’s Turmeric with Black Pepper offers a helpful boost to immune health.
Contact Us for More Information
We hope the information expressed in this article helps connect Covid-19, cold weather, and the immune system. And we hope that one or more of our natural health supplements will assist you in having a healthy, illness-free winter!
If you have any questions about staying safe, healthy, and illness-free during the winter season, or if you’d like to learn more about Immune Solution products, call our office at (727) 768-4688 or send a message to sales@immunesolution.com.
Stay safe and healthy this winter,
-Ren Brabenec
Immune Solution Writing Staff
Sources:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323431#cold-weather-and-the-immune-system
https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/out-in-the-cold
https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/89495
