The result of immune balance? The possibility of fewer sick days, fewer “dragging” days, fewer physical problems due to chronic stress’s impact on immune cells.

So what simple things can you do to balance and maintain your immune system?  Here are five:

1. Eat smart. Reduce processed sugar, increase fruits and veggies. The Mediterranean Diet is considered a very good immune health diet.
2. Get sleep. Research shows lack of sleep increases stress levels and weakens immune function.
3. Get exercise.
4. Wash hands often.
5. Take supplements containing 500 mg dosing of EpiCor. Human clinical trials show EpiCor balances immune response.

There you go. The Immune Balance Five. Go forth and do them.

See the vid below. It’s basic and brief, but makes the point: Get control of stress, and reduce your chances to getting sick.

However, a lot of people may not realize that bursts of short-term stress–taking a final exam, getting scared out of your wits at a movie, sweating a job interview, watching your kid’s first piano recital, walking down the aisle at your wedding–may actually improve your immune system.

Me, I just got a new car. I’m going to let my daughter’s prom date drive it to the prom, to the pre-prom dinner and to the post prom. They’ll have it back home by 6:30 in the morning. This before I’ve even put 500 miles on it. Oh well, at least my immune system will thank me for that stressful episode. Just as long as I don’t put myself through that kind of stress every day.

A meta analysis aggregating 293 studies on stress and immune response showed some surprising findings:  “The study confirmed that severe stresses over long periods of time were indeed bad for the immune system. These situations usually caused a wearing down of the immune system.

“The real surprise, however, was that short bursts of stress, like one might experience in a test or public speaking, jump-started the immune system response. The two psychologists surmised that this was the fight-or-flight response which helps the body react to danger. They actually likened this response to a workout for the immune system.”

So when someone says “don’t sweat it,” don’t worry. If you actually do sweat, your immune health should be just dandy.

• Yoga props. Tristan Andrews writes about the Triangle Yoga Pose as an exercise that delivers multiple health benefits. I’ve written about yoga here before, and I think it has many merits, including immune function support. It’s an interesting story, but I would have liked her to list some sources. She’s a freelance writer, not a health professional. The immune health passage reads:  The muscles of your abdomen and the hip joints become more flexible. The reproductive system functions better with the intensity of this pose. It helps in creating a proper immune balance to help you fight diseases.”
• The stress of stress.  The Low Carbohydrates Diet, a blog of health book reviews, has a lot of interesting stuff that makes me want to seek out more. Some anonymous person named Meadow runs this blog. (Why don’t more bloggers give us their real ID!?!?! This certainly seems to be a legit site, not an aggregator-bot site).  Anyway, the blogger reviews the book, The Stress Effect. It was published in 2004;  the info–what I’ve gleaned from summaries–still seems timely. Says the blogger:  “The Stress Effect helps readers understand the connection between their chronic stress and illness, and provides effective programs for correcting imbalances and repairing the intestinal tract lining. It also offers suggestions for managing psychological stress; a commonsense diet that promotes balance;….”
• Adrenal fatigue. This was posted just four hours ago. Adrenal gland function, especially in women, can be a big determinant of immune balance, since the adrenals regulate corticosteroids, the stress hormones that can interfere with immune response if they are overactive due to high stress. “Prolonged stress weakens the immune system and inhibits the production of white blood cells. Our adrenals regulate physical energy, the body’s metabolic rate (your metabolism), glandular energy (thyroid health) and the oxidation process….and these processes, when out of balance, can lead to the onset of illness.”
• Balance Your Health.  Here’s a nice little post describing immune cell communication in layman’s terms.

As for immune health, I can’t find a lot of research support for the effect of massage on generally healthy people. But there are some very encouraging findings on specific massage efficacy among people with immune-compromised conditions.

One study among HIV patients:  “Major immune findings for the effects of the month of massage included a significant increase in Natural Killer Cell number, Natural Killer Cell Cytotoxicity, soluble CD8, and the cytotoxic subset of CD8 cells. There were no changes in HIV disease progression markers (CD4, CD4/CD8 ratio, Beta-2 microglobulin, neopterin). Major neuroendocrine findings, measured via 24 hour urines included a significant decrease in cortisol, and nonsignificant trends toward decrease of catecholamines. There were also significant decreases in anxiety and increases in relaxation which were significantly correlated with increases in NK cell number.”

And other findings among breast cancer patients:  “Participants, who were in the early stages of cancer, received 20-minute massage therapy twice a week for five weeks; others in a control group received no massage therapy. At the end of the five-week period, blood tests indicated an 11 percent increase in the number of natural killer cells that destroy cancer cells among the participants who received massage therapy. These participants also reported being less depressed, less anxious and less angry, as well as having more vigor than the control group.”

The University of Michigan Health System is also a believer.  I figure if massage can impart all these great benefits, doing it while I’m relatively healthy might be a great preventive measure. I think a massage on Friday afternoons around 3:00 might just be the ticket.

More stats from the 2010 Abstract:

Childhood immunizations percentages have generally held steady or even increased slightly. Sixty-eight percent of children were immunized against hepatitis B in 1990. That rose to nearly 93 percent in 2007.

Bone and joint conditions can result, in part, from immune system imbalance. The Abstract shows that in 2007, 53 million Americans had a chronic joint symptom (30 MM women, 23 MM men) and 46 million had been diagnosed with arthritis (28 MM women, 18 MM men). There is no comparative data for 1990, but I’m sure the raw numbers have increased greatly since America’s population has grown and the older age groups are growing in proportion.

Asthma is also an immunostimulating condition.  73 million U.S. kids had asthma in 2007, or had it earlier in their childhood. 223 million adults had some kind of respiratory condition, including emphysema, asthma, hay fever, sinusitis and bronchitis.

And finally, alternative, complementary therapies. These can impact immune health significantly. In 2002 10 million American adults practiced some form of yoga. That figure increased to 13 million in 2007. Those doing deep breathing routines increased from 24 million to 27 million. Adults practicing meditation increased from 15 million to 20 million.

And here’s my favorite: Americans receiving therapeutic massage increased form 10 million in 2002 to 18 million in 2007.

Yet, a couple of national consumer polls taken recently shows there may be an uptick in people’s outlook on their lives and well being. The Gallup organization recently posted the results of its ongoing American Well-Being Index. The index, started in 2008, charts people’s attitudes in several basic categories of home and work life.  Overall, the Well Being index for 2009 stayed flat, at a basis score of 65.9, no change from 2008. Within the overall score was a big 5-point rise in Life Evaluation, a measurement of people who say they are either thriving, suffering or locked somewhere in between. Other sub-segments of the survey showed small, fractional drops in physical health, emotional health, and healthy behaviors, and a significant 2.2% drop in work environment.

Another poll, the Consumer Reports Index, also showed some improvement in several sections of the study. The CR Stress Index in January 2010 came in at 59, down from 63 in December 2009. While anything above 50 is considered more stressful than a year ago (and under 50 less stress than the previous year), that downward motion is good. Maybe it’s simply the hope of a new year vs. the culmination of a crappy 2009 coupled with December holiday stress. Like the Stress Index, the CR Sentiment Index also improved, rising to 44.1 from 41.8 the prior month, the first significant uptick since June 2009. When the index is greater than 50, more consumers are feeling positive about their situation. When it is below 50, more consumers are feeling worse.

While these poll numbers remain in difficult territory, maybe we’re turning a corner. And, with stress levels impacting immune system health, maybe people are feeling a bit better physically as well. Of course that’s no reason to stop fortifying your immune system with immune balancing habits and nutrition. While balanced immune health may help offset physical illness in times of stress, it may also help when people are feeling good. You know, overdoing the eating and drinking, exercising too hard, partying and not sleeping.  You need your immune system in sync no matter what your frame of mind.

Still, it got me to wondering, what do those B vitamins do with regard to stress?  As you can imagine, there’s a lot of material to absorb.  There are several “kinds” of B vitamins: Thiamin (B1), Niacin (B3), Panothenic Acid (B5),  Pyridoxine HCL (B6) Folic Acid, Folate (B9), Cyanocobalamin (B12), and Biotin (Vitamin H which is a co-factor working in tandem with the B’s.

There are also a lot of interlocking functions among the B’s within various chemical processes with the body. One very good source for this kind of  B information is a site called Social Anxiety. It talks at length about the B’s roles in the central nervous system, their link with seratonin, cognitive function, neurotransmission paths and related brain health applications. One thing that is very important and well stated in this material is the warning that simply dosing up on any of these B-complex components beyond RDA limits is not wise. Several B-vitamins, if ingested in large amounts, can result in toxic responses. Lots of people load up on vitamin C, thinking megadosing every day will help prevent illness. There’s no real science behind that. Megadosing of B-vitamins simply because you think it will eliminate stress and even impart feelings of well-being or even mild euphoria is not only unfounded, but there is real science behind the dangers of doing so. That is, without close medical consultation.

If anyone is thinking about getting extra B-vitamins, I would consult a doctor who is well versed in macro and micro-nutrient health. I would also question the need to take anything more than 100% RDA contained in a quality, highly absorbable multi-vitamin. And if you’re pregnant, have a heart condition, mental health condition or neurological health issue, by all means, approach with caution. Just because something is a vitamin doesn’t mean it can’t do damage.

Since the holiday season is the inspiration for some of the most celebrated music ever composed, why not use it to your advantage.  That is, your immune health advantage.  A number of findings show music may trigger beneficial activity among certain classes of immune cells.

I recall when I was in college and singing in the university men’s glee club (a far cry from the Glee TV show, which is excellent, by the way),  I never really got sick during the winter holiday season, which was a big concert and rehearsal time for us.  This was during finals week, cold weather and living in a crowded residence hall. I loved singing in that group, and I wonder if my lack of winter crud during those years might have had something to do with those men’s six-part harmonies.

One piece of research seems pretty hard core but convincing. Patients who underwent out-patient surgery while also listening to music demonstrated that music “changed the neurohormonal and immune stress response to day surgery, especially when the type of music was selected by the patient.”

Another study found “…mood induction by music also resulted in significant elevations in sIgA concentration and secretion rate…”  And for those who are really into immunotherapy through music, there’s an entire enterprise built on use of aural tones to induce healing. Called Medical Resonance Therapy Music, it’s a series of CDs, that, accoring to its Web content, “is the only Medical Music Preparation approved by the Government in Germany and is available in 22,000 German Pharmacies.”

I’m not saying “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer” will help you ward off sickness during the holidays. But, if you are someone who finds that tune exhilerating or peaceful, I take that back.

Click map to go to animation

Still, watching the animation sequence below, by Latoya Egwuekwe using U.S. Dept. of Labor Statistics data, gives a new perspective. It’s especially jaw dropping watching Michigan essentially turn black.

Why post this on an immune health site? Because those dark shaded areas represent a lot of emotional stress and turmoil, which can deplete immune health and take a physical toll on a person.

Hopefully, those dark areas will also represent a lot of exercise, healthy eating, sleep and other coping methods to keep immune defenses properly tuned and balanced to maintain mental and physical health.