Recently Diagnosed or Relapsed? Stop Looking For a Miracle Cure, and Use Evidence-Based Therapies To Enhance Your Treatment and Prolong Your Remission
Multiple Myeloma an incurable disease, but I have spent the last 25 years in remission using a blend of conventional oncology and evidence-based nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle therapies from peer-reviewed studies that your oncologist probably hasn't told you about.
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Boost Myeloma Immune System?
Can myeloma patients boost their immune system? According to the “father of functional medicine” quoted below, no, you can’t. I think the father of functional medicine and the NIH article linked and excerpted above it are saying the same thing but using different concepts. Let me explain.
My take is that Jeffery Bland, Mr. Functional Medicine, is referring to people without nutritional deficiencies to begin with. The NIH article is talking about supplementation that can help those with one or more nutritional deficiencies.
For newly diagnosed MM patients, a good example of this it serum levels of vitamin D. According to research, 39%-52% of newly diagnosed MM patients are deficient in vitamin D.
Therefore, MM patients wonder about nutritional deficiencies such as vitamin D, C, B12, B6, etc. Many of us think that we can help manage our MM with nutritional supplementation.
The short video below talks about vitamin D as a therapy of sorts.
Vitamin D Can Impact Myeloma Outcomes
I am a MM survivor who researches and writes about MM daily. Nutritional supplementation such as vitamin D, C, B, as well as supplements such as mushrooms, curcumin and lifestyle therapies such as exercise and nutrition can all boost the immune system of the average MM patient. We think about nutritional supplementation and our immune system differently than average people do (I think).
Email me at David.PeopleBeatingCancer@gmail.com with any questions you have about managing your MM.
Good luck,
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Dietary Supplements for Immune Function and Infectious Diseases
“…Consuming adequate amounts of several vitamins and minerals—including vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, selenium, and zinc—is important for proper immune function, and clinical deficiencies of these nutrients weaken immunity and can increase susceptibility to infections [2,4,5,8-10]. Other ingredients (whether provided through foods or dietary supplements), such as botanicals and probiotics, are not essential in the body but might affect immune function….”
You can’t boost your immune system with supplements, says functional medicine expert—here’s what you can do
“Vitamins and supplements like zinc and cod liver oil are often touted for their ability to boost your immune system, but Jeffrey Bland, the “father of functional medicine,” says that’s not actually possible.
“I’ve heard, ‘I can boost my immune system if I take a lot of vitamins.’ It could be vitamin D, vitamin A [or] zinc,” Bland says. ”[But] those nutrients don’t boost the immune system. Those nutrients may fill the gaps in a person who needs them to meet their daily requirements for proper immune function, but you’re not going to boost the immune system like you do with a vaccination.”
Getting vaccinated causes a physiological effect that boosts the function of the immune system. Supplementing with nutrients doesn’t have the same effect, he says.
Instead of a sole focus on boosting immunity, Bland says you should be thinking about rejuvenation. Roughly every four months, the cells that make up our immune systems are replaced with new cells.
“The question I ask people is, ‘Do you want the cells that are replacing the ones today to be as good as, better than, or worse than the ones that you have [now]?’” he tells CNBC Make It.
While you should always consult your doctor about your specific health needs, Bland, who is also the president and CEO of Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute, has a few practices he suggests for rejuvenating your immune system.
5 ways to rejuvenate your immune system
- Stick to a Mediterranean diet: Follow an eating pattern that is rich in plant foods like colorful fruits and vegetables, virgin olive oil and natural meats and fish, Bland says.
- Prioritize good quality sleep: “During sleep, our body undergoes this rejuvenation,” he says. Make sure your sleep duration and quality are at optimal levels, and have a great night time routine that lowers your stress levels before you go to bed so you can properly rest.
- Get at least a half hour of physical activity a day: You can choose to move you body through dance, aerobic exercise or even walking, he says. “We’re not talking about anything that’s extreme. We’re talking about things that can be done daily and make big differences in your immune system’s outcome.”
- Drink enough water daily: Have at least two to three glasses of water, or 25 to 30 ounces, a day because “it allows your body to get things in and out properly,” he says.
- Nurture the relationships in your life: “What we recognize is that your immune system can smile, it can laugh, have fun, it can be part of the best of you, but it can also cry and be sad,” he says. Having good quality relationships in your life that make you feel optimistic and loved has a positive effect on your immune system.
“Those are some simple tips. Try to think about them every day and apply them,” Bland says. ”[It] can make significant differences in your immune capability.”
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