Can boosting immunity reduce inflammation?

The answer depends on how you "promote" it - healthy immune regulation and returning immunity to a normal homeostasis can indeed significantly reduce unnecessary inflammation. However, if you blindly pursue "the higher the immunity, the better" and supplement the immunity until it is out of balance and excessive, it will induce a more serious inflammatory reaction.

In the past few years of doing health intervention in the nutrition department, I have met many friends who regard "improving immunity" as a panacea, and I feel particularly deeply about this. Take the most common chronic inflammation as an example. Many people have recurring oral ulcers, pharyngitis during the change of seasons, and the skin becomes red and itchy at every turn. Most of them have low immunoglobulins and insufficient immune cell activity if checked. At this time, the immunity is like a community security guard who fishes every day. Bacteria and viruses from outside and metabolic waste in the body can easily slip away. The body can only frequently activate inflammatory reactions to "clear the situation", and the natural inflammation cannot be cured over and over again. A 27-year-old girl came to me for treatment of oral ulcers at least twice a month. The pain was so painful that she could not even eat. I helped her adjust her diet, replacing the milk tea she drank every day with freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable juices without sugar, and adding whole grains and high-quality protein to her meals. After taking the medicine, coupled with 30-minute brisk walking three times a week, her immune indicators returned to the normal range after 3 months. In the following six months, she only had one oral ulcer, and the pharyngitis that changed seasons did not come to her door again. This is the most intuitive example of reducing inflammation after the immunity returns to normal levels.

But it is not true that the higher the immunity, the better. Many people have misunderstandings about "improving immunity" and think that the more and more powerful the supplements, the better. Instead, they fall into a trap. I just received a 30-year-old boy last month. I heard that taking protein powder and immune pills can improve immunity and prevent colds. I drank four or five spoons of protein powder every day, and also took 3 kinds of imported immune supplements from Internet celebrities. After taking it for more than two months, I first developed a large area of rosy acne on my face, and then on my knees. I still had inexplicable swelling and pain. I went for a blood test and found that the immunoglobulin E was far higher than the normal value. An autoimmune inflammatory reaction had already occurred in the body. To put it bluntly, the immune system was too strong and the normal tissues of the body were attacked as foreign enemies. The inflammation became more serious than before.

In fact, there is no strict academic concept of "improving immunity" in medicine. What we often talk about is actually "maintaining immune homeostasis." Immunity is like a balance. If it is low, it is easy to be invaded by foreign enemies and induce infectious inflammation. If you really want to regulate immunity and reduce inflammation, don’t take those folk supplements that claim to “boost immunity in 7 days.” Get enough sleep for 7 hours, avoid foods high in sugar and oil, and take some time to move every week to keep your immune system in a comfortable and balanced state. This is more reliable than anything else.