Nutrients
The Q10 Boost for Immune Cells
Research shows that T-cells are highly sensitive to diet. Q10 deficiency weakens immune defense, while supplementation can significantly support it.
Nutrients
Research shows that T-cells are highly sensitive to diet. Q10 deficiency weakens immune defense, while supplementation can significantly support it.
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Recently, as COVID-related restrictions were increasingly lifted, something else flared up: infections of all kinds.
In this context, discussions intensified about what our own immune system has to do with it — and many reports were published suggesting that we can't really do much more to support our immune system.
Even in the years before this, during the pandemic itself, such discussions were very active.
From these arguments, one could conclude:
… in short, whoever lives the perfect life from our idealized vision has a normal immune system. The rest unfortunately do not.
In local debates, it's repeatedly suggested that most people fit this ideal type, even though the opposite is true.
Conversely, we could conclude that simple lifestyle interventions can bring a significant gain in immunity.
Nevertheless, we repeatedly read:
Additional nutrients don't help.
Only when there's a deficiency is there a benefit. The fact that the population is broadly undersupplied must first be proven. And there's little that can be optimized through diet — a «boost» even less so.
Currently, a study published in what is perhaps the world's best scientific journal — Nature — catches our eye and sheds more light on this.
There, researchers examined special T-cells that are crucial for viral and cancer defense, among other things: T-memory cells.
The lead author of the study describes his personal conclusion like this: «What surprised me most is how sensitive these cells are to diet.»
The researchers found that T-memory cells, which accumulate in tissues — for example in the gut — to reside there long-term, ramp up their cholesterol production and Q10 synthesis (which arises from cholesterol precursors).
Poor diet increasingly shut down this signaling pathway — just as did the administration of statins (cholesterol-lowering drugs), with the result that the number of these highly functional T-cells in the tissues decreased.
Conversely, artificially upregulating Q10 synthesis significantly energized these immune cells, and more T-cells accumulated.
The authors compared the increased Q10 availability in these cells to charging batteries that, when fully «charged», can «fight tumors better».
As a reminder: Q10 is essential for energy production in the mitochondria. We can obtain it through food or even supplement it. With age, Q10 levels are often halved.
Again, a study suggests that our immunity depends significantly on our diet and lifestyle.
Here it becomes clear again that poor diet or the use of statins can impair the function of important T-cells, while good diet or possibly nutritional supplementation (with Q10) might promote them.
*Important: The authors emphasize at this point that statins are nonetheless important for many people with high-risk profiles, as they protect against heart attacks and the like.
Once again, it becomes clear why fit mitochondria are so crucial. Because immune cells too depend on good energy metabolism, which is driven by Q10 here.
We largely have all of this in our own hands. One should always keep that in mind.
