When Paul made a presentation at Harvard Medical School recently, he had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Lenny Guarente (http://web.mit.edu/biology/guarente/), one of the world’s great scientists who is has been a central figure in sirtuin research.
After Meredith and I thanked him for the profoundly beneficial effect he and his colleagues have had on us and on The CR Way, our conversation turned to the immune system and we thought many of our blog visitors would enjoy hearing it.
Dr. Guarente first asked about colds and flu and whether we get them more frequently with CR. Indeed, it has been just the opposite: We get far fewer colds and flu, possibly because CR preserves the efficacy of the immune system.
Dr. Guarente's perceptive immune system inquiry was prompted by CR’s effect of lowering the white blood cell count, which some people feel may make CR folk more susceptible to certain fast acting pathogens. In fact, low white blood cell count as a direct result of CR is probably a beneficial indicator. Use this link for more on this: http://www.livingthecrway.com/home/blog/08-08-31/Low_White_Blood_Cells_a_longevity_indicator.aspx .
However, he still has a point that must be considered. As our conversation progressed, we cited the accidental insight that we gained when we went for blood tests to look at immunity, and unbeknownst to us we were both coming down with Lyme disease. Lyme disease is carried by a tic-borne virus that likely bit us when we were working in our wildflower field. The testing revealed that although our WBC and some of its components were lower than normal – our natural killer cell, T-cell, and B-cell (all essential to the immune response to a pathogen) activity was four times greater than normal. Further, our doctor said that we responded better to treatment than any of the other 300+ cases he had treated.
Impressive, perhaps, but Lenny still made the point that there may be some pathogens that will pose a challenge to calorie restrictors. Perhaps – but studies, showing this, were looking at lab animals. And we don’t have to practice CR in such a controlled way. CR Way practitioners are free of lab protocols and can be proactive about their immune response. Consider the HiN1 virus that has everyone concerned. We met with one of our doctors and formed a strategy to boost our immune system to ready our response to this nasty virus:
A. Vaccination
1) Get a vaccination for normal flu http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/NEJMoa0906453
2) Get a vaccination against bacterial pneumonia, a killer that is a known complication of flu.
http://www.homeland1.com/Public-Health/articles/532273-Swine-flu-fighters-pursue-pneumonia-vaccine/#
3) If the HiN1 vaccine becomes available, take it.
B. Vaccination facilitation
Keep glucose low for at least 12 hours after receiving a vaccination. This facilitates gluconeogenesis (making of glucose from fats and proteins), which activates T-memory cells – essential for a beneficial immune response.
See this link for more:
http://www.webmd.com/cancer/news/20090603/diabetes-drug-makes-vaccines-work-better
For healthy ways to keep glucose low consult The CR Way Chapter 4: “Glucose control: the Sweet Spot in Longevity.” Also see glucose and glucose control in the index for the many other entries in the book.
For further immunity-boosting tips consult The CR Way Chapter 7: “Cancer Prevention.”
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