The winter months are known to be time when we’re more likely to come down with illnesses like the cold and the flu. On today’s show, you’re going to learn how our biology and our immune systems fluctuate with the seasons, and why infectious illnesses are more common during the winter.

We’re going to explore three science-backed habits you can implement to fortify your immune system, build resilience, and fight off illnesses this winter. You’re going to learn why regulated blood sugar is an essential ingredient for immune health, how connection can keep you healthy, and the critical role exercise plays in your risk for contracting illnesses.

As always, this episode of The Model Health Show is packed with science, as well as actionable tips you can implement today. Immune health is an area of our health we can influence more than most folks realize, and I hope this episode empowers you to take control, build resiliency, and stay healthy all winter long!

In this episode you’ll discover:

• Why seasonal changes induce more cases of the cold and flu.
• How the immune system adapts to seasonal variations.
• The connection between sugar, inflammation, and immune responses.
• What a cytokine storm is.
• How elevated blood sugar levels can inhibit your immune function.
• What immunometabolism is.
• The interface between the gut and the immune system.
• How your gut microbes respond to connection and interaction.
• The role oxytocin plays in immune health.
• How regular sexual activity impacts the immune system.
• The connection between laughter and natural killer cell activity.
• How regular exercise improves immune health.
• Why sedentary people are more likely to die from Covid-19.
• What immune surveillance is.
• How exercise impacts the process of immunosenescence.
• The role your lymphatic system plays in immune function.
• Specific immune parameters that are improved by walking.

Items mentioned in this episode include:

• Levels.link/model -- Join today and get 2 free months with a one-year membership!
• Organifi.com/Model -- Use the coupon code MODEL for 20% off + free shipping!
• PiqueLife.com/shawn -- Get exclusive savings on bundles & subscriptions!

Join TMHS Facebook community - Model Nation 

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This episode is brought to you by Levels. A Study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition uncovered that one of the ways that the consumption of sugar suppresses the immune system, is by directly decreasing the capacity of Neutrophils, this is an aspect of your immune system, to be able to engulf pathogenic bacteria, so it suppresses or diminishes the capacity of these Neutrophils to engulf pathogenic bacteria for them to be neutralized and moved out of our system. Sources like refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup and even pasteurized orange juice were noted in the study to cause this derangement. The greatest effects occurred between one and two hours after consuming the sugar, but the values were still significantly depressed for up to five hours after eating these refined sugars. So it really does a number on our immune cells ability to respond to foreign invaders All right. So keep that in mind. This isn't just hearsay, we wanna make sure that we're minding our blood glucose, and understanding that our response to certain foods is gonna depend on us. We all have a unique Metabolic fingerprint. And so, this is why I'm such a huge fan of folks at least having a stint, just track it for a week or two, at least once to utilize a continuous glucose monitor to be able to know firsthand, how certain foods affect you versus other people. I've seen my wife and I respond very differently to certain foods, and also her baseline blood glucose is different from mine. And it's so crazy because again, we might think that a food is "healthy" and it might be but it might impact our blood sugar in a negative way that makes that food probably something that we don't wanna eat on a regular basis, and it could be something that's holding us back from achieving our health goals, whether it's weight loss, whether it's improving our cognitive function because blood sugar derangement has a huge role in our cognitive performance. But the continuous glucose monitor that we use, my wife is actually... She has one on right now, is from Levels. And Levels shows you in real time utilizing continuous glucose monitors how different foods affect you. Levels provides access to continuous glucose monitors and the incredible Levels app that pairs with the CGM's to provide your own personalized data. It is so easy and easy to understand. And the scientists there at Levels, just absolutely amazing. They're providing and accessing all these different data points and sharing them with you to point you in the right direction of goods that can be helpful for you and also guiding you away from things that could be hurting you that you might not realize. And also because of all their data inputs from all of these incredible people out there that are utilizing Levels, they've collected all these data points and being able to target certain foods that for the majority of people that they might think are healthy, are actually problematic. And also other foods that might be villainized are actually quite healthy when it comes from specifically that blood glucose perspective. And right now, Levels is providing listeners of The Model Health Show a very, very special offer, when you go to levels.link/model. Go there right now, when you get their annual membership, they're going to give you two months for free. So check it out ASAP, that's levels.link/model. That's, levels.com/model. Go there right now levels.link/model. Two months free when you get their annual membership. This is a huge, huge resource in being able to track your unique Metabolic health. Find out what foods are best for you. Levels.link/model.

This episode is brought to you by Organifi. If you're going to get a little closer, then you might as well sip on this. Snuggle up with some fat burning nutrition this holiday season. You know what time of the year it is. It's that time to get cozy. It's that time to snuggle up. It's that time for a nice pumpkin spice, everything. But truly some of the most potent nutrition can be found right in our spice cabinet. And this particular spice that you need to know about has been used traditionally in cooking, medicine, and rituals for thousands of years. And what I'm talking about is turmeric. Turmeric, in one of its most renowned micronutrients, curcumin have well-noted anti-inflammatory effects, but what isn't commonly known is its surprising anti-obesity effects. A study published in the European Journal of Nutrition uncovered that in addition to down regulating inflammatory cytokines, curcumin in turmeric also up regulates the activity of adiponectin and other satiety related hormones. Turmeric has been found to actually improve insulin sensitivity, reduce blood fats, and directly act upon fat cells. Another really interesting thing about turmeric is that it has anti-angiogenesis properties. A study published in the Journal of Nutrition found that curcumin in turmeric is able to reduce angiogenesis in adipose tissue, which is fat tissue. And angiogenesis is the process of decreasing the blood supply and nutrient supply to those pesky fat cells and also to cancer cells as well. And turmeric has been found to have an intelligent selective capacity to target rogue cells and reduce their ability to grow. Really, really fascinating stuff. And it's one of my favorite things that's in the gold blend from Organifi. This blend highlights a super critical extract of organic turmeric, plus other metabolism enhancing spices like cinnamon and ginger. And it also has Reishi, which is clinically proven to support your sleep quality. It's a great vibe, great way to relax, and a great time to enjoy this season. Head over and check them out. It's organifi.com/model. That's O-R-G-A-N-I-F-I.com/model for 20% off your gold latte. Check it out. Organifi Gold Pumpkin Spice latte is available for a limited time, so make sure to check them out. Again, 20% off when you go to organifi.com/model.

This episode is brought to you by Pique Tea. Now it's well documented that green tea has a huge benefit for our metabolic health, but what makes green tea so special is that it improves our immune system health as well, even dramatically reducing the risk of various cancers, which one of the hallmarks of cancer is dysfunction of the immune system. And a study published in the journal, breast Cancer Research and Treatment found that women who drank the most green tea had an approximately 20% to 30% lower risk of developing breast cancer. A meta-analysis of 29 studies published in the peer-reviewed journal, Oncotarget found that people who drink green tea daily were around 42% less likely to develop colorectal cancer. Now this is something very simple that we can do and we can also do this together, have some tea together, but one of the most storied and densest sources of something called L-Theanine, that shows up in benefiting our cognitive function and also these other phytonutrients that help again to support our immune system, to improve our metabolic health. This form of green tea is called Matcha Green Tea. And what I drink is called Sun Goddess Matcha Green Tea from Pique Life. Go to piquelife.com/shawn right now, and you're gonna get the first matcha that's quadruple toxin screen for purity. No added preservatives, sugar, artificial sweeteners, none of that nonsense, just the highest quality Matcha green tea in the world. It is crafted by a Japanese Tea master and there are less than 15 in the world. It's shaded 35% longer for extra L-Theanine to support our cognitive function. And right now, when you go to piquelife.com/shawn, you're gonna get free shipping up to 15% off their tea bundles and a 90 day money back guarantee. Go to piquelife.com/shawn, that's P-I-Q-U-E-L-I-F-E.com/S-H-A-W-N to get hooked up with all these incredible bonuses. Again, 90 day satisfaction guarantee, all right? Nothing to lose better health to gain, more improvement in support of our immune system, our metabolic health, cognitive function, and more. Check them out. Sun Goddess Matcha Green Tea is one of my favorites. You can make yourself a macha latte. This is something again to enjoy with friends and family and we can do this all getting healthier together.