How to Boost Your Immunity Naturally, US National Library of Medicine Studies Suggest

Kyle J. Norton

Carrots and tomatoes and theirs major bioactive carotenoids  may have a profound and positive effect in boosting immunity, some scientists suggested.

The results of the studies were carried out by numbers institutes in numbers of different differentiation, including Institute of Nutritional Physiology, Federal Research Centre for Nutrition.

You  can also view the abstract by clicking the links in the resources.

Immunity is a natural defense of organism with an aim to protect the host to resist a particular infection or toxin through expression of antibodies or sensitized white blood cells.

Carrot, a root vegetable with orange color is a sub spices of Daucus carota, belongings to the family Apiaceae, native to Asian and Europe.

Tomato is a red, edible fruit, genus Solanum, belongings to family Solanaceae, native to South America. 

Because of its health benefits, tomato is grown world wide for commercial purpose and often in green house.

In the investigation of the effect of beta-carotene has been shown to enhance immune functions in humans, the Institute of Nutritional Physiology, Federal Research Centre for Nutrition launched an study to examine whether vegetables rich in carotenoids, such as beta-carotene or lycopene, exert any modulation of immune function in healthy humans.

The blinded, randomized, cross-over study, included male subjects on a low-carotenoid diet consumed 330 ml/day of either tomato juice(37.0 mg/day lycopene) or carrot juice (27.1 mg/day beta-carotene and 13.1 mg/day alpha-carotene) for 2 weeks with a 2-week depletion period after juice intervention.

Epidemiological studies suggested that consuming carotenoids form food sources may provide a variety of health benefits including a reduced incidence of cancers, risk of cardiovascular disease, and improved eye health,.......

Reading of the immune status was assessed by measuring the related activity of natural killer (NK) cells, secretion of cytokines ( IL-2, IL-4, TNFalpha), and proliferation by activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells((T cells, B cells, NK cells).

Natural killer cells is a type of white blood cells formed a component of innate immune system with function in inhibited microorganisms infected cells.

Interleukin-2 (IL-2) is a type of inflammatory cytokine with function in signaling molecule in the immune system to protect the body against bacterial and viral in the acute phase of infection.

Interleukin-4 (IL-4) activated by lymphoid cells is the inflammatory cytokine critical for initiating humoral immunity against extracellular pathogens.

Both Interleukin-2 and 4 (IL-2and 4 ) play an important role in chronic inflammation and wound repair.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) including , tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNFα, cachexin, or cachectin) is a protein (cytokine) involved in systemic inflammation during acute phase of infection.

At the end of the experiment, researchers found that
* Both juices treated participants demonstrate relatively fast responses in plasma carotenoid concentrations (p < 0.0002) without inducing concomitant changes in immune functions.

* Intake of both tomato and carrot juice displays a significant activity of immunity in production of IL-2, NK cell cytotoxicity, and lymphocyte proliferation with maximum responses observed during depletion periods.

* In compared to the secretion of other inflammatory cytokines, TNF alpha exerts only at the end of the first intervention period.

* During the course of innervation, both juices show insignificant effects in modulated the secretion of IL-4.

These result suggested that lower plasma carotenoid concentrations in the blood stream may reduce the immune function in response to diseases caused by bacterial and viral infection, particularly in the acute phrase.

Occasional intake of tomato and carrot juice does not enhance body immunity, due to its function in time-delayed modulation of immune functions and its degradation caused by numbers of factors, including heat, light, oxygen, acid, transition metal, or interactions with radical species.

The conclusion truly addressed the important of carotenoids in modulated immune response in protection of body injure or damage during acute phrase of infection through inhibiting pro inflammatory over expression in induction of cytotoxity and damage to nearby healthy cells.

Further to reaffirm the effects of consumption of carotenoid-rich vegetables on the immune system, the Institute of Nutritional Physiology, Federal Research Centre for Nutrition conducted a study of 23 non-smokers, male subjects, who were not restricted in their daily diet, except that they had to abstain from fruit and vegetables high in carotenoids throughout the whole study period with blood collected weekly from subjects after a 12 h fast.

The study was also divided into four periods, each lasting 2 weeks: 

* Weeks 1-2: low-carotenoid period;

* Daily consumption of 330 ml tomato juice (40 mg lycopene/d, 1.5 mg beta-carotene/d) (weeks 3-4),
* 330 ml carrot juice (21.6 mg beta-carotene/d, 15.7 mg alpha-carotene/d, 0.5 mg lutein/d) (weeks 5-6)
* 10 g dried spinach powder (11.3 mg lutein/d, 3.1 mg beta-carotene/d) (weeks 7-8).

According to the assessment of T-lymphocyte and secretion of immunoreactive cytokines, lower concentration due to consumption of a low-carotenoid diet exerted a significantly reduced proliferation of function immune system observed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) cultured with concanavalin A.

At the end of first 2 weeks of tomato juice consumption and until the end of the intervention period, researchers found that intake of tomato juice with abundant carotenoids induced insignificant change of lymphocyte proliferation in compared to concentration at the end of the depletion period.

Similarly, the experiment also exerted a strong immune modulated effect in assessment of the secretion of cytokines binterleukin (IL)-2 and -4).

Dietary intervention improved the IL-2 and IL-4 secretion values. however the levels of IL-2 and IL-4 were significantly suppressed after the low-carotenoid diet.

The results at the end of the period also expressed the similarity of other studies " After carrot juice and spinach powder consumption the cytokine secretion capacity of PBMC was not significantly different from that at the end of the depletion period". 

Dr. Watzl B, the lead author after taking into account of other co and con founders said, " the results of the present study indicate that a low-carotenoid diet reduces T-lymphocyte functions and addition of tomato juice restores these functions". 

The unexplained changes in the plasma carotenoid concentrations, probably severed as an indication that other phytochemicals or other mechanisms in tomato and carrot juice may have a strong implication in modulated immune response other than cytokine secretion capacity of PBMC.

Taken together, tomato and carrot juice and theirs bioactive carotenoids may be considered as  functional foods in boosting immune function against foreign organsisms, particularly, in the acute phase of infection.

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Author Biography
Kyle J. Norton (Scholar, Master of Nutrients, All right reserved)
Health article writer and researcher; Over 10.000 articles and research papers have been written and published on line, including world wide health, ezine articles, article base, healthblogs, selfgrowth, best before it's news, the karate GB daily, etc.,.
Named TOP 50 MEDICAL ESSAYS FOR ARTISTS & AUTHORS TO READ by Disilgold.com Named 50 of the best health Tweeters Canada - Huffington Post
Nominated for shorty award over last 4 years
Some articles have been used as references in medical research, such as international journal Pharma and Bio science, ISSN 0975-6299.


Sources
(1) Supplementation of a low-carotenoid diet with tomato or carrot juice modulates immunefunctions in healthy men by Watzl B1, Bub A, Briviba K, Rechkemmer G(PubMed)
(2) Modulation of human T-lymphocyte functions by the consumption of carotenoid-rich vegetables by Watzl B1, Bub A, Brandstetter BR, Rechkemmer G.(PubMed)
(3) Factors influencing the chemical stability of carotenoids in foods by Boon CS1, McClements DJ, Weiss J, Decker EA(PubMed)