A Functional Medicine Expert Explains How To Feed Your Immune System
Jeff Bland, Ph.D., is the founder of Big Bold Health, a company on a mission to transform the way people think about one of nature’s greatest innovations — the immune system. Jeff is a biochemist by training, and a lifelong educator in practice. He is widely regarded as the father of functional medicine, and served in founding roles at both the Institute for Functional Medicine and the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute. Jeff is the author of The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Causes of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, and Happier Life.
You've likely heard the adage "Feed a cold, starve a fever." Now, why would that work? Why would different maladies ask for different approaches to diet? That's easier to answer once you understand the connection between your body's metabolism and immunity.
Put those two together to make a big word—immunometabolism—and you've landed on a revolutionary concept working its way through the scientific literature. The idea here is basic but powerful: Different parts of your immune system want different diets. And if you feed them appropriately, you can nurture better health.
How does immunometabolism work, exactly?
Immunometabolism is one facet of the larger story unfolding around immunity. I've previously written about how immunity is everything, and so much more than a seasonal concern around cold and flu. The new thinking around immunity is about rejuvenation, balance, and resilience. It's not about a quick boost.
Metabolism is the way we process fuel and produce energy, and it's connected to immunity. Science is showing us that different immune cells ask for different nutrients.
Some cells activate at the sign of danger—whether from a sprained ankle or a deadly virus—and prefer sugar as a fast fuel. This conversion of glucose into fuel is a process called glycolysis. It's essential in the moment, but it's not well-suited to your longer-term goal of balance. When this pathway is activated by the wrong immune cells for too long a time, this can mean inflammation and can lead to a host of problems in your body down the line.
To calm things down, think about fats. Fatty acid oxidation provides fuel to immune cells designed to calm down your immune response and dampen inflammation. You can see where this is headed.
Since immunometabolism tells us different immune cells prefer different nutrients for fuel, which means your diet, through metabolism, can affect your immune response. At Big Bold Health, I'm working with a cod liver oil that maintains its natural stores of vitamin A, vitamin D, and pro-resolving mediators (PRMs) for this very reason.
How to feed your immune system effectively.
If some of your immune cells prefer fat and others sugar, then diet matters. The food you eat plays a meaningful role in your immune system's ability to fight off infection and clear your cells of age-related debris.
This is the real promise of personalization nutrition. I believe that one day soon, we will be able to tailor a person's diet to modulate the signals of an immune system in disarray, as measured by simple metabolic markers we already use around blood pressure and blood sugar.
In fact, I think we're already getting there. The conversion of nutrients into energy for your immune cells happens in the mitochondria, and yet again, different nutrients influence a different response. If you feed your mitochondria the right phytonutrients, you can help to rebalance your immunity.
Look for key flavonoids, like rutin, quercetin, diosmin, luteolin, and hesperidin to play an important role here. A balance between pro- and antioxidants is also key, which brings nutrients like curcumin, vitamin E, and Ginkgo biloba to the table, too.
Bottom line.
So, feed a cold, starve a fever? Immunometabolism tells us why this logic took hold. A suppressed immune system needs fuel to activate—feed a cold. An activated immune system produces heat as it digests food and assimilates its nutrients. Interrupt that cycle, and you bring down the heat. This is immunometabolism in action, whether our grandmothers knew it or not.
Jeff Bland, Ph.D. is the founder of Big Bold Health, a company on a mission to transform the way people think about one of nature’s greatest innovations — the immune system. Through Big Bold Health, Jeff is advocating for the power of immuno-rejuvenation to enhance immunity at a global level, often through the rediscovery of ancient food crops and superfoods. To get there, Jeff is building a network of small farms and suppliers throughout the US that take a clear stance on regenerative agriculture, environmental stewardship, and planetary health.
Jeff’s career in health spans more than 40 years. A nutritional biochemist by training, he began in academia as a university professor, where he was profoundly influenced by a sabbatical spent working with two-time Nobel Laureate, Dr. Linus Pauling. Jeff then spent three decades in the nutritional products industry, where he served as the Chief Science Officer at Metagenics, and worked alongside other pioneers to establish standards for evidence-based formulations, quality ingredient sourcing, and ethical manufacturing practices that stand to this day.
A lifelong educator, Jeff has traveled the world many times over in his role as the “father of functional medicine.” In 1991, he and his wife, Susan, founded The Institute for Functional Medicine. This organization has grown to become the global leader in functional medicine education. Hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals have now participated in IFM programs, and this collective knowledge has positively impacted the lives of patients all over the world. In 2012, Jeff founded another educational nonprofit called the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute. This organization has become well-known as the host of Jeff’s signature annual conference, the Thought Leaders Consortium.
Jeff is the author of The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Causes of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, and Happier Life, among countless additional books and research papers.
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Learn moreMore from the author:
Functional Nutrition Training
Check out Functional Nutrition Coaching
A cutting-edge nutrition deep dive taught by 20+ top health & wellness experts
Learn moreJeff Bland, Ph.D. is the founder of Big Bold Health, a company on a mission to transform the way people think about one of nature’s greatest innovations — the immune system. Through Big Bold Health, Jeff is advocating for the power of immuno-rejuvenation to enhance immunity at a global level, often through the rediscovery of ancient food crops and superfoods. To get there, Jeff is building a network of small farms and suppliers throughout the US that take a clear stance on regenerative agriculture, environmental stewardship, and planetary health.
Jeff’s career in health spans more than 40 years. A nutritional biochemist by training, he began in academia as a university professor, where he was profoundly influenced by a sabbatical spent working with two-time Nobel Laureate, Dr. Linus Pauling. Jeff then spent three decades in the nutritional products industry, where he served as the Chief Science Officer at Metagenics, and worked alongside other pioneers to establish standards for evidence-based formulations, quality ingredient sourcing, and ethical manufacturing practices that stand to this day.
A lifelong educator, Jeff has traveled the world many times over in his role as the “father of functional medicine.” In 1991, he and his wife, Susan, founded The Institute for Functional Medicine. This organization has grown to become the global leader in functional medicine education. Hundreds of thousands of healthcare professionals have now participated in IFM programs, and this collective knowledge has positively impacted the lives of patients all over the world. In 2012, Jeff founded another educational nonprofit called the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute. This organization has become well-known as the host of Jeff’s signature annual conference, the Thought Leaders Consortium.
Jeff is the author of The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Causes of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, and Happier Life, among countless additional books and research papers.