Maggie McKay (Host): Nobody likes to get sick, and now that it's fall and winter is soon behind, how can we boost our immune system with what we eat? Registered dietitian, or RDN, Kalina Gardiner, with Northern Inyo Healthcare District, is here to tell us how to stay healthy through our diet.

Welcome to Mountain Medicine, a podcast from Northern Inyo Healthcare District. I'm Maggie McKay. Thank you so much for being here today, Kalina. I can't wait to hear more about this.

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: Thanks Maggie, thanks for having me.

Host: So, what factors depress our immune system to start with?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: So, there's a lot of factors that can depress our immune system. But some that are related to food and nutrition would be a poor diet. Of course, malnutrition or just a diet that's lacking in one or more nutrients can impair the production of immune cells. Also excess weight, obesity is linked to a low-grade chronic inflammation. Fat tissue produces adipocytokines and this actually promotes inflammation in our body. Lack of sleep, although it's not nutrition related, I like to talk about sleep because it's something that we can sometimes control. Sleep is whenever the body restores itself and proteins in our body are released to fight infection while we sleep. So if we have too little sleep, we won't have a lot of the infection fighters in our body.

To go back to the poor diet though, that's something that I talk about a lot. Diets that have a lot of ultraprocessed foods and that lack in minimally processed foods can really negatively affect our immune system. So, ultraprocessed foods are typically found, they're packaged, and they have added salt, fat, sugars in them, and they also have added preservatives and colors, or coloring agents. And these have been shown to not be the best for us and to actually harm our immune system.

Host: What about vitamins or supplements, do they help?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: Yeah. Sometimes vitamins, supplements, they can help. Typically, we want to be eating like a well-rounded balanced diet. And if someone can't have a well-rounded balanced diet, then they should probably look towards just a general multivitamin supplement.

Host: Okay. Got to ask about chicken soup. Is it actually good to have when you're sick?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: Chicken soup, there's no like clinical trials or like scientific evidence that shows that chicken soup can be good for us. But it is a really popular go-to dish. But if we break down the ingredients, it does seem pretty good. So, a traditional chicken soup would be light and easy on the stomach it has a lot of electrolytes from the water. It has protein and zinc from the meats, and you have all the vegetables that contain a lot of vitamins and minerals in there.

Host: Can you talk about the microbiome? What is that? How does it work?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: Yeah. So, the microbiome, it's kind of like this internal metropolis, if you will, in our bodies of microorganisms. And our gut has so many microorganisms living in there. And we want more good microbes than the bad microbes. And whenever we have more bad microbes that typically results in more inflammation in our body and more inflammation can weaken our immune system.

 So, foods that can be good for our gut are foods that are high in fiber like fruits and vegetables and whole grains like brown rice and whole wheat bread. And also, prebiotics are really good for our gut. I'm talking about like yogurts, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, things like that, that are fermented and they have these live active cultures. Those can help promote our good bacteria in our gut.

Host: Kalina, have you ever gone to like a natural store and asked them for help to pick out a probiotic? There are so many now, and even the people who work there are like, "Oh, I don't know. There's too many." Like, how do we know which type to get? It's so frustrating.

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: So, the supplements aren't regulated by the FDA, so finding something that's really high quality is important, and it doesn't necessarily have to be like an expensive supplement. Something that comes from a trusted brand that's been around a while, that can be a good go to, or or you can look for different labels that's been tested by a third party like USP tested is they actually bring in a third party to their factory where they make the supplement and they test the product. But really, supplements can be great if we're not getting it from our food, but we can absolutely get our probiotics from fermented foods like the yogurt and kimchi and things like that.

Host: Is Greek yogurt good?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: Absolutely. Greek yogurt is higher in protein. The one thing with yogurt is that they typically fill it with a lot of added sugars. So, looking on the back of the label, looking at the added sugar in the nutrition facts label, you can pick out a better product for you.

Host: Any brand you like?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: Sometimes I make my own yogurt. It's super simple to do, especially if you have an Instapot, very simple to make your own yogurt. But also, whenever I go to the store and buy yogurt, I typically get the skyr yogurt from Siggy's, or I do the FAGE, which is a Greek yogurt.

Host: Oh, yeah, I used to have that, but you know what? I got the type where you add the fruit on the side, which is not what we want, right? We want just plain.

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: Well, no, we don't have to always have plain yogurt because fruit also has antioxidants and it can add fiber and also it can make it way tastier. So, I think that's totally fine. But just looking at like the added sugar, we want to decrease the added sugar because sugar too can increase inflammation in our body

Host: Talking about inflammation, because I always hear about that and how we want to avoid it. What do you think the top things are that cause it, and what can we do to keep it under control?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: Inflammation is totally necessary in our bodies. Like say if we get sick, we have this inflammatory response and that can help protect our bodies. But it's this low-grade chronic inflammation that a lot of people in our Western society get because of chronic illnesses. And really, I think that the best way to treat chronic low-grade inflammation isn't necessarily with like a pill, but it really comes from the foods that we eat. So really, eating like a balanced diet that has tons of fruits and vegetables. It has the probiotics, it has whole grains, and it also has lean protein in it. That's going to be the best way to fight the inflammation. And then also, to stay away from foods that have high fat, that are ultraprocessed, those can promote the inflammation.

Host: Kalina, you talk about a non-diet approach. What does that mean?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: So, the non-diet approach is diets in general are restrictive and people don't like to be restricted. And I really focus on things that can be added into a diet versus someone taking away. Because once we become restrictive, it's just hard to follow it. Sometimes people get obsessed with that candy bar that they told themselves that they can't eat, and then they go and eat three candy bars versus if they would have just had, you know, the candy bar in the first place, they would have just been fine with one. So, I think that all foods do belong in a healthy diet, but it's all about moderation and how much you're eating of a certain item that can determine our health. And really, it's not just about like what food are you eating today or what meal did you have today. Our health is really determined on what we're eating in the weeks and the months.

Host: And does an "immune-boosting diet" exist?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: So, there's like not a specific food or diet that really guarantees an immune system boost, but it's really like these certain dietary patterns that we can adopt that can better prepare our bodies to fight against the microbial attacks and excess inflammation. So, things that can be really good to consider for our immune system would be of course like eating a variety of fruits and vegetables because they have like a ton of vitamins. And they also have the fiber in them. Also, lean protein is really good. Protein is essential for our immune system. And I like to think of protein in legs. So, The less legs that you have are better. So, you say you take a cow, like beef or pork, they have four legs. Poultry has two legs. And then, of course, the fish and the beans and the nuts and seeds have zero legs, and that's the protein source that's typically the best for us.

Host: Oh, that's a good way to remember it.

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: Yeah. Yeah, I like it.

Host: That's awesome. So, in closing, is there anything else you'd like to add or share that we didn't cover?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: I think getting outside and exercising. Fresh air is really important for us. Also just, you know, exercise is vital to living a healthy life. And if we're able to exercise more, we can decrease that inflammation in our body. It's good for our immune system. The vitamin D that we get from the sun can help our immune system too.

Host: And sleep, like you said. And what about water?

Kalina Gardiner, RDN: Oh yeah, staying hydrated. Of course, we don't want to like over hydrate because if we're over hydrating, then we're just peeing out the electrolytes. So, looking at our pee and seeing if there's a slight yellow color to your pee, then you're well-hydrated.

Host: Good to know. Okay. Thank you. We'll end on that note, Kalina. Very helpful and useful. And that is Kalina Gardiner. To find out more, please visit nih.org. And if you found this podcast helpful, please share it on your social channels. And check out the full podcast library for topics of interest to you. I'm Maggie McKay. This is Mountain Medicine from Northern Inyo Healthcare District.