Diabetes, Hypertension, Cancer: How These can Weaken Your Immune System

If you or someone you know suffers from a chronic illness, you’ll know that it is a long-term disease. It can get worse over time, and heavily bring down a person’s quality of life.

These illnesses, including hypertension, cancer, and diabetes, can cause serious health problems and complications. Among these is a weakening of the immune system, our body’s natural defense against harmful pathogens in the environment.

Read on to learn more about how these chronic illnesses affect immunity, and what you can do about it.

Having a chronic illness may be a sign that you have a weakened immune system

Evidence¹ shows that immune system function is altered in people who have a chronic illness. This is a serious concern because a weak immune system can cause even more and/or worse complications in people who are already struggling with a chronic disease.

On the other hand, immune dysregulation², or impairment of the immune system, can lead to certain chronic illnesses. In particular, connections have been found between immunity and chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, cancer, and diabetes.

Heart Disease and hypertension

Cardiovascular diseases such as heart disease and hypertension are among the leading causes of death worldwide. Some studies suggest that there might be a connection between the body’s immune response and an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases.

When the immune system responds to injury or infection, it releases certain types of cells that help fight off infection³. However, this also has the side effect of causing persistent inflammation in the body. This is not usually a cause for concern because as soon as the threat has been dealt with, the body stops sending out those inflammation-causing cells.

The problem is there are certain situations where the immune system continually sends out these cells. One example of this is when there is a buildup of cholesterol in the blood vessels. The immune system detects these crystals and tries to send out immune cells to try and remove the buildup. This can have the side effect of causing inflammation in the blood vessels, which can lead to heart problems⁴.

Cancer

Cancer cells trigger an immune response in the body, causing the body’s immune system to fight off these cells. However, people who have a weak immune system might then be more prone to cancer⁵.

While it is still mainly a theory, there is some evidence to support this claim. One study found patients who were taking immunosuppressants, or medication that weakens the immune system, in preparation for organ transplant, to be more prone to developing certain types of cancers.

There is also some evidence to show that HIV, which weakens the immune system, can increase the risk of melanoma as well as basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a chronic illness that causes a person’s blood sugar levels to be elevated. This may add stress to the body’s systems and make them work even harder⁶. This includes the immune system.

This is the reason why diabetes is thought of as an immunocompromised state. It makes patients more prone to infections such as UTI, flu, pneumonia, skin infections, etc.

Pneumonia and other respiratory problems

People with weak immune systems are more prone to pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses. This is because their bodies tend to have a harder time fighting off even the common infections⁷.

Other Considerations

Some types of maintenance medication are also immunosuppressants. If you regularly take those medications, you need to be extra mindful of your immunity.

People who are immunocompromised need to be more careful when it comes to infectious diseases. Hand washing, vaccines, wearing masks, and staying healthy are all important things to remember for the immunocompromised.

It is also important to take steps in boosting your immunity, especially if you have a chronic illness. This can be done through a healthy diet, exercise, and taking ascorbic acid plus zinc supplements.

Taking Vitamin C + Zinc With Zinc Plus Technology

Supplements are useful when it comes to filling the gaps in your nutrition. By taking supplements, you can be sure that you are getting the vitamins and minerals that your body needs, especially if you aren’t able to get them through the food you eat.

The combination of Vitamin C or ascorbic acid plus zinc is useful when it comes to boosting your immunity. Vitamin C and zinc both play important roles in strengthening the immune response⁸. However, this particular combination of nutrients is difficult to combine, due to the rapid degradation of the ingredients when they come in contact with one another.

ImmunPro is different since it uses ZincPlus® technology. This helps ensure a stable combination of vitamin C and zinc so that you can get the full dose and benefits of these nutrients.

Key Takeaways

The body’s immune system is extremely important. A properly functioning immune system ensures that our body is protected against disease. It also means that the body’s own immune cells will not cause unnecessary and harmful inflammation.

For people who already live with chronic illness, keeping the immune system strong is essential. By eating right, exercising, and taking supplements like ImmunPro, people with chronic illness, or who want to avoid these diseases, can give their health and immunity a boost.

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