Book Review – The Immunotype Breakthrough
Author – Heather Moday, MD
Pages – 159 pages
My Rating – 5 out of 5 stars
Click here to buy this book.
What is The Immunotype Breakthrough about?
Immunity has been one of the major concerns of this era as we struggled with this pandemic. The topic which generally used to remain behind the scene, and most of the time neglected by the common people suddenly grabbed the front stage. This book takes this relevance a step further introducing to us several new terms and reasons as to why immunity is responsible for much more than we think. In this book review, I will try to explain in brief what the author has explained in detail regarding our immunity.
We all have advanced so much in sciences and medicine, yet so much more remains unexplored. The human body is a mysterious place with new observations and revelations occurring on regular basis. Slowly, the medical world is discovering more and more about this. Similar is the story with our immunity. Our immunity is responsible for so many things that we all remain inconspicuous to and suffer. It manages the safety and sanitization of our body, catches and destroys foreign and harmful stuff, cleans up the waste produced due to it, and all the while maintaining that good bugs remain unscathed and protected. Most of the troubles begin when the balance in the working of the immune system tips to any particular side or the ideal ratio is disturbed.
This book is divided into two parts.
I have discussed brief summary of both the parts in this book review. One part is focused on discovering the troubles of four bodies that are somehow related to the immune system. The second part explores the solution to those problems and how can we keep our immune system in pristine condition.
Part 1 Summary – The Immunotype Breakthrough
In this part, the author has focused on how the immune system works, how it protects our body, and how most of the problems that arise in our body are somehow related to our immune system. We fail to understand the importance of our own protective shield from the harms of the world and abuse it. Imbalance in our immune system causes Arthritis, Allergies, Inflammation and so much more.
“The immune system is intricately involved in microbe-related illnesses like the common cold and flu, yes, but it is also a huge factor in heart disease, lung disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and cancer, which are leading causes of death worldwide.”
The Immunotype Breakthrough
There is a chapter dedicated to the problems that arise when the immune system works and when it goes haywire. The author has explained how certain circumstances cause different than expected results and even suggests ways to overcome them.
The Four Immunotypes that are mostly found in humans are:
1. Smoldering Immunotype
2. Misguided Immunotype
3. Hyperactive Immunotype
4. Weak Immunotype
She also presents us Four Immunotype Quiz to ascertain which type we belong to which is really helpful. This was not done just to point out the problem of the individual; there is a distinct solution for each immunotype that can be implemented by the readers themselves without much expense of their resources. I have mentioned a few of those further in this book review. Everyone’s immune system is unique and their problems have different reasons and circumstances behind them. So how will the solutions work? If this question is plaguing your mind, then be assured, Dr. Moday has not blindly given solutions but explained the why behind them. With proper self-assessment of your condition and measured changes in your diet and lifestyle, you are sure to achieve results.
Part 2 Summary – The Immunotype Breakthrough
In this section, the main focus is on the restoration of the imbalanced immune system. Now that the author has explained the imbalances and problems caused by it, this part focuses on the balancing of that imbalance. She has also presented facts and statistics of the diseases that affect us, and are related to bad immune health.
“If you follow the Immune Restoration Plan, you will squelch unwanted inflammation and redirect your immune efforts away from your own cells and harmless allergens and toward legitimate foes.”
The Immunotype Breakthrough
There are several suggestions which are generally suggested to us from time to time from different individuals, but the author has provided the reasons behind them. It really helps in better understanding of our own body and encourages us to follow proper methods. I have tried to sum up the important aspects of The Immunotype Breakthrough in this book review.
Sleep
Sleep is a very important part of the restoration plan. With this new online global culture and technologies surrounding us, sleep has somehow slipped down the list of importance. The author has discussed the impact it has on our immune system in detail. With proper sleep of 7 to 8 hours, we can power up our immune system.
“Your sleep is divided into different phases, and your body performs different functions during each.”
The Immunotype Breakthrough
“All this inflammatory frenzy takes place at night while we’re asleep because inflammation in all its forms is not that convenient to experience during the day.”
The Immunotype Breakthrough
You should not take your sleep as something that you can ignore. It is crucial to keep your health and immune system in pristine condition. Sleep deprivation for a long period may cause chronic diseases.
“At the same time that proper sleep allows for a controlled environment of immune activity and inflammation, long term sleep deprivation deregulates this response and causes chronic inflammation and disease. Sleep loss is associated with a vast range of inflammatory disease states, including obesity.”
The Immunotype Breakthrough
Thus, our immune system is super active during nighttime while we sleep, and being awake disturbs it and in the end, causes chronic issues in our body. But don’t worry if you have been doing it wrong all this time, it is never too late.
“As soon as you start getting high-quality sleep, your immune system rebounds swiftly. For Example, studies have shown that after just one night of recovery sleep, NK cell activity returns to normal levels. In addition, one night of great sleep can lead to better blood sugar levels, lower stress hormones, and fewer cravings for unhealthy foods the next day.”
The Immunotype Breakthrough
Some suggestions from the author to upgrade your sleep are:
- Reprioritize sleep in your life
- Create an optimal sleep environment
- Calm your mind before bed
- Experiment with magnesium
- Use aromatherapy
- Do some easy stretching
- Try a cup of herbal tea
- Wear blue-light-blocking glasses
Stress
Stress has become a synonym of bad in today’s world. The author breaks this myth for us and distinguishes between good and bad stress. There is a chapter dedicated to the importance of stress and the terrible impact chronic stresses have upon us.
“…acute stress may be good for you. When your body initially goes into a fight-or-flight situation, it senses a possibility that you might get wounded. Because of this, your white blood cells, such as neutrophils, natural killer cells, and macrophages, redistribute from your circulation and make their way to areas like your skin, lungs, and GI tract so that they can take on any attack from the outside.”
The Immunotype Breakthrough
Exercising is a very good example of how you can increase good stress in your body and help in increasing the circulation of these elements in your body. It has a good impact on our body in long run and keeps you healthy. This chapter helped me to understand that stress is necessary for survival (almost all our adrenaline-powered actions are causes stress), but chronic stress (long time and constant stress) is harmful to our body and produces a negative effect on our immune system and overall health.
“Chronic stress is linked to a higher likelihood of metabolic syndrome, characterized by obesity, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and high triglycerides.”
The Immunotype Breakthrough
How to manage all the stress that arises in our body?
- Prioritize sleep
- Create a daily mindfulness practice
- Take a digital detox once a month
- Monitor your thoughts
- Get outside in nature
- Move your body daily and exercise
- Try adaptogens
GALT system
Then the author talks about the importance of our gut in our immune system or GALT (the gut-associated lymphoid tissue). Like most of the readers (me included), you would be amazed to know the importance of your gut in your immune system. What you might attribute to careless eating might be a signal of your immune system for the trouble brewing in your body.
“Scientific papers cite that approximately 70% of our total immune cells reside in the GALT, about one cell layer away from the inside of our intestinal tract.”
The Immunotype Breakthrough
Things you can do to keep your gut microbiome healthy:
- Eat more plants
- Incorporate fermented food
- Take a probiotic supplement
Toxins
The author then explains to us the toxins that we encounter on daily basis and that impact our body and health. They play an important role in forming our Immunotype. They cause immune suppression and trigger autoimmune diseases, allergies, and inflammation. What we eat, drink, and even breathing becomes a source of toxins entering our bodies. But we can take steps to attain a less toxic lifestyle.
Some of the tips that the author mentions are:
- Filter your drinking water
- Add plants to your life
- Revamp your beauty routine
- Use products that use less chemicals
Nutrients and Diet
After discussing the importance, as well as diet and lifestyle to maintain these aspects of our body, the author moves towards our diet. Our diet is a relevant part of our health that can bring about the desired balance and changes in our immune system. The author has explained the need for most of the important nutrients in our body and particular immunotype and the sources from where we could obtain them.
Instead of shunning supplements, the author has explained how they might help us in our recovery if taken properly. She also mentions the supplements that can help to maintain the balance in your biome but recommends them only if you are unable to get them from natural sources.
The Writing Style and The Content
Now let’s move to another part of our book review. The writing style of the book was fairly well to read and there were a lot of terms from the medicine world, but the author has done a wonderful job in explaining them to us. The book is not a swift and breezy read and requires your attention. You would need to read and re-read a lot of stuff to discern the problem with your immune system and you are sure to enjoy the process. It was a refreshing read and simplified the so dreaded medicine world to non-medicine readers like us. The research work reference at the back is really helpful for those who want to read more about any particular topic. The experience and expertise of the author are easily visible to the readers after reading just one chapter of this book.
You can check out the Instagram of the author Heather Moday for more daily insights into your immune system and health. She is an experienced and respected immunologist, allergist, and functional medicine doctor. Her recommendations are based on researches and observation.
Conclusion to the Book Review
Overall, I will give this book 5 out of 5 stars. I will generally recommend this book to everyone because this is something that we all should be aware of and work on our immune system. I will recommend this book especially to those people who are conscious about their health and body and want to understand their immune system in a better manner. Also, if you want to improve your immune health and your overall health, this is a must-read. This book will simply change the way you see your body and thus will make you more aware of how your treat your body. Highly recommended.
Thank you for reading this book review till the end. If you enjoyed reading this, you might also enjoy:
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