# S3E19 – THE 4 “IMMUNE TYPES” + HOW TO SPEAK THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM – Dr. Heather Moday, MD on optimizing immune function and lowering chronic inflammation

Published October 25, 2022

Hi, pod fam!

As we all know, immune function and inflammation are two major topics of conversation in today’s world, and while I could go on and on from an herbalist standpoint, I wanted to dig into the nitty gritty details with the expert herself: Dr. Heather Moday. An acclaimed immunologist and functional medicine practitioner, Dr. Heather Moday has spent the last 25 years helping people like us take control of our lives by optimizing nutrition, lowering stress, and improving vitality. 

In this week’s episode, I had the utmost honor of chatting with Dr. Heather about the complexity of the immune system and how we can help it function at its highest potential. Turns out there are several tangible tools that we can implement into our daily lives to find balance.

As you tune into the podcast, I’ve created a simple outline for you to reference along the way. Our conversation is jam-packed with knowledge—so you won’t miss a thing!

Testing for Inflammation

First, we walk through why getting sick is actually good for us and how inflammation tells our body when to heal. This all makes sense to our bodies until the inflammation becomes chronic. Dr. Moday helps provide clarity on HOW and WHAT kinds of testing we can use to pinpoint chronic inflammation, including:

• Fasting glucose levels 
• C-reactive protein (which is more specific for inflammation)
• Ferritin level (increases with inflammation) 
• Homocysteine levels
• Vitamin D levels

Finding Homeostasis

We continue to discuss the four different types of immune functionality and how to find homeostasis in the body for each, including:

• Weak: Someone who gets sick easily and needs help in the proinflammatory area 
• Smoldery: Someone with a distracted immune response who may have a chronic underlying issue
• Hyperactive: Someone with excessive histamine and an overactive immune system 
• Misguided: Someone with autoimmune issues and chronic inflammation 

Gut Health

No immunity discussion is complete without touching on gut health—a quintessential player in the immune system game. Dr. Moday does not recommend taking antibiotics for gut dysbiosis, but rather recommends certain foods, vitamins, and minerals that are non-negotiables for proper immune function. Here are a few things she recommends keeping in your cabinet:

• Omega 3 Fatty Acids
• Berberine 
• Zinc 
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin C

Without these seemingly rudimentary building blocks, our bodies will shut down. In fact, your body doesn’t produce any vitamin C and actually uses more when you’re stressed. This is why supplementation is essential.

If this all seems overwhelming, the gut is a good place to start. Dr. Moday explains which and why each gut testing method is a helpful tool to discover underlying imbalances in the body and immune function. By testing the stool, organic acids or even looking for SIBO, you can discover where exactly there’s inflammation in the gut that’s leading to a weakened immune system. 

As always, tune into the episode to learn all of these essential nuggets of information. And be sure to share your thoughts with me on IG: @shoporganicolivia.

Lots of Love,

Olivia

Connect with Dr. Heather Moday: 

Follow @theimmunitymd on IGWebsite: https://modaycenter.com/