A Healthy Fall & Winter by Way of a Deeper Connection

Many people are concerned about all of the common cold viruses and infections this fall season (including “Swine Flu”).  It may be prudent to consider supporting our immune system by:

1. Developing & Maintaining a Deep Connection with our Self and others
2. Minimizing Stress
3. Changing our Perception

A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association looked at 276 healthy volunteers.

• The volunteers inhaled nasal drops with the rhinovirus (common cold virus)
• The volunteers were asked about the nature of 12 types of relationships (i.e., parental, childhood, group, etc.)
• The volunteers who scored only 3 out of 12 on survey (meaning they had less connections/relationships with the different types groups), developed cold symptoms 4 times more frequently
  • This in essence was people who were connected to fewer groups in society
• So in this study, the less connected you were the less healthy your immune response was, and you were more likely to develop the common cold. ¹

Another study looked at the impact of groups under a lot of stress.

• They looked at medical students just prior to exam time and found they have:
  • A significant decrease in different immune cells needed to maintain healthy immune response to prevent infection and cancer
  • They looked at caregivers taking care of people experiencing dementia, and the Caregivers had:
    • A decrease immune response
    • Increased upper respiratory infections
    • However, the caregivers who were more socially connected had better immune response/function²

A different study, had undergraduate students watch a moving, motivational film on Mother Teresa’s work and others watched an emotionally neutral film

• The average student watching the film on Mother Teresa had increased levels IgA in their saliva
  • IgA is an antibody and adequate levels suggest a healthy immune response in our respiratory tracts, stomach/colon, and urinary tract
  • However, a few of the people who watched the Mother Teresa film had decreased IgA
    • This group was then asked to look a picture of a man and woman on a bench
    • They were asked to write about what was going on with the man & woman
    • Those whose stories involved distrust, manipulation or abandonment had lower IgA responses
    • This group with the less positive, loving perception of life developed more illness over the prior year (they spent more time in student health)
    • So bottom line of this study…the more positive your outlook was on life, the healthier your immune response was, and you spent less time in student health with illness.

The moral of the story is that in all three studies, those who were more loving, deeply connected to others, and had a more favorable perception had better health and a better immune response.

So, we might consider this in preventing fall/winter illness.

Be Well!

With Love,

Nayo Wills, M.D.

I Bar Physician

¹Cohen, S et al, JAMA, 1997, 277:1940-44

²Kiecolt-Glaser, J and Glaser R, Mind Body Medicine, Consumer Reports Books, NY, 1993

³MCClelland DC and Krishnit, Psychology Health, 1988, 2:31-52