Boosting Immune System: The Brain-Spine-Nervous System Connection

The podcast, hosted by Dr. Sten Ekberg, a chiropractor, explores a holistic approach to boosting the immune system, moving beyond conventional nutritional advice. The central argument posits that the brain and nervous system play a critical, often overlooked, role in immune function. Specifically, stress—whether chemical, structural, or emotional—activates the sympathetic ("fight/flight") nervous system, which in turn inhibits the parasympathetic ("feed/breed") system, thereby suppressing the immune response. This mechanism explains common phenomena like increased illness during stressful periods such as academic finals or holidays. Dr. Ekberg distinguishes his chiropractic approach from the simplistic "bone out of place" model, emphasizing that spinal movement provides crucial "nutrition" in the form of electrical signals to the brain, accounting for ninety percent of its stimulation. He highlights the "use it or lose it" principle for brain function, asserting that proper spinal movement is essential for the brain to appropriately handle stress responses. The key nuance is that chiropractic adjustments don't directly stimulate the immune system but rather modulate the sympathetic nervous system by increasing prefrontal cortex activity, indirectly enhancing parasympathetic function and, consequently, immune system robustness. To reverse the cycle of stress-induced immune suppression, the podcast recommends increasing prefrontal cortex activity. This can be achieved through chiropractic adjustments, which stimulate the spine and thus the brain. Beyond adjustments, practical advice includes engaging in light exercise, practicing breathing exercises, and incorporating relaxation training into daily routines. These activities, combined with a foundational healthy diet (eating vegetables, taking Vitamin C), are presented as synergistic strategies to enhance the body's ability to fight off infections. The broader implications of this perspective underscore the profound interconnectedness of the nervous system, brain health, and immune function. It suggests that lifestyle factors such as sedentary habits and chronic stress have far-reaching consequences beyond immediate physical symptoms, directly impacting the body's defense mechanisms. The discussion advocates for a proactive, multi-faceted approach to health that prioritizes nervous system regulation and spinal integrity as fundamental pillars of overall wellness and immune resilience, offering a complementary view to traditional medical interventions.

"That stress is going to be picked up by the upper brainstem which handles your stress responses called your sympathetic or your fight/flight nervous system"

"the sympathetic is also going to inhibit the para-sympathic which is your feed/breed that's what takes your your digestion and your immune system"

"anytime increase something with stress you going to decrease, your going to shutdown effectively your immune system."

"That's why everybody gets in school.. ah.. gets their colds and their flus around finals."

"one way to increase the the function of this system to reverse the cycle is the to increase the activity of your prefrontal cortex, the front half of the brain."

"the spine provides ninety percent of the nutrition of the signals that becomes nutrition that becomes they're stimulating brain"

"the brain just like any other world any other cell in your body is uses or lose it so whatever information that the brain receives as electrical signals actually fuels the brains jus keeps the brain going"

"when this flying moos we stimulate the cortex we can hit sympathetic nervous system and thereby indirectly increasing the function I'll parasympathetic nervous system and consequently her back up the function of the immune system"

"Sedentary lifestyles and movement are the spine isn't working correctly then they're also not signaling correctly to the brain and the brain suffers any cannot hit no stress responses appropriately and your immune system suffers"

"do some light exercise do some breathing exercises relaxation training in addition to being that food and you will be much better suited to fight off does infections when the time comes"