The immune system is quite complex. Since it does consist of many complex parts, “[t]he human body has the ability to resist almost all types of organisms or toxins that tend to damage the tissues and organs. This capacity is called immunity” [1]. Throughout history, many Foods have been consumed to help support the body’s ability to defend itself from pathogenic invaders of various sorts.

Acerola Cherry is one of the most vitamin C dense Foods. Not only does it have free radical scavenging abilities, it also has been shown to increase the antioxidant abilities of some other foods [2].

Bovine Liver supplies liver tissue. The liver contains Kupffer cells, which are large macrophages that can efficiently cleanse the blood of various bacteria [1]. “The active chemical medium of the liver is well known for its ability to detoxify or excrete into bile many drugs including sulfonamides, pencillin, ampicillin, and erythromycin” [1]. The liver tissue in Thymo-Immune is from New Zealand.

Bovine Parotid supplies parotid tissue, one of the main types of salivary glands. Both Staphylococcus aureus and Streptoccocus viridans can cause inflammation of the parotid glands [3]. The parotid glands secrete immunoglobin antibodies IgA1, IgA2, IgG, and IgM [4,5], with “IgA2 being more resistant to digestion by bacterial proteases than IgA1 ” [4]. It appears that low salivary production of IgA, IgG, and IgM contributes to higher infection rates for institutionalized individuals with Down syndrome [5], and probably others. The parotid tissue in Thymo-Immune is from New Zealand.

Bovine Spleen supplies spleen tissue. The spleen is the body’s largest lymphatic organ. “The lymphocytes are located most extensively in the lymph nodes, but they are also found in specialized lyphoid tissues, such as the spleen…When the blood is invaded by infectious agents, the reticuloendothial cells of the spleen rapidly remove debris, bacteria, parasites, and so forth. Also, in many infectious processes, the spleen enlarges in the same manner that lymph glands enlarge and then performs its cleansing function even more adequately” [1]. The spleen tissue in Thymo-Immune is from New Zealand.

Bovine Thymus supplies thymus tissue. “The T lymphocytes, after their origination in the bone marrow, first migrate to the thymus gland. Here they divide rapidly and at the same time develop extreme diversity for reacting against specific antigens. That is, one of the thymic lymphocytes develops specific reactivity against one antigen. Then the next lymphocyte develops specificity against another antigen. This continues until there are different thymic lymphocytes with specific reactivities against millions of different antigens. These different types of processed T lymphocytes now leave the thymus and spread throughout the body to lodge in lymphocyte tissue everywhere…The thymus selects which T lymphocytes will be released” [1]. It is believed that feeding the thymus can affect both the type of T lymphocytes released as well as their quantity, thus impacting the body’s ability to fight infection. Oral consumption of a bovine thymus extract has been shown to reduce the frequency of recurrent respiratory infections and and increase salivary IgA in children [6]. The thymus gland contains thymic hormones which Schulof found may enhance immune response for people with HIV [7]. It should be noted that many substances contained within animal tissues are similar (or identical) to their human counterparts [8,9], including certain enzymes [8] and even T cell gene regions [9]. Oral supplementation with bovine thymus has been shown to be capable of enhancing T-lymphocyte activity, probably due to a thymosin-like activity [10]. The thymus tissue in Thymo-Immune is from New Zealand.

Carrot Root naturally contains betacarotene, a vitamin A precursor. Vitamin A is used by the body to strengthen the immune system and to help fight infections [11].

“Echinacea purpurea herb is used internally as supportive therapy for colds and chronic infections of the respiratory track and lower urinary track…of viral or bacterial origins” [1]. It is approved by Commision E for colds, coughs, bronchitis, fevers, urinary track infections, inflammation of the mouth and pharnyx, and tendency towards infections [1].

Eleuthero was once known as Siberian Ginseng. One double-blind human study found that eleuthero root resulted in a “drastic increase in the absolute number of immunocompetent cells, with an especially pronounced effect on T lymphocytes, predominantly of the helper/inducer type, but also on cytotoxic and natural killer cells. In addition, a general enhancement of the activation state of T lymphocytes was observed” [13]. Another study concluded, “In vitro treatment of lymphocytes with eleutherococcal preparation produced an immune-boosting effect both in cancer patients and healthy controls” [14]. It is approved by Commission E to help those with tendency to infection [12]. A recent study concluded that whole dried eleuthero was more effective in “enhancing immunopharmacological activities” than isolates [15], once more demonstrating the value of Foods and not chemical isolates for immune function.

Garlic contains alliin which “is antimicrobial…The antibacterial, antimycotic and lipid reducing effects have been well documented…Garlic tablets studied in vitro were found to enhance natural killer (NK) cells…In folk medicine, garlic is utilized internally for inflammatory respiratory conditions, whooping cough, and bronchitis” [12]. “The antiseptic and antibacterial properties of garlic have been known for centuries…Garlic extracts have been shown to have antifungal activity when tested in vitro” [6]. Garlic has anti-oxidant effects which means it can reduce toxicity associated free-radical damage. “Garlic contains the trace elements germanium and selenium, which have been thought to play a role in improving host immunity and ‘normalizing’ the oxygen utilization in neoplastic cells” [16].

“Goldenseal alkaloids have modest antimicrobial activity” [16]. Although Thymo-Immune contains low amounts of Goldenseal, in high amounts it is not advised during pregnancy [12,16].

Rice Bran is a source of B vitamins. In Indian medicine, “[r]ice is used for pneumonia” [12].

The 100% Food Thymo-Immune formulacontains the herbs and glandulars that can help nutritionally support the immune system. Note: If one has some type of Staphylococci infection, it is normally best to avoid bovine (cow) dairy and sometimes oat-containing products.