Lab measurements of immune function were also decisively enhanced. It is worthy of note that megadoses of Vitamin E may be immunosuppressive. This quality of E may be harnessed in autoimmune conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus where overexuberant immune responses need to be restrained. A recent study shows that a diet deficient in copper affects the human immune system, reducing the activity of some cells that attack invading bacteria. Like vitamin E, the effect of iron on immunity is two-fold.
Iron deficiency paralyzes the immune response.
In fact, response to tetanus vaccines can be marginal in iron-deficient individuals. The immune system keeps invading microbes in check by depriving them of iron via a specific immune defense substance called lactoferrin, made in the intestine and found in mothers' milk. Researchers now suspect that selenium deficiency may allow viruses to mutate into more dangerous pathogens. Selenium's role as a partner for the key antioxidant glutathione also helps explain its protective effects. Dr. Ranjit Chandra, one of the world's foremost authorities on the role of nutrition on immunity, has pioneered research on the essentiality of zinc for optimum defense.