Immunity

Written by an immunologist, this book takes a critical look at the marketing surrounding “wellness” and provides a straightforward explanation about how the body works, the complex system of immunity, and offers informed tips on long-term wellness.

As someone with a seriously compromised immune system, I was particularly happy to receive a copy of Immunity by Dr. Jenna Macciochi from NetGalley and The Experiment. With a subtitle “The Science of Staying Well — The Definitive Guide to Caring For Your Immune System,” I was hoping to learn…well, anything to boost my health, really.

The book has lots of helpful information on the GOOD things to focus on (sleep, sunlight/nature, movement — not necessarily “exercise” — and eating nutrient-dense fruits and vegetables). Fairly standard stuff in Western medicine/treatment. She also points out the not-so-good things, including antibiotics (including antibacterial soaps/washes) and stress. There are some common sense mentions of myths around boosting immunity, and a generally positive approach to health and well-being.

Not much on adaptogens such as herbs and mushrooms, which was not surprising as she is a Western-trained PhD. TBH, I found her website extremely helpful and informative, and would recommend both to someone looking into the topic of immunity — oh, wait, with the current pandemic, that’s everyone! Four stars.

Nice overview of healthy habits to help improve immunity. Most of it was pretty straight forward info that I already knew, but it covered the topic fairly well. I would have liked to see more talk about adaptogens to improve health as I utilize these and know that they personally improve my health and immune system. I thought it was a very enjoyable read though!

I absolutely loved this book! Dr. Maccioci writes about the function of our immune system, how we can improve its functioning, as well as sources of immunosuppression that could compromise our immune functioning. The book is very academically rigorous but manages to also be accessible to the average reader, which is often hard to find in health books like these, which are often watered down or based in pseudoscience.

I so enjoyed this very timely book that came at the right time during the covid pandemic. I found the information very concise and science based while easy to follow and sensible. I highly recommend this book for all that are interested in better health and immunity during this difficult time . This is both very readable for the average reader and fascinating to find out so much more we can do to protect our health. If your a student of science, studying the science of the pandemic or just interested in better health practices this is definitely the book to choose to better your own health and understand that our health depends so much on our immune system. Thank you to the publisher and to Net Galley for the opportunity. My review opinions are my own.