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What is the Immune System?
 The
immune system is the collective army of a trillion white
blood cells, bone marrow, antibodies, cytokines and the thymus
gland that help to identify and destroy the millions of microbes
(i.e. bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi) that penetrate
our bodies every day, and the thousands of our own cells
that have become genetically abnormal or cancerous. In fact,
the immune system is considered every bit as complex as our
nervous system, and is not only able to produce a matching
antibody for every one of the millions of different infective
agents, but is able to remember how to produce these agents
decades later. Key to immune function is the activity of
the white blood cells, such as NK, T and B cells, which form
the backbone of the immune system.
How does Immune System strength determine health?
The strength of our immune system determines our body's
ability to resist infection and the growth of abnormal (cancerous)
cells. If it is below its optimum level, we are much more
prone to illness, both from infections and cancers. Without
an immune system at all, we would not survive very long in
the outside world (children born without an immune system
have to be kept in an artificial environment or “bubble”).
If our immune system is maintained at optimum level, our
incidence of disease is less, and we are less likely to develop
abnormal cell growths. Also, when we do become ill or have
a physical injury, a healthy immune system can ensure the
fastest possible recovery. In some serious cases, for example
with cancer, immune system strength can literally mean the
difference between life and death. Without a healthy immune
system, the body and mind languish in a state of ill health,
greatly prolonging the journey back to vitality.
A good indicator of the level of our immune system is how
energized or alive we feel. If we feel low or weak, our immune
system is probably low and weak. We are intuitively aware
of this which is why we use expressions such as being "below
par", "feeling low" or being "under the
weather" when we are feeling unwell. Usually we try
to compensate for these “low” feelings by drinking
more caffeinated drinks, eating more sugar and watching action
movies — anything that gives us a chemical “buzz”.
Whilst this might give temporary relief, it is a dangerous
long-term solution as we will find ourselves having to take
more and more of these quick fixes just to maintain normal
functioning energy. That is why, for example, so many of
us NEED that cup of coffee in the morning to get going — our
systems have been conditioned by an unhealthy lifestyle to
tick over too slowly. So a strong immune system not only
determines how healthy our bodies are, but our mental state
as well.
It is of fundamental importance to both body and mind, therefore,
for everyone to maintain optimum immune system health.
How does the Immune System become weak?
There are several factors that reduce the strength of the
immune system:
1) Poor nutrition: the modern diet is depleted
of many of the vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other
nutritive factors that are essential to the body to maintain
a healthy immune system. Supermarket fruit is often picked
green before the nutrients have a chance to develop; the
vegetables are often grown in depleted soils (if the soil
is depleted anything that grows in it is obviously does not
have the full range of nutrients); and the meat comes from
cattle that not only eat a depleted diet, but are often injected
with hormones and steroids. Food that isn't fresh is often
processed to prolong shelf life — great for the supermarket
shelf life but maybe not the best thing for optimum health.
The immune system NEEDS optimum nutrition in our diets in
order to function well. If just a few vitamins or minerals
vital to its processes are not available in adequate amounts,
our immune system will be compromised.
2) A polluted environment: as our environment
becomes more polluted, our bodies have to cope with a greater "toxic
load". This comes into the body through the food we
eat, our lungs and our skin, and also from over exposure
to sunlight and electrical equipment. When the toxic load
rises, the immune system has to work harder to identify and
detoxify these pollutants — lowering its efficiency.
Some toxins and chemicals can even cause abnormalities in
cell growth and reproduction, leading to the development
of cancer cells. These are occurring every day, not only
through the action of certain environmental pollutants, but
also through occasional mistakes being make in normal cellular
division. It is the immune system's job to destroy these
abnormal cells before they have a chance to proliferate,
but if the load is too great, its neutralisation ability
is severely strained.
3) Stress: when we are stressed, evolution
has designed our bodies to get ready for action (fight or
flight) by diverting all resources to the muscles. Bodily
functions considered unnecessary in an emergency situation
are temporarily closed down such as digestion, repair mechanisms
and immune function. Whilst this was fine during most of
human history, when stress invariably involved a danger such
as a lion that would quickly pass, modern living often involves
situations in which we are chronically stressed, and this
means that our repair mechanisms and immune response are
continually impaired. This can be greatly compounded by lack
of sufficient sleep -- the main chance the body has to repair
and recover. Over time stress and lack of sleep degrade our
system making us prone to disease and premature ageing.
4) Drugs: both medicinal and recreational
drugs can substantially lower the immune system. For example,
antibiotics destroy the healthy bacteria in our stomachs
which are essential for healthy digestion. Immune system
depletion is also an unfortunate side-effect of some of today's
modern treatments (for example in chemotherapy and radiotherapy)
which can decimate immune resilience. Whilst powerful medicines
might be necessary for short-term survival, the long-term
view must include the healing of the body's natural defence
systems.
What can we do to strengthen the immune system?
The best way to strengthen the immune system is to minimise
as much as possible these four factors:
1) Get Better Nutrition: To increase our
nutritional intake we need to choose the healthiest food
we can find, preferably organic and local-grown fruits and
vegetables. Drink plenty of clean water (and that does not
mean tap water with fluoride and/or chlorine!). Also avoid
anti-nutrients that end up actually using the body's
nutrient store to metabolize it, rather than contributing
to this store in the first place. Such anti-nutrients are
sugar, white bread, white rice, alcohol (over a very moderate
amount), chocolate (sugar content), biscuits, soda drinks,
fast-food and dairy products (milk is not the best thing
for health… despite all those advertisements by the
milk marketing companies). It is also a complete fallacy
that a well-balanced diet can give our bodies sufficient
nutrients to function optimally. In fact, anybody who advises
not only displays his or her nutritional ignorance, but actually
damages public health. It is imperative to add food supplements
to the diet, especially antioxidants which help to neutralize
free radical attack and cellular damage. Everyone is advised
to make sure they are getting adequate Vitamin C (at least
1000mg a day), Vitamin B-complex (all the B vitamins are
very important so choose a strong one), Vitamin A (15000IU),
Vitamin E (200IUs), Selenium (100mcg), Zinc (20mg) and magnesium
(100mg). One can also try herbs such as Echinacea and Cat's
Claw. These giving the body a helping hand to deal with an
environment very different from the one in which humankind
has evolved for millions of years.
2) Minimise Pollutants: Eat organic food
and don't smoke. There are doctors around who will
not even take on a patient if they refuse to stop smoking. It is imperative to drink plenty of clean water (at
least 1.5 litres a day) so that we are able to flush our
bodies of toxins that have accumulated. (Occasional fasts
and colonic irrigation can also help to detoxify the body
and therefore increase immune health.) The sun and other
sources of electromagnetic radiation are also factors that
use up much of the bodies immune resources and so should
be minimized (a little bit of sunlight is actually strengthening
for the immune system… but only a small amount). Don't
sit too close to the television or the computer monitor (or
get a flat screen if you can afford it). It goes without
saying that drugs of any kind are a serious pollutant to
the body and so these should be minimized whenever possible
(see 4).
3) Reduce Stress: It is amazing what a
holiday can do for the immune system! It is important, therefore,
to pace ourselves in life as much as possible. Stress really
isn't worth the higher exam grade or the money bonus
because it sets in motion a terrible habit that will cause
us serious health problems in the future. There are so many
stories of people with serious health conditions that miraculously
melted away when they started to let go and relax. We can
help this relaxation process by getting enough sleep (at
least 7 hours for most of us), choosing not to be around
situations that make us angry, depressed and frustrated,
and doing gentle to moderate exercise, the short term exertion
of which paradoxically helps us to relax. We might also consider
such activities as meditation, prayer, Tai Chi or yoga as
a means to increase our relaxation levels and the feeling
that we are in control of life — the feeling of being
a victim in life, of being out of control, can be very stressful.
(Remember however that strenuous exercise such as long-distance
running, cycling etc. should be avoided as it tends to last
too long, reducing immune health).
4) Minimise Drugs: If there
is a natural product we can take instead of the drug your
doctor wants to prescribe us, we should take the natural
one (provided our doctor is in agreement… if he or
she doesn't like the idea of you taking responsibility
for your own health, you are with the wrong doctor). Doctors
today are very busy and tend to focus almost entirely on
fast-to-prescribe drug remedies (“magic bullets”)
to everyday complaints. Few know very much about nutrition
or alternative remedies so you might have to challenge your
doctor — not a pleasant thing to do but certainly good
for your health! Always choose lifestyle changes if you can,
and use medical drugs, whenever possible, as a last resort
(especially drugs such as antibiotics). As for recreation
drugs, minimize these as much as possible, and when you must
take them, make sure you get plenty of rest both before and
after and also up the supplements to help to compensate for
their immune-lowering effect.
* * *
There are always times when the above is just not enough
to cope with a severely depleted immune system. Perhaps we
are unwilling or unable to optimise our immune health (for
example, we might be on a course of chemotherapy or radiotherapy,
or live in the middle of a dirty city) and in such instances
we might consider something more powerful such as arabinoxylan
supplements, the most effective being a supplement from Japan
called BioBran. This natural food supplement is made from
the action of Shitake mushroom enzymes on rice bran, and
the resulting hemicellulous compound is so potent and safe
to take that it has now become the leading serious immune
system supplement in both Japan and the United States, and
more recently Europe.
For more information on BioBran and
its benefits visit www.healthy.co.uk/products/biobran.html.
There is also some good info on this health
supplement at www.biobran.org. |
