In my quest to learn more about health and nutrition, I hit the internet to do some research. Have you ever tried to do research on the internet about your immune system? Honestly! All of the explanations that I sought seemed to be written by doctors, or even worse, scientists. I couldn’t understand a word! They kept talking about Myeloid Cells, Lymphocytes, T-Cells, B-Cells and more. You get the picture.
Trying to understand your immune system is an enormous task and extremely involved! Why can’t someone tell us what we need to know in English?
I laugh when I say that only because I simply don’t understand all of the technical terminology used these days. Knowing a little about the immune system makes everything a bit more understandable. So in this article, I will attempt to take a look at how your immune system works so that you can understand what it is doing for you each day, as well as what it is not.
In a nutshell, your immune system protects your body from infections or foreign bodies (such as bacteria, viruses, cancer cells, etc). It has two basic ways to do this:
1. It creates a barrier that prevents bacteria and viruses from entering your body. 2. If a bacteria or virus does get in to your body, the immune system will detect and eliminate the foreign material before it attacks your healthy cells and tries to reproduce.
Ever notice a mosquito bite on your skin? It not only itches, but you get a red bump and swelling for a few days. Notice how a scratch heals itself? That is your immune system at work. Most of the time, we do not even give it a second thought.
Your immune system is positioned all around your body. It is the strength of our immune system that makes the difference as to whether we get sick or not. I believe that your immune system is one of the most single important factors in your body. It is almost like an internal army – always ready to fight!
Now, if your immune system is weakened, you may feel the definite results from a virus or bacteria, or you may become run-down and tired. Age can make our immune system weaker. Stress is also a factor that damages your immune system, as well as poor nutrition. And, last but not least, environmental irritants and airborne pollutants. Add all of these things up – and you just may get sick.
What can you do to keep your immune system functioning healthy? Here are a few tips that I use, and hopefully will help you too:
1. Take a Chill-Pill – Relax. You can not let stress run your life. If you feel the pressure getting to you, do something like this: a. Remove yourself from the situation. Take a walk. b. Call a friend to ventilate. Just don’t keep it bottled up inside of you. c. Change your focus, or perhaps read the funny pages (might make you laugh). d. If you are walking into a stressful situation, try wearing an outfit that makes you feel more confident. 2. Good Nutrition – this one is a tough one in today’s society. a. Eat well balanced meals to include fruit and vegetables; b. Avoid a lot of red meat and fast food. c. Use Olive Oil when cooking and cut down on those fried foods! d. You may also take a nutritional supplement with plenty of antioxidants to help booster your immune system. e. Drink a lot of water and fewer sodas. 3. Airborne Pollutants – such as smog, smoke, dust, seasonal transitions and environmental changes. a. Clean your air filters in your house, work place, car or any other situation that you may be in to ‘clean’ your air that you breathe. b. Keep your environment dust free and vacuum often! 4. Sleep! Your body actually repairs itself while you sleep. This is why it is so important that you get 7-8 hours of restful sleep each night! If you wake up exhausted each day, you are simply not allowing your body to heal itself (stress is a big part of this). a. Don’t eat or drink anything within 1 hour of bedtime. b. Go to bed at the same time every night (including weekends). c. Noise – some people sleep better with a fan on, or some type of soothing sound. d. Go through a mental process when you lay down to ‘relax.’ I count to 100 as I breathe (sheep just isn’t my thing), but it takes my mind off of everything else, and I usually fall to sleep.
But remember this. Your immune system is the single most important friend that you have. Take care of this friend, and it will take care of you! A strong and smooth-running immune system is your most powerful frontline defense against viruses, bacteria and a host of harmful threats to your health
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