Your immune system is critical for your good health which means paying attention to it is important. Chances are, however, you probably have not given much thought to how your body protects you from disease. The ads talk about building up your resistance as if you were growing muscles. It is not that simple.
Writers describe the immune system as doing its job as if it were rallying the troops and going to war. The soldiers may be there but there is no commander-in-chief and because your body systems move a lot faster than any human army. It supervises your biological business with the outside world through billions of pieces of information about incoming materials and takes action only when required.
The immune system itself is composed of special cells, proteins, tissues and organs and in most cases does a great job of keeping you healthy. Their basic job is to defend your body against infectious organisms and other invaders. Sometimes it does have problems and that can lead to infection and illness.
Your white blood cells are its primary components. They are the soldiers and make up a communications network that helps organize the immune response. Their tasks are specialized: some manufacture antibodies; some eat up junk in the bloodstream, some zero in on cancer cells, while others sometimes turn against your own body cells on occasion.Others have memory or a sense of history. These are the lymphocytes that remember when they once produced an antibody to a certain microbe such as the flu so that when the flu virus comes around again the cells immediately recognize it and produce antibodies that destroy it. This process is fundamental to immunization.
The job of your immune system is to protect your body from infections such as cancer, from bacteria such as Streptococcus (Strep throat) and the polio virus. It protects you by creating a barrier that prevents bacteria and viruses from entering your body.If a bacteria or virus does get into your body, the immune system tries to detect and eliminate it before it makes itself at home and reproduces. If the virus or bacteria is able to reproduce and start causing problems, your immune system can detect the problem in the early stages and try to eliminate it.
Your immune system does other jobs, too, but it is up to you to keep it in good shape so that it can do its work.
Most people do not realize that the skin is vital when it comes to protecting you. The skin not only forms a wall against intruders but it actually alerts the white blood cells if you cut yourself and bacteria enters your wound. That is why, if your skin is whole and unbroken, it is almost impossible to pick up an infection from a toilet seat no matter what your mother told you.Most of the infections we have get inside when we inhale or swallow them. They make their way into the blood and move rapidly through the body. All of which is why we are told to wash our hands because it is our hands we put on our face and touch our nose or mouth which starts the traffic pattern for the infection.
The other interesting fact is that the immune system has its own circulation system call lymphatic vessels which allow the white cells to reach the intruders. Other parts include your tonsils, adenoids, thymus, spleen, lymph nodes, appendix, and some areas of the small intestine and bone marrow. Now you know why doctors are no longer so eager to take out tonsils. They have a job to do.
A healthy diet helps you maintain your immune system. All those parts need nutrients such as protein, vitamins and minerals and fatty acids which is why malnourished people are prone to getting sick. There are many theories but not much proof yet that a particular nutritional supplement will add to your protection. However, being deficient in a vitamin such as the B vitamins does put seniors at higher risk for getting sick. Even extra vitamin C has been shown to have minimal or no effect on the immune system.
On the other hand, people who exercise have a better immune system than those who are sedentary. Even so over doing exercise is not going to do much good and may even cause injuries. It makes sense. Regular aerobic exercise is good for the heart. Weight-bearing exercise builds bone and muscle. Your body will function better with exercise which means you have a better chance of protecting yourself.will also be in better shape.
The best effort you can take is to eat a varied, balanced diet of fruits and vegetables and low fat dairy products with small amounts of meat and fish. Getting enough sleep is also helpful and, of course, do not smoke.
Ruthan Brodsky is a health and business writer with interest in healthy aging and anti aging areas. Read the Special Report she put together about finding accurate information on the Internet based on her 26 years of researching health issues. For information about how you can get her report visit http://healthyagingsuccessguide.com
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