| Your immune system is very complex. What is it, | | | | tissue. Some examples of autoimmune disorders |
| how does it work, and how can you keep it | | | | are Rheumatoid Arthritis, Chronic Fatigue |
| strong? Learn all about how to have a healthy | | | | Syndrome, Lou Gehrig's Disease, and Lupus. |
| immune system, the immune response, and how | | | | The immune system you are born with is called |
| to avoid illness here. | | | | your innate immune system. The things that we |
| Very simply, your immune system is your front | | | | do to increase our resistance to disease, is part |
| line of defense against all invaders to keep you | | | | of what is called our adaptive immune system. An |
| healthy. "Invaders" include pathogens, bacteria, | | | | example of adaptive immunity is receiving a |
| fungi, parasites, and viruses. Collectively, these | | | | vaccination, so that your body builds up a defense |
| make up a group of antigens. The response to | | | | or antibodies to the vaccine. As a result, if and |
| these is invaders is called the antigen response. | | | | when you are exposed to the virus that was in |
| The word comes from the generation of | | | | the vaccine, your immune system will fight it off |
| antibodies to fight them off. | | | | and you won't get sick. In this way your immune |
| This sophisticated system is made up of proteins, | | | | system has memory. |
| cells, organs, and tissues. These all interact in a | | | | The study of all aspects of this and how it relates |
| very sophisticated network of partnership | | | | to human health is called immunology. This is an |
| towards one goal - keeping you healthy. | | | | ever growing field, and with complexities that are |
| To make it simpler, we will refer to all invaders as | | | | continually uncovered each day, we learn more |
| "the bad guys." The cells and tissues that are | | | | about how we can protect ourselves and our |
| normal and healthy, part of your "self", are "the | | | | health through better understanding of our |
| good guys." At any given time, we have lots of | | | | immune system, both innate and adaptive. |
| these foreign invaders in our body. And we are | | | | Genes play their part, and we can do the rest. |
| constantly taking new "bad guys" in through our | | | | This is our front line of defense against all foreign |
| food, air and water. This defensive system has a | | | | invaders, so we can certainly strengthen our |
| tall order to fill, and a healthy immune system | | | | army of good guys to keep out the bad guys. |
| never takes a break. | | | | In order to do this, it is important to exercise |
| To function properly, it must be able to decide | | | | regularly, eat well, get regular rest, maintain a |
| whether or not what enters the body is a good | | | | healthy body weight, and supplement with what is |
| guy or a bad guy. In a properly functioning | | | | missing. It is also important to avoid ingesting |
| immune system, the friends and foes are | | | | toxins wherever possible, and where it is not |
| identified correctly. To make matters more | | | | possible, to eliminate them as soon as they are |
| complicated, pathogens or “bad guys” can | | | | ingested. And it goes without saying that smoking, |
| adapt and change quickly, fooling or tricking this | | | | alcohol abuse, and inappropriate drug use will do |
| system into accepting them, and then you can | | | | harm to this complex system as well. |
| become sick. So it's war between the good guys | | | | Often, when our immunity is down and we get |
| and the bad guys! | | | | sick, we go to the doctor. At this point the |
| When a pathogen enters the bloodstream, there | | | | approach is reactive. We are finding more and |
| is an immune response. The large white blood cells | | | | better ways now to be pro-active, and to |
| engulf the pathogens and eat them up. The | | | | prevent this in the first place by stopping the |
| smaller lymphocytes have to be a little more | | | | invaders in their tracks . This is done by building a |
| clever - they have to adapt a specific defense to | | | | very strong defense - a healthy immune system. |
| them. The B Cells identify pathogens as bad guys, | | | | Glutathione has been shown to optimize the |
| then the Killer-T cells kill them. Helper-T cells help | | | | adaptive immune system, and so it is very |
| out, and when the carnage is over, suppressor | | | | important to boost glutathione levels in order to |
| T-Cells turn off the immune response. | | | | stay healthy and ward off illness. Glutathione is a |
| When it comes to immunity, there is a delicate | | | | balancer, so if your are immuno-deficient , you will |
| balance to be maintained. If the immune system | | | | get stronger. If you have an autoimmune |
| is too weak, referred to as immunodeficiency, or | | | | disorder, glutathione will re-balance it. It "knows" |
| too strong, as in auto-immune disorders, problems | | | | what to do, and gets busy doing it. |
| can result. Immunodeficiency occurs when a | | | | Our immune system is very complex, and |
| person's immune system is not strong enough to | | | | requires very precise interaction and raw |
| fight off infection. One of the best known | | | | materials to do its job well. We can do our part to |
| examples of immunodeficiency is HIV. | | | | have a healthy immune system by eating well, |
| By contrast, an overactive system is referred to | | | | resting, exercising, and optimizing our immune |
| as an auto immune disorder or autoimmunity. | | | | system by raising our glutathione levels. |
| Here, the normal cells and tissues are identified as | | | | So keep your immune system strong by |
| enemies, and then the killers (T-cells) and eaters | | | | preventing disease before it strikes. You will be |
| (White Blood Cells) go in and destroy this healthy | | | | happy and healthy as a result! |