As you go about your daily life, you come in contact with all sorts of things that could make you sick. Germs are everywhere, as are carcinogens and other toxins that could be detrimental to your health.
Fortunately, your immune system quietly goes about its business, responding to the pathogens you encounter and keeping you healthy.
In fact, most people only think about their immune system when it fails, and they get sick.
Have you ever wondered why two people can encounter the same germs and only one gets sick? Have you ever eaten the same meal as someone else at a restaurant, and only one of you winds up with food poisoning?
The answer to these puzzling situations is immune function.
In healthy immune system, your body responds to events that could cause illness or injury, seeking to restore you to healthy function as quickly as possible.
Your immune system works on multiple levels.
1 â Initially, it strives to protect you from toxins or pathogens entering your body by forming a physical barrier. In fact, all of the surfaces of your body are bacteria and virus resistant, and mucous membranes contain enzymes that further break down the cell walls of substances that shouldnât be in your body.
This occurs on the parts of your body you can see, such as your eyes and skin, as well as internally, such as in the mucous membranes of your intestines.
2 â Next, your immune system seeks to detect and eliminate those pathogens that make it through your bodyâs barrier system before they have a chance to proliferate. It does this with a variety of substances designed to fight disease, including antibodies, interferon, and lymphocytes (white blood cells).
T-cells, which are a type of white blood cell, come in two forms to fight immunity. On this level of immunity, âhelperâ T-cells detect invaders and send out an alarm to the rest of your body to come in and fight.
3 â If pathogens have managed to proliferate, then your body next attempts to eliminate the illness by getting rid of them on a massive scale.
In this stage, you will most likely notice common reactions that manifest as âillness,â which is your bodyâs attempt to eliminate the invaders. Here âkillerâ T-cells fight the pathogens in a massive attempt to eliminate them from your body.
4 â The final level on which your immune system operates is slightly different than germ-based illnesses. Instead, this stage is your bodyâs attempt to find cancerous cells and eliminate them before they proliferate. Your bodyâs tumor necrosis factor (TNF) fights off tumor formation by stopping cell proliferation.
Unfortunately, TNF can get out of balance in your body, leading to increased inflammation, which can cause heart disease and other autoimmune disorders.
If your immune system is unable to fight off whatever pathogen or toxin you come across and you do get sick, your body does whatever it can to rid you of the germs in your system. Below are examples of immune system reactions.
1 â Inflammation: In the presence of foreign invaders, your body produces large numbers of white blood cells in your bone marrow. This is known as inflammation, and it is important in fighting off disease.
However, the bodyâs inflammatory response can get out of control and lead to inflammatory autoimmune disorders including arthritis, lupus, and fibromyalgia. Chronic inflammation may also negatively impact all of the bodyâs organs, including the heart.
2 â Fevers: When you spike a fever, it is your bodyâs attempt to become inhospitable to the germs that are making you sick. In fact, spiking a high temperature is actually a sign of a healthy immune system. Your body is doing what it needs to in order to return to health. If you suppress the fever, then you are creating a body temperature that is more hospitable to the germs that are making you sick, and you are teaching your body its natural responses are incorrect.
When a fever arises, I recommend resting in bed, relaxing, and eating only when you truly feel hungry. Lack of appetite during fever means your body is using its energy to fight the infection, and you donât need to be spending it on digestion. As always, letâs learn from nature: when animals are sick they naturally fast for some time to help healing.
3 â Vomiting and diarrhea: When you ingest something that is not healthy for your body, your digestive system works to expel it in the most expedient and efficient way possible.
The result â your body rapidly evacuates everything you put in it in order to expel whatever it finds to be toxic.
Many pathogens may enter your body through your intestines, which break down the foods you eat into usable parts and waste. They then absorb nutrients and, in some cases, pathogens.
To protect you from this, your bowel contains plicae circulares, large flaps of mucous membranes that serve as an internal physical barrier to fight off pathogens. This barrier is especially important in the intestines, which contains millions of naturally occurring microbes.
Your gut also contains healthy flora, which keeps potentially harmful microbes in balance and at bay, further protecting you from illness. In fact, about 70 to 80 percent of the battle for your bodyâs health via the immune system occurs in the gut resultant of this beneficial flora. When it gets out of balance, illness often results.
As I say over and over again, your overall health and beauty largely depend on the health of your intestines!
Studies also show that gut flora is instrumental in the development of immune system components. Intestinal dysbiosis occurs when good and bad bacteria get out of balance in the gut, which can lead to many immune damaging conditions such as leaky gut syndrome and other autoimmune disorders.
Since your intestines play such a key role in maintaining your bodyâs overall immunity, maintaining gut health is essential. Toxins can build up on intestinal walls, overflowing into the rest of your body and keeping you from enjoying vibrant health.
Fortunately, your lifestyle habits can help you maintain gut health. I outline my full plan for gut health in The Beauty Detox Solution.
Here, I will briefly outline steps you can take to protect your immunity via gut health.
1 â Keep food moving through your intestines. Always eat heavier foods later in the day in order to prevent the backup and putrefaction of foods.
2 â Cut down your meat intake to at most once a day, and work to cut down from there to a few times a week maximum (one to three ounces a serving, depending on your size). Animal protein is very slow moving, and cause putrefaction and the proliferation of the bad bacteria that love to feast on the rotting matter.
3 â Avoid gluten grains (wheat, rye, spelt, and barley), which can harm intestinal villi. Avoid dairy products, as well, which contain casein which is very hard for the body to digest.
4 â Eat mostly organic plant foods including plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce contains enzymes that help break down foods and digest them easily. Tryout the green smoothie diet, a simple diet made easily ahead of time and stores easily.
5 â Ensure you have plenty of beneficial gut flora by taking a probiotic supplement twice a day.
6 â Eat my Probiotic and Enzyme salad several times a day to maintain healthy gut flora.
7 â Avoid taking antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, because they kill off all types of bacteria, not just the âbadâ stuff. If you have a healthy immune system, chances are you will not need antibiotics to fight off illness anyway, since your body will do it for you.
Stay healthy!
Love,
Kimberly
