Written By: Vivian BenjaminImmune Fitness What does the term immune fitness mean? It describes the human body’s ability to respond to health challenges by activating the immune response. This process is vital to maintain proper health, prevent and cure diseases and enhance the quality of life. A strong immune fitness is needed to decrease the burgeoning non-communicable diseases around the world. Not only that immune health is involved in non-communicable ailments, but it also responsible for communicable diseases (infectious illnesses). Moreover, if you have a declined immune fitness, it influences your mood, daily activities, quality of life and interaction with people. Nutritional Immunology Recently, the study on nutritional immunology is swiftly evolving as humans tend to consume a poor diet that decreases their capacity to fight against ailments. Many young people are developing illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal issues, autoimmune disorders and allergies due to poor dietary choices and unhealthy lifestyle factors. Immune health can also be damaged due to psychological stressors. Psychological stress affects the immune system in numerous ways and influences your body’s defence mechanism. For instance, if you sustain an injury through an accident and you are affected by emotional disturbances; your wound will take a longer time to heal. Everyone differs in their ability to manage stressful situations. A stressor can be defined as an event that exceeds an individual’s perceived ability to cope (Lazarus and Folkman) and can result in an allostatic load and overload. Presently, humans are exposed to many hazardous environments thus; they tend to live in stressful situations. These circumstances affect both your physical and mental well-being. When you get ill, the immune system fights to protect you from harm inside your body. So, while the immune system battles to keep you healthy, you must strive to protect your body’s warrior knight. An Overview of the Immune System How can you nourish your immune system without knowing anything about it? How can you love or pamper yourself without knowing the ins and outs of your body? You can’t. Let’s take some time to explore your body’s warrior knight, so you can properly support your immune system in a balanced way. The immune system consists of an integrated collection of numerous cell types, each with its role in defending against invasion and infection by microorganisms. Molecules (two or more atoms connected by chemical bonds, which form the smallest unit of a substance that retains the composition and properties of that substance) liable for modulations, interactions, and regulation support the immune system. The primary elements of the immune system include the bone marrow, white blood cells (WBC) produced by the bone marrow and the lymphoid tissues, which encompasses the thymus gland, lymph nodes, the spleen, tonsils, and adenoids (a mass of enlarged lymphatic tissue between the back of the nose and the throat). Bone Marrow Bone marrow is a soft, spongy tissue found in the centre of bones. There are 2 types of bone marrow, which are red bone marrow and yellow bone marrow. Red bone marrow contains red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Yellow bone marrow is made of fat and comprises stem cells that become bone cells, fat and cartilage. There are 2 types of white blood cells: granulocytes (neutrophils, basophils, and eosinophils) and agranulocytes (lymphocytes and monocytes). The lymphocytes consist it B-lymphocytes (B-cells) and T-lymphocytes (T-cells). B-cells mature in the bone marrow before entering the circulation. On the other hand, T-cells move from the bone marrow to the thymus, where they mature into different cells. Lymphoid Tissues Lymphoid tissues are organized structures that support immune responses. It includes the thymus gland, spleen, tonsils and lymph nodes. The spleen contains red and white pulp. The red pulp is where the old red blood cells are destroyed. The white pulp contains lymphocytes. The lymph nodes are distributed throughout the body. The remaining lymphoid tissues are made up of immune cells that defend the cell against microorganisms. The Functions of the Immune System There are 2 functions of the Immune system: a) Natural (innate) Natural immunity is a nonspecific immunity that presents at birth. It fights off the microorganism that enters the body using phagocytes (eating cells). b) Acquired (adaptive) Acquired immunity is a specific immunity that develops after birth. It develops antibodies and is used to fight certain types of microorganisms. This immunity can also defend against bacteria and viruses that change over time as it is adaptive immunity. Nurturing Your Immune Health from the Inside 1. Hydration The circulatory system is important to provide an uninterrupted blood flow to your cells. The lymphatic system is part of the immune system in the body, although it is still complementary to the cardiovascular system. The heart is known to pump blood and oxygen to the lungs and all body parts. Blood is part of body fluids therefore; it needs fluid to help maintain proper circulation. Being fully hydrated helps you to nourish your immune system. You don’t need to drink just water to maintain hydration. You can consume plenty of healthy beverages as part of your daily diet. To illustrate, you can incorporate turmeric, blue pea, and hibiscus tea. These medicinal plants tea not only keeps you hydrated but is highly nutritious. Furthermore, drinking water or medicinal teas helps the body detox by flushing out unwanted toxins. Apart from that, keeping hydrated also helps with the transport of water-soluble vitamins (Vitamin B & Vitamin C), which are needed to keep your cells healthy. (Check out my article on rethinking hydration) 2. Nutrition We all know that consuming a variety of plant-based food is nutritious. It has been proven beneficial to us since ancient times. However, that doesn’t mean I’m encouraging you to stop eating animal-based food completely. It is entirely up to you to consume any source of food. Nevertheless, try increasing the amount of plant-based food (fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, pulses, whole grains, herbs and spices) and remember that balance is important in nutrition. Apart from that, nurture your immune system by supporting your gut health with fermented food, probiotics and prebiotics. Having a healthy digestive system keeps your immunity strong. Overall, incorporate balanced macronutrients and micronutrients daily. Nurturing Your Immune Health from the Outside 1. Physical Activity Exercise has always been known for its plenty of health benefits. Moreover, it has the power to create a good quality of life and improve mood. High-intensity exercise increases vasodilatation, therefore; improving blood circulation and boosting immune functions. Research shows that physical activities promote the skin’s capacity to preserve water and impede dry skin. A healthy adult should aim to exercise at least 150 minutes of moderate or 75 minutes of high-intensity exercise weekly. In addition to that, always perform 2 sessions of strengthening exercises in a week. Examples of moderate-intensity exercise
Examples of high-intensity exercise
Examples of strengthening exercise
2. Adequate Sleep Insufficient sleep leads to chronic diseases and mental health issues like depression. The recommended amount of sleep a healthy individual needs is between 7-9 hours a day. When you sleep, your body enters into a healing period, where your cells are regenerated due to the increase in blood flow throughout the body. (Check out my article on how to sleep better naturally in the holistic way) Tips to sleep better:
3. Stress Management Stress has become common these days. Everyone in the world experiences a sort of stressful moment during their life. However, not managing it positively will lead to health and mental issues. Remember, your body acts as a whole/one unit therefore; damage in one part of the body leads to damage in another part. In the same way, when stress negatively impacts your mind (brain), then your body takes a hit too additionally affecting your immune system. Tips to cope with stress (based on my own experience):
All in All The immune system is your body’s warrior knight that helps defend against the invasion of microorganisms or infections in your body. You can’t stop bacteria or viruses from attacking your body but you can boost your defence mechanism and increase your immunity. However, before nurturing your immune system, it is always better to know the ins and outs of your warrior knight. After that, you can fully nurture your immune health from the inside and outside using holistic interventions. I hope you can take away these simple tips to nourish your body. Share in the comment section below on your journey with caring for your immune system or if you have practised these guidelines that I share in Nutrition Takes. Sharing insights among people can help inspire many to start taking better care of their health and well-being. Have a lovely weekend. References 1. Verster, J. C., Kraneveld, A. D., & Garssen, J. (2022); The Assessment of Immune Fitness; Journal of Clinical Medicine; 12(1):22. 2. Alesci, A., et al. (2022); Resveratrol and Immune Cells: A Link to Improve Human Health; Molecules; 27(2):424. 3. Zoi Michailidou et al. (2022); Innate Immune Cells in the Adipose Tissue in Health and Metabolic Disease; Journal of Innate Immunity; 14(1):4-30. 4. Weyh, C., Krüger, K., Peeling, P., & Castell, L. (2022); The Role of Minerals in the Optimal Functioning of the Immune System ;Nutrients; 14(3):644. 5. Luciana Besedovsky, Tanja Lange & Monika Haack. (2019); The sleep-immune Crosstalk in health and disease; Psychological Reviews; 99(3):1325-1380. 6. Zheng, D., Liwinski, T. & Elinav, E. (2020); Interaction between microbiota and immunity in health and disease; Cell Res; 30:492–506. 7. Richard J. Simpson et al. (2020); Can exercise affect immune function to increase Susceptibility to infection?; Exercise Immunology Review; 26:8-22.
2 Comments
Philo
3/9/2023 04:48:06 am
A very useful article for everyone to lead a healthy life. Through this article I come to understand the importance of immune system to live a healthy life. Thanks to the author and God bless.
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Vivian Benjamin
3/9/2023 01:39:15 pm
Thank you for your comments Philo. I hope you have a healthy happy life. Tc
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