Immune System Part 2

Disorders of the immune system

Because it fights to ward off disease and infections every day, the immune system plays an essential role in protecting our health. It is involved in every thing from repairing a paper cut to killing life-threatening parasites. Every illness, injury, and threat to the body requires an immune response in order to heal.

When compromised, however, the immune system may lead in bacteria and viruses, which cause conditions like coals and flus.. If overworked, protective immune responses may even harm the body – causing issues like chronic inflammation and autoimmune disease, which occur when the immune system attacks healthy body tissues. The development of cancer is also links to a compromised immune system.

Common viral and bacterial infections

the immune system is the body’s first line of protection against viruses like the common cold and influenza, as well as bacterial infections like pneumonia, salmonella, urinary tract infection, and ear infection. While some of these conditions can eventually sort themselves out, others can be quite serious and demand medical attention.

Inflammation

inflammation is part of our normal immune response. When the body is harmed, it says lymph and white blood cells through the lymphatic system to flood the area of concern. This fluid uses chemical reactions to separate and remove the harmful substances, restoring the cells back to their normal state.

While brief periods of inflammation – known as acute inflammation – work to heal the body, inflammation that extends for long periods of time or chronic inflammation puts a strain on the circulatory and immune systems, damages body tissues, and destroys cells. Chronic inflammation can be attributed to a diet high in processed foods and/or to food sensitivities and allergies. Chronic inflammation makes the body more prone to contracting other illnesses that may cause autoimmune diseases – health problems that occur when the immune system attacks healthy tissues in the body. 

Autoimmune diseases include celiac disease (gluten), cirrhosis of the liver, Crohn’s disease, lupus, anemia, psoriasis, arthritis, and type I diabetes among others. Eating properly can drastically reduce and reverse chronic inflammation, while eating processed foods can cause its development.

Cancer occurs when mutated cells reproduce uncontrollably, forming malignancies tumors that can invade and eventually take over other parts of the body. There are over 100 types of cancer, and the disease can occur in virtually any body part.

The risk of developing cancer depends on both genetics and your surrounding environment. Having a family history of the disease, smoking, being exposed to radiation, and eating a poor diet all increase a person’s risk of cancer. However, much evidence suggests that eating natural, high nutritious foods can swing even the most at risk individuals back to the other side of the spectrum.

Free radicals and antioxidants

The theory that links the presence of free radicals in the body to an increased cancer risk is gaining support in both medical and holistic healing circles. Free radicals are molecules taken in from the environment that lack an electron. This missing electron makes the free radical molecule unstable and prone to stealing electrons from other surrounding atoms. When ingested, free radicals steal electrons from the Adams of healthy cells. This process has been cited as a cause of premature aging and a host of illnesses and diseases including cancer.

Antioxidants neutralize free radicals. They do this by donating one of their own electrons to the free radical, so the free radical stops looking for an electron to steal. Antioxidants remain stable, even after they give an electron to a free radical. Certain nutrients, like vitamin C and E are particularly good for protecting the body against destructive free radicals. The best way to ensure you are getting a sufficient intake of antioxidants is by eating a balanced diet can of at least eight servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

Immune System Part 1

Nourishing your immune system

 

The immune system protects the body from illness, infection, and disease. This complex system uses different body tissues and chemical reactions to defend our bodies from harmful invaders like bacteria, viruses, microbes, free radicals, and parasites. Different types of invaders trigger immune responses and produce antibodies – proteins produced by the immune system to defend the body. Over time, the body builds memory of which antibodies to use for each kind of invader, so protection becomes routine.

Components of the immune system

The lymphatic system plays a large role in the immune function. When vessels circulate and drain body fluids known as lymph to one from our organs. Lymph transports nutrients to the organs and removes any excess substances from them. Lymph also contains white blood cells – the soldiers of our body that kill a wide range of harmful invaders. White blood cells are manufactured in the finalists and bone marrow, then released into the lymph and circulated through the lymph vessels to their final destination.

Your blood contains roughly 50 billion white blood cells with the sole responsibility of maintaining your body’s natural defenses.

Risk factors for the immune system

Diet and lifestyle play a huge role in our immune system’s ability to keep our body functioning at its best. Unhealthy habits significantly increase the number of harmful chemical compounds our body takes in. These compounds, known as free radicals, are present in abundance in processed foods and alcohol. Free radicals also enter the body when we breathe in cigarette smoke, paint fumes, exhaust fumes, and other gasses and pollutants in the air.

Free radicals destabilize healthy atoms in the body, causing cell damage they may eventually lead to disease and illness. When our immune system constantly works to defend against free radicals, it has fewer resources available to fight off other invaders like viruses and bacteria, which is why we tend to get sicker when we fail to eat healthy or live a wholesome lifestyle.

Basically, the more free radicals we take in, the harder it becomes for our immune system to keep us healthy. If you are free radicals be taken, the more available our immune system is to seek and destroy other harmful invaders.

Immune statistics

• The immune system is closely linked to cancer – the second leading cause of death in the United States. CDC 2011
• An estimated 23.5 million Americans suffer from autoimmune disease, and incidences are on the rise. US Department of Health and Human Services, 2010
• Autoimmune diseases collectively rank as a top 10 causes of death in women from ages 10 – 64. American Journal of Public health, 2000.
• Approximately one in two males and one in three females will contract cancer over the course of their lifetime. American Cancer Society, 2011
• Over 40 diseases have been classified as having autoimmune roots; these diseases can be both chronic and deadly. National Institute of allergy and infectious diseases, 2004.

Keep your Brain Healthy

The role of the nervous system

The central nervous system is the body’s communication and control center. It controls all mental activity including thought, learning and memory. Using receptors, the nervous system detects both external (temperature, light, sound,) and internal(blood pressure, pH, glucose levels) input. Your brain makes decisions every second based on all of its inputs. Your central nervous system has a huge responsibility for sending the appropriate signal to the appropriate muscle or gland to produce the proper response to the data received. It is the nervous system that sends signals telling you to jump away from a moving car instead of in front of it.

This complicated organ system needs to be well fed! Eating too much or too little of the certain nutrients can have a huge impact on brain chemistry. The chemicals that transfer signals between the cells of the nervous system can either stimulate or calm the brain. This has a significant effect on digestion, focus, sleep and mood. Because of what we eat plays such a large role in dampening or improving mood, this section will list some mood balancing foods.

Common neurological disorders:

meningitis, ADHD, multiple sclerosis, Bell’s palsy, brain tumor, stroke, epilepsy, ADD, dementia/Alzheimer’s, migraine, Parkinson’s disease, and cerebral palsy.

Nervous system disorders

With the system as complicated as the nervous system, one small problem can spell major consequences for the brain and the rest of the body. There are several factors that can lead to neurological disorders including genetics, trauma, and sell DK that naturally occurs with aging. While some of these factors cannot be avoided, others can be delayed and even prevented with a highly nutritious diet. In this section we focus on using nutrition to maintain overall brain health.

Stroke is the number one cause of neurological damage

One of the leading causes of death nationwide, strokes occur when the brain does not receive enough blood. This results in a swift and possibly permanent loss of brain function. Strokes can develop when blood vessels leading to the brain become blocked, or when blood vessels within the brain rupture. Clogged arteries, blood clots, or head trauma can be responsible for this interruption of normal blood flow. Suffering from a stroke may lead to hearing loss, paralysis, loss of speaking ability, or death, if not treated immediately.

Those strokes occur in the brain, they are also a disorder of the circulatory system. Individuals can reduce their risk of a stroke by following the diet, exercise, and lifestyle that is healthy.

Did you know? Roughly 250,000 neurons or nerve cells are produced each minute in the developing human fetus.

Dementia is the number two cause of neurological damage

Dementia is the term used to describe a gradual decline in healthy brain functioning. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Medical experts are still trying to pinpoint exactly what causes Alzheimer’s(and dementia in general) , but they have observed that the tangled neurons and plaque buildup in brain tissues generally accompany the condition. These defects may cause some of the problems associated with the disorder.

Alzheimer’s disease tends to run in families but may also result from gradually hardening arteries that limit blood flow to the brain over time. Symptoms become worse as a sufferer ages, and he or she may grow more confused, disoriented, restless and unable to carry out normal human functions as time goes by.

Nervous system disorder risk factors

A family history of stroke, mental illness, or vision problems can increase a person’s risk of developing similar health issues. However, this can be delayed, prevented and/or possibly reversed with proper nutrition.

Strokes are often caused by cardiovascular problems. A healthy diet free of artery clogging trans fats, processed foods, and LDL or bad cholesterol can reduce the risk of cardiovascular issues that can lead to stroke. Also it is important to avoid smoking. Smoking damages the lining of the blood vessels and increases the likelihood of developing blood clots.

Dementia, Alzheimer’s and other degenerative brain disorders are also associated with a high risk lifestyle. Like with stroke, smoking, drug use, and the load – nutrients, high-fat diet can increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

Poor diet also plays a huge role in depression and other mood disorders, as mood – lifting neurotransmitters or happy chemicals in your brain can only be made from specific food-based proteins. Diets that do not include these foods restricts the brain’s ability to make and release these certain chemicals, leaving us open to developing a mood disorder.

Finally, vision and degenerative eye disorders are often tied to conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes. Both of these conditions relate to diet and lifestyle choices and are often brought on by eating processed foods and foods that are high in sugar.

Prevention

Like with almost all potential health problems, these nervous system disorders can be delayed, prevented and even reversed by eating a nutrient – rich diet. There are even certain foods, that have been shown to specifically help maintain healthy brain tissue.

Over fed and malnourished

Let's take control of our Health!

Over the last few decades, America has become the most overfed yet undernourished nation in the world.

When we feel sick, we go straight to the doctor’s office, looking for a quick fix to relieve whatever ails us. And we think we are all well again

We get pills for feeling dizzy, pills for feeling sad, pills for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, indigestion, – you name it!

Yet, despite the ever-increasing variety of medicine available, current middle-aged Americans report feeling less healthy than the generation that preceded them.

Our life expectancies are reducing, as those of our children, who are expected to live 10 years less than we are. And most of us are dying from a small handful of the same avoidable diseases.

Leading causes of death in the United States:

1.     heart disease
2.     cancer
3.     chronic lower respiratory diseases
4.     stroke
5.     accidents
6.     Alzheimer’s disease
7.     diabetes
8.     influenza and pneumonia
9.     kidney diseases

source http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm

Why then, with all the incredible medical advances of the last 50 years, are we getting less healthy as a population? It is because we are avoiding responsibility of our own health: failing to choose to live a healthy lifestyle, and instead relying on prescription medications, which often only treat the symptoms and not the underlying causes of our health problems.

So how do we reclaim our health?

If we want to regain true health, we must eat and properly digest real, whole foods. Each day, the link between diet and disease becomes more and more apparent. Since processed food enter the standard American diet in the mid-– 20^th century, hospital visits, medicine prescriptions, and instances of obesity and its related issues has steadily increased. First came margarine, and fast food and frozen dinners, and now most Americans don’t understand what real, whole food is. The term whole food had to be created to define food not produced in a factory.

Is your food robbing your health?

Most of the foods sold in a typical market rob us of our health. We must steer clear of these unhealthy food products if we want to avoid contributing to gruesome American health statistics. We must change the way we eat. We need to significantly reduce the amount of processed food included in our diet.

If we don’t get back to basics and start eating plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains and unaltered meets, our prognosis could be horrible. According to the American Cancer Society, half of all men and one third of all women in the United States will develop cancer at some point in their lives. The American Heart Association states that over 82 million Americans suffer from some form of heart disease, and over780,000 of these people die each year. These are tragic statistics considering that these diseases can be prevented and potentially reversed – not with the pill or one doctor’s visit, but with a commitment to following healthy eating habits.