How the Immune System Works

The Power of our Immunity: How we heal ourselves and how we can help our body be a more dynamic healing system?

Before we can improve our immune system we need to understand how it works.

Most of us call our body’s protective defence against illness our Immune System. It really isn’t. It is really better described as our Immune Response. The complete system which includes our immune response and protects us from disease, foreign invaders and ill health is called our Lymphatic System.

The Lymphatic System is not a very well-known or understood system. It is a system of organs and vessels just as complex as the circulatory system, and just as essential to the survival of the human body because it makes up the majority of our body's immune system.

The Lymphatic System is composed of lymph, capillaries, vessels, lymph nodes and lymphatic organs including the tonsils, thymus gland, Peyer’s patches and spleen.

Lymph is a specialized whitish, watery fluid formed in the tissue spaces and made up mostly of surplus cellular fluid and potentially harmful waste products.

The lymph moves in one direction only. Lymph is propelled forward via small involuntary bulb-like muscles which contract the lymph vessels. The lymph nodes are found around major arteries of the body and are found in clusters. The lymph nodes perform two important functions: Lymph nodes contain immune response cells which engulf and destroy invader cells and store lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell.

When passed through the lymph nodes the lymph is ‘filtered’ so that bacteria, cancer cells, and damaged tissue cells are removed and prevented from re-entering the bloodstream and circulating throughout the body. As the filtered lymph leaves the node it picks up immune system lymphocytes and antibodies that inactivate foreign particles.

The Lymph is then deposited back into the body’s blood stream via veins in the neck area. The waste products from the lymph nodes are sent to the Liver, Spleen and Kidneys to remove the neutralized lymph waste product from the body.
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1. Activate your immune system. Practice 1 minute of deep breathing and full body muscle contraction 3 times a day. Stretching exercises like Yoga are also very beneficial.

2. Rinse your mouth three times with water after brushing your teeth.
We are not meant to ingest the fluoride and whitening materials that are in most toothpaste today.

3. How we begin our exercise workout determines our results. When we warm up slowly for 10 to12 minutes we allow our body to make the necessary physiological changes required for the increased cardio workload.

4. When showering or bathing rinse off all soap residue until you feel squeaky clean.
Soap residue left on the skin is very dehydrating and ageing to your largest organ (the skin).

5. Create your Zest Life health team.
Your team should include your doctor and dentist as well as complimentary care givers including chiropractors, naturopaths, dieticians, therapists and mentors. Mentors are especially helpful. Studies have shown that speaking to a trusted, non-judgmental mentor can be as therapeutic and stress reducing as traditional therapies.

6. Be difficult To defeat.
In order to accomplish what we want in life we must treat our challenges as opportunities. The final results of our challenges are dictated by the degree to which we are difficult to defeat. Challenges should not scare us. We train for them.

7. Create healthy opportunities for self expression.
Take up a new hobby or rekindle an old one. Passions are energizing.
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Sarcopenia

People told you there would be years like these:

We all gradually lose muscle mass after age 25 through the natural aging process. But there are things we can do about it.

Sarcopenia (sar.coh.pee.nee.uh) is the age-related gradual loss of your body’s muscle mass and strength. Your lean muscle is one of your greatest allies in controlling your weight and keeping you fit and sexy. Lean muscle mass is one of the most metabolically active tissues in your body and consumes many calories by virtue of its very existence and use.

In her important book on Strength Training, Dr. Christine Caivano states scientists estimate that the average man will lose about 7 pounds of muscle each decade after age 25 if no steps are taken to reverse sarcopenia. The average woman will lose 5 pounds of muscle per decade after age 35. After menopause, a woman’s average muscle loss will occur at twice that rate, causing her to lose an average of a pound of muscle a year. This means that a 60-year- old woman who doesn’t do anything to prevent Sarcopenia will have lost over 10 pounds of muscle. A 25 year old man will potentially lose 21 pounds of lean muscle mass by the age of 55.

An important component of Sarcopenia is that the process evolves slowly. We may lose muscle mass over many years and not notice the changes in our body composition. Fat is slowly replacing muscle mass. The fat weighs less than muscle and consequently your total body weight may initially remain almost the same. You may weigh almost the same but your body dimensions have begun to change.
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Contact Zestlife: zlf@zestlife.ca