Perk Up Your Immune System

Viruses, carcinogens, and radiation - we live in a risky world. Fight back with these proven ways to boost your body's natural healing power.

Our immune systems are a bit like cars: When they're new, they' re about as good as they' re going to get. Then life happens. We eat junk food, stay up too late, some, drink too much alcohol, don't exercise, lead stressful lives, and this perfect system works a little less perfectly. And that makes us vulnerable to diseases from colds to cancer, flu to heart disease.
Fortunately, there 's a lot you can do on your own - no doctor, no drugs strengthen your immune system.

But first, what is the immune system?
Your body's biochemical make up is as unique as your fingerprints and it is these subtle differences that form the basis of immune response. Besides being personally custom - made, your immune system reflects the environment in which you live, your eating habits and the illnesses you have suffered in the past. Unlike other system in the body, the immune system is not confined to a particular group of organs or tissues, but cross cuts through many different ones. It works like a huge army, manned by a great rank, all of which function in tandem to protect you against hostile invasions of bacteria, virus and other villains, which threaten your well being. Whenever such unfriendly outsiders appear, the immune system springs into action, forming a barrier to prevent invasion by recognizing and trapping foreign bodies and then destroying them. Afterwards it stores their ID cards so it can recognize try to infiltrate your body again.

How does it work?
The immune system has a whole battery of first line defenses to fend off attack and prevent microorganisms from entering the bloodstream. This consists of a set of barriers which repel external attack including.

Lysozyme, an enyme found in saliva, tears, sweat, urine and nasal secretions, breaks down bacterial cell walls. If an invader does manage to break these defensive barriers, the immune system's crack force enters the fray. These take the form of specialised white blood cells, which trigger the production of antibodies and other agents designed to halt the spread of infection. One of the most important of these is a chemical called interferon, which acts as a messenger, passing from infected cells to neighboring healthy cells, warning them to protect themselves against invasion. They are able to do this by providing an ant microbial protein that stops the invader from breeding. Another important anti-microbial protein called complement works by coating microbes and attracting white blood cells to area to zap them dead.

Enter the Destroyers
Antibodies are special proteins designed to help the body neutralise or destroy invading organisms. When a germ enters Your body for the very first time, it takes several days for antibodies to be manufactured. This process is known as the primary response. During this time the signs and symptoms of the infection develop. The blue print of the antibodies is then stored in the immune system's memory so when the same germ threatens the body again, the immune response goes intop immediate action and produces the very same antibodies (known as secondary response). This time around you may not even be aware that you have been threatened by infection, because there are few or no signs and symptoms.

So what can go wrong?
The immune system can malfunction in three different ways:

Various lifestyle factors can weaken the immune system, denting its ability to do its job properly. Culprits include antibiotics, contraceptive pills, smoking, a junk food diet, bingeing on alcohol, pollution, excessive exercise and even too much sex.
The result? When something challenges the body the immune system is unable to mount a strong response.

But there are ways by which you can increase the activity of immune system so that you need never fall ill again, and even if you do, will recover fast.

Sleep well
If you' re tired when you wake up in the morning, you' re not getting enough quality sleep or may be not enough sleep, period. Either way, your immunity is probably compromised. Most people need between 6 and 8 hours a night, though individual needs vary. But consider the quality of your sack time too. Poor sleep is associated with lower immune system function and numbers of killer cells. Killer cells are the part of the immune system that combats viruses or cells that divide too rapidly, as they do in cancer. Lower their numbers, and you may be at greater risk for illness. Although no single prescription guarantees sweet sleep, lowering stress levels will enhance snoozing. Yoga, exercise, or talking to a friend may all help lower stress.
Also, watch out for the sleep robbers such as eating, drinking alcohol, smoking, or exercising right before bedtime.

Get Friendlier
Going out with friends can boost spirits and your defenses. A 1997 study of 276 people, conducted at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, found that those who had a variety of social relationship were better able to fend off colds and had 20 per cent greater immune function tuna more introverted people
Researchers speculate that social ties may help us cope with the stresses that lower immunity.
Immune cells have receptors that bind to stress hormones. When this occurs, the immune cells don't work as well. Turn your love of needlework or hiking into an opportunity to make new friends. But if the hermit life suits you, stay solitary. Happy loners may find friends stressful.

Laughter
Combats stress-linked hormones, modifies killer cell activity, raises levels of the antibody immuoglobulin. Laughter experts and neuroimmunologists have found that the positive emotions associated with laughter decrease stress hormones and increase certain immune cells while activating others. In one study, 10 healthy men who watched a funny video for an hour had significant increases in gamma interferon, a cytokine hormone of the immune system, which activates other components of the immune system.

Not the funny type? You can still cash in. One study found that when asked to narrate a stressful film in a humorous manner, people who typically didn't cope using hum our had equally positive benefits compared to people who tended to use hum our as a coping strategy. Both group had fewer physical signs of stress when they used hum our than when they narrated the film seriously. So how can you add a little hum our to your life? If you're stuck in traffic, think about a funny TV show, or read the silly tabloid headlines when you're waiting in a grocery line.

Exercise
Promotes a healthy immune system by improving circulation, boosting the function of the organs, increasing the movement of lymph (a fluid that provides oxygen and nutrients to cells) through the body. Small regular bouts of exercise raise levels of natural killer T cells. The gentle flowing movement of T' ai chi is particularly effective against the stress and anxiety that depress the immune system.

Get some culture
Next time your spouse gets tickets to a show, go! One study in Sweden showed that those who frequented cultural events such as concerts, museum exhibits, even ball games, tended to live longer than their stay-at-home peers. The key factors could be increased social contact and reduced stress. But it could also be the music. Studies shows that people undergoing music therapy have significant increases in levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA) - antibodies in saliva that defend against infection and cancer. Some studies suggest that music can lessen pain response and heighten relaxation, which could translate to better disease resistance. The listening rules are easy. Choose music you have a personal preference for, which can promote a Positive physiological response.

Writing
Doing so may rev up your ability to fend off germs, according to studies. Researchers found that people who wrote about traumatic events for 20 minutes a day three to five times a week had about half as many doctor visits as people who didn't write. Their antibody response to bacteria and viruses was more vigorous than the control group's too.
Putting it all down on paper may help you see your problems as less stressful so your body doesn't automatically produce stress hormones, such as cortical. There' s Preliminary evidence that writing improves function in the parts of the brain that control cortical secretion.

Massage
In a study conducted by psychiatrists at the University of Miami, 20 men with immune systems weakened by HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) received 45-minute massages five days a week for a month. At the end of that time, they had less anxiety and several of their immune function improved considerably.
For example, natural killer cells, important in knocking off viruses and tumors, became more efficient and multiplied. Cyanotic T- cells, a type of suppressor T-cell, that help regulate immune response also increased. Researchers think that the relaxation effect of massage decreases stress hormones, in particular, cortical.

Get on your knees
Faith may make you healthier. People who attended religious services once a week or more have been shown to have lower levels of interleukin-6, an immune-system protein linked to some autoimmune diseases, cancer, and heart disease, than non-churchgoers.
Their immune response may be related to increased social contacts, which lower stress. Or prayer may elicit the relaxation response, a reaction that is exactly opposite to the fight-or-flight response we have to stress.

Just say no to antibiotics
People say, I need antibiotics. But overuse of antibiotics can sometimes suppress the immune system. Patients taking antibiotics were found to have reduced levels of cytokines, the hormone messengers of the immune system. If you need antibiotics for bacterial infection, fine, but they don't work for viral infections or the common cold. And they may just make you worse.

Dream on
Imagery, a relaxation technique that, like daydreaming, involves allowing images to drift through your mind, may heighten immune response to disease. In women who had completed treatment for breast cancer, those who used imagery therapy didn't have any significant change in their immune function. But they reported less stress, more vigor, and an improved quality of life.
At the very least, imagery therapy sounds inviting. Just relax and let images come to you. When you are ill, imagine your immune system fighting off invaders. Or listen to tapes that invoke relaxation with the sound of ocean waves or of someone describing (the process of) relaxation. Take 5 minutes daily to breathe deeply and relax.

Cockeyed optimism
Having a Positive outlook when under stress can make you and your immune system feel high. A new science called psycho neuron immunology shows how the mind and body are inter linked via chemicals involved in the immune system. Chemical messengers communicate all negative and positive emotions to our cells. Negative emotions release stress hormones that suppress immune activity, while positive emotions increase immune function and even help people to recover faster from illnesses. A 1988 study at the University of California at Los Angeles found that law students who began their first semester optimistic about the experience had more helper T-cells mid semester, which can amplify the immune response, and more powerful natural killer cells. The reason? They experience events such as their grueling first year as less stressful than their more pessimistic classmates.

Turn to the elixir of youth
Vitamin E may be the elixir of youth for aging immune systems, according to studies conducted at the Tufts University in Boston. Eighty-eight healthy men and women over age 65 took various doses of vitamin E for 235 days. When the subjects' responses to certain infectious agents were measured, researchers saw a 50 to 70 percent improvement in immune response, which, researchers say, is the equivalent of 70 year olds responding more like 40 years olds.
People in their 20s didn't show as big a change, but, then the age-related decline in their immunity wasn't as great as in the elderly subject. It 's tough to get enough E from diet along, but you only need a supplement of 200 international units (IU) to get the benefit.