Our Immune System is our body’s protection mechanism. It fights viruses, bacteria , germs which try to invade our body and make us ill. The immune system comprises of various organs like bone marrow, spleen, thymus and lymph nodes, cells and tissue.
Types:
1. Innate immunity – This is the immunity which our body already possess. Innate immunity is inborn immunity. When our body is attacked by any disease causing pathogen, our defense system tries to fight it. That’s what causes runny nose and fever
2. Adaptive immunity – this is the immunity our body develops through vaccines and when a new type of pathogen attacks. The adaptive immunity system learns about this new threat and stores the data so that it can fight it
However,there is not enough solid data to so called boosting immunity response, although the claims are many.There are certain things which impact our immune system, taking care of these can give us a strong and proper functioning immune system.
1. Stress: Psychological stress can take a toll on your immune systems health. Chronic stress can increase the chances of autoimmune diseases.Whatever kind of stress, short lived , long termed(bad history, experience), family related , workplace, person related is bad for overall health as well is your immune system.
2. Age: Just like our whole body grows, matures and then descends so does our immune system. Thus peoples immune system weakens with getting old and they are more prone to diseases.
3. Sleep: Sleep deprivation is also believed to impair your immune system.Our body needs rest to recover and grow.Try to have enough quality sleep everyday, minimum seven hours of sleep for adults is recommended.
4. Smoking: Other than many known risks smoking also suppresses our immune system.
5. Exercise: exercising regularly can give your overall health a boost and improve immunity as well.
6. Alcohol: Alcohol disrupts immune pathways which makes us vulnerable to infections and organ damage associated with alcohol also impede recovery from tissue injury.
7. Diet : No war is won on empty stomach.Similarly the soldiers of our immune system need proper nutrition to stay healthy and fight.Many times the deficiency of certain nutrients can be the reason of a weak immune system.
Nutrients for healthy immune system:
a) ZINC – Sources of zinc are chicken, almonds, mushroom, lentils, spinach, pumpkin seed, lamb, avocado, yogurt , eggs etc.
b) SELENIUM – Selenium can be found in foods like eggs, cheese, mushroom, wheat, chicken, turkey, oats, shrimp, crab,tuna, salmon etc.
c) VITAMIN A – Vitamin A is a fat soluble vitamin found in carrots, cod liver oil, spinach, broccoli, dried apricot, mango, tomato juice, sweet potatoes etc.
d) VITAMIN B6 – Food sources for vitamin B6 are ricotta cheese, sweet potatoes, tuna, beef, salmon, carrot, banana, milk, spinach, green peas, chickpeas, avocados etc.
e) VITAMIN C – Vitamin C is the most well known nutrient to improve immunity,it’s sources are papaya, strawberries, oranges, lemons, lychees, thyme, parsley, kale, broccoli, kiwi, guava etc.
f) VITAMIN E – Vitamin E is found in these food sources ,vegetable oils(wheat germ oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, olive oil etc), almonds, peanuts, hazelnuts, avocado, pistachio, mango etc.
g) FOLIC ACID – Various sources of folic acid are okra,avocado, beans, peas, lentils, cauliflower, beet, peanuts, almonds, flax seed, corn , celery, carrot, broccoli, asparagus , leafy green vegetables, papaya, banana, eggs etc.
h) IRON – it on rich food sources are spinach, apricots, shellfish, button mushrooms, red meat, chicken, quinoa, green peas, dark chocolate etc.
Micro-nutrients – All the above mentioned nutrients come under micro-nutrients category. Micro-nutrients do not carry any calories like fat, carbohydrates and proteins which are called macro-nutrients. Rather than providing energy their role are various like maintaining healthy eyes, skin, protection from cell damage, healthy bones, growth and reproductive system etc. The micro nutrients which our body cannot produce or cannot produce enough are known as essential micro nutrients. So it’s all the more reason to include certain foods in our diet which contain these nutrients for overall health.
However there’s a daily value recommended for every nutrient, which you should consider before making any considerable changes in your diet and also consult your doctor if you have any medical condition before adding anything to your diet. There are lot of food which are loaded with vitamins and minerals and you should definitely include them in your diet(see the common one’s appearing in each nutrient category above).
Immunodeficiency disorder – It defines the condition where your immune system is not capable to work properly and fight off infections.
Types of immunodeficiency disorder:
1.Primary – you have it since you were born.
2. Secondary- which is acquired later in life.
Causes:
Malnutrition is one of the causes of secondary immunodeficiency disorder.Diabetes, drugs, chemotherapy etc.are the other causes for it.
Autoimmune disease – This is caused when immune response is overactive and can’t differentiate between foreign cells and own cells and starts attacking own cells.
Examples: Lupus , rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease etc
Causes: Unknown
Conclusion: To have a healthy immune system, our best bet is to follow a healthy lifestyle, eat and drink sensibly and include exercise in our routine.
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