Immune System:  Basic overview and definitions

In Nutritional Therapy, we always work on improving the foundations with clients before we address specific issues as often, we need to correct or reboot the innate intelligence of the body.

Our Nutritional Therapy “pillars” of building optimal health from a cellular level to find homeostasis so the body’s own innate intelligence operating system runs at it was programmed originally to do

The Nutritional Therapy Association key foundations are for optimal health …

1. Proper prepared, nutrient dense diet
2. Digestion
3. Blood sugar regulation
4. Essential fatty acid balance
5. Mineral balance
6. Hydration

Blood Sugar and the immune system

1. A stress response by the HPA Axis dampens the immune system
   • HPA Axis “emergency” state = SNS “fight or flight” nervous system
   • The body chooses to “fight” to “stay alive” instead of trying to use resources to fight an infection
2. Chronically elevated blood sugar elevated blood sugar levels lower the white blood cell activity – thus depressing the overall immune system

Cortisol and the immune system:

• Cortisol helps regulate our white blood cells
• Cortisol acts like a “fire truck” to put out fires we set off by activating our white blood cells to “burn down” the infected areas.
• Cortisol improves our anti-immune and anti-inflammatory properties:
  • We strive to maintain HOMEOSTASIS (balance) at a cellular level- to do that we need to have balance between our inflammatory reactions and our anti-inflammatory actions.
  • If our inflammatory/anti-inflammatory properties are not in balance or not regulated, then we experience excessive inflammation
  • The right amount of cortisol will prevent OVER reaction of the immune system …not too much and not too little (The Goldilocks Effect).
• HIGH CORTISOL:
  • Depresses the LYMPOCYTES
    • “a form of small leukocyte (white blood cell) with a single round nucleus, occurring especially in the lymphatic system.”
    • Leukocyte = “a colorless cell that circulates in the blood and body fluids and is involved in counteracting foreign substances and disease; a white (blood) cell. There are several types, all amoeboid cells with a nucleus, including lymphocytes, granulocytes, monocytes, and macrophages.
  • Depresses the immune cells
    • “The cells of the adaptive immune system are special types of leukocytes, called lymphocytes.”
    • “B cells and T cells are the major types of lymphocytes and are derived from hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow.”
  • Diminishes the Secretory IgA levels
    • Secretory IgA (SIgA) a “class of immunoglobulin found in some body secretions, e.g. saliva, respiratory secretions, milk and colostrum, that is responsible for local immunity.”
• LOW CORTISOL:
  • “Runaway” immune system
  • We lose the monitoring of the immune system
  • Lymphocytes can be circulating in excess
  • Excess lymphocytes lead to inflammation

The Immune Response:

A positive response – indication your body is working “normally”

If you never get sick- that could be an indication that your immune system is not strong enough to fight off viruses

• “Bad” Guys:
• Viruses = an infective agent that typically consists of a nucleic acid molecule in a protein coat, is too small to be seen by light microscopy, and can multiply only within the living cells of a host.
• Prions = a protein particle that is believed to be the cause of brain diseases such as BSE, scrapie, and Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. Prions are not visible microscopically, contain no nucleic acid, and are highly resistant to destruction. Compare with virion.
• Parasites = an organism that lives in or on an organism of another species (its host) and benefits by deriving nutrients at the other’s expense.
• Candida = a yeast like parasitic fungus that can sometimes cause thrush.Other microbes = a microscopic organism, which may exist in its single-celled form or in a colony of cells.

• “Good” Guys: with their Wikipedia definition
• Killer Cells = a white blood cell (a type of lymphocyte) which destroys infected or cancerous cells.Inflammation = a localized physical condition in which part of the body becomes reddened, swollen, hot, and often painful, especially as a reaction to injury or infection; “chronic inflammation of the nasal cavities”
• Anti-microbial Proteins = The modes of action by which antimicrobial peptides kill microbes are varied, and may differ for different bacterial
• Phagocytes = a type of cell within the body capable of engulfing and absorbing bacteria and other small cells and particles.
• Macrophages = a large phagocytic cell found in stationary form in the tissues or as a mobile white blood cell, especially at sites of infection.
• B-Cells = B-cells, also known as B lymphocytes, are one of several types of white blood cells in the body that are produced in the bone marrow through a process called hematopoiesis, which is the formation and development of both red and white blood cells.
• T-Cells = T cells or T lymphocytes are a type of lymphocyte (a subtype of white blood cell) that play a central role in cell-mediated immunity.
• Anti-bodies = a blood protein produced in response to and counteracting a specific antigen. Antibodies combine chemically with substances which the body recognizes as alien, such as bacteria, viruses, and foreign substances in the blood.

Look out for Part Two on Nutritional Therapy and the Immune System!

Until next time,

Get outside and walk around the block!

Debbie Potts