Healthy Immunity: 4 Things That Can Go Wrong

Immune activity is prominent in the landscape of most health problems, from scratches and bug bites to circulatory, respiratory, and digestive health. Immune activity is initiated at the root level of gene expression and constantly permeates, monitors, protects, regulates and communicates with every cell in the body. Consequently, keeping the immune system healthy can effect positive changes that reach every functional system in the body.

Here’s the short list of what predominately goes awry with immune function:

• Chronic inflammation – the immune battle that never ends – an over-active immune response
• Auto-immunity – the immune system over-zealously defends you against your own body tissue
• Allergy – an IgE mediated immune defense against non-threatening substances, like flowers and oranges
• Immunodeficiency – an inadequate or “lazy” immune response

Notice that the first three are related to over-zealous immune activity. Only one is related to a deficiency. Despite that, most discussions about maintaining a healthy immune system are about strengthening your immunity rather than regulating immune activity.

Why does weak immune function get so much of the attention? Partly because it reflects how many people feel on a day-to-day basis. If you have low energy, your immune cells do too. If you’re depressed, you’re immune system will also be depressed.

We did an experiment where we looked at the activity level of macrophages* from the blood of those who had been taking an immune adjuvant, ImmuneDx, and those who had not. The resulting quantity of macrophages in both groups were the same but the activity level of macrophages (in gobbling up foreign objects) of those on ImmuneDx was significantly higher than those who were not on ImmuneDx. The macrophages had more energy.

If you want more energy, strengthen your immune system, if you want a stronger immune response, improve your energy. The herbs that strengthen energy are often the same ones that boost immune function. I disqualify stimulants from this category, but Astragalus and Ginseng are good examples of plants that effectively accomplish both.

Strengthening immunity should be considered only one of four immune health goals, step one perhaps. Assessing your need to address the other three, listed above, is step two. Matching your assessment with effective ways to evoke positive change, be it exercise, an herbal formula, or eliminating an insulting dietary habit, is step 3. Trying out and then re assessing your choices are the rest of the unknown number of eternal steps towards optimal health.

* Macrophages are immune cells that act as the first line of defense in consuming and eliminating foreign particles entering the body.