Components of the immune system
Dysfunction of the immune system can cause autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, and cancer.
Autoimmunity results from a hyperactive immune system attacking normal tissues as if they were foreign organisms. Addressing the cause is vital.
Immunodeficiency is when the immune system is mal-nourished and less active than normal, resulting in recurring and life-threatening infections. To rectify, the causes must be addressed.
Additionally, numerous factors, including fear, depression, isolation, tyranny can all break down the body’s immune system.
Vaccines supposedly work on the innate immune system. When injected directly into the blood stream, they by-passes the body’s natural digestive protective systems. Various foreign ingredients such as animal organs, aborted fetal cells, and toxic metals (e.g., aluminum, thiomersal/mercury) injected into the blood stream can trigger the body’s immune system to over react out of control (autoimmunity) where it attacks its own organs (e.g., diabetes mellitus type 1, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Graves, rheumatoid arthritis, systematic lupus erythematosus, etc.). On the other hand, exposure to a pathogen naturally, calls into play all of the body’s natural immune defenses without the risks involved with vaccines. Once the body has recovered from a contagious disease, it usually develops life-time immunity, whereas vaccines don’t usually provide life-time immunity; and when exposure to the wild pathogen occurs, the disease is more severe or even deadly.
Organs of the immune system include the thymus, bone marrow, and lymph nodes.
Acquired or adaptive immunity, such as from childhood diseases, creates an immunological memory, leading to an enhanced response to subsequent encounters with the same pathogen.
Surface Barriers include mechanical barriers and chemical barriers. Mechanical barriers include skin and systems to protect body openings, such as the lungs, intestines, and the genitourinary tract. Chemical barriers include the skin and respiratory track secretions of antimicrobial peptides such as B-defensins and enzymes such as lysozyme, and phospholipase A2 in saliva, tears, and breast milk that are also antibacterials. Vaginal secretions serve as chemical barrier following menarche, when they become slightly acidic. Semen contains defensins and zinc to kill pathogens. The stomach’s gastric acid serves as a chemical defense against ingested pathogens. Within the genitourinary and gastrointestinal tracts, commensal flora serve as biological barriers by competing with pathogenic bacteria for food space; and in some cases, changing the conditions in their environment, such as pH or available iron.
Antibodies (Ab) and Immunoglobulin (lg)
An antibody is blood protein produced in response to countering a specific antigen. Antibodies combine chemically with substances that the body recognizes as alien, such as pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and foreign substances in the blood. The lg is a large, Y-shaped protein used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses. Each antibody recognizes the molecule of the pathogen, called an antigen, then locks in with precision.
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