Guide to Immunity and The Ways To Boost It

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Have you ever wondered how some people never fall sick, even if everyone in their home is down with fever....?

That’s because their immune system is more powerful than others.

Do you want that for you? Then, Congratulations!

Once you're done with this Article, you’ll understand How to have a powerful immune system.  

First, Let’s learn about the Immune system and then the ways to strengthen it......

Definition:-

Immunity is the balanced state of microorganisms in the body that will provide enough biological defense. That can fight the infection and unwanted invasion of disease. 

Interesting :-

First line of defence in any infection is our skin and mucous membrane.
                                
Ways to strengthen it

Types of immunity:-


Active Immunity
Passive Immunity


The type of immunity that was developed by the organism's own immune system.
Immunity that was given to the Organism from outside.
Ex: Antibodies flowing in the blood after recovery from any disease.
Ex: Inborn immunity that baby gets from Placenta or immunity received through Breast-feeding.

                                        
Microscopic view
Natural Immunity
Artificial immunity


The type of immunity that was made in or gained from the living Organism.
Immune protection gained via any substance made by human intervention.
Ex : Antibody
Ex: Vaccine

Herd Immunity: - 

  • It is a type of Indirect immunity ,where a large % of the population is immune to a specific infection; might be due to recovery from that infection in past or vaccination.

  • In this case, those remaining, who are not immune will also be protected from these Infectious Diseases - Communicable Diseases. 

Development of Immunity:-

  • Immune system develops in two separate phases.                                                                                         
  • First Phase - In foetus life, the cell mediated immunity- mainly lymphocytes and phagocytes, develops in the absence of any outside antigen. This immunity is called nonspecific immunity that gets matured till Birth, also called Innate Immunity.
  • Second Phase of immunity will start developing after birth and continues throughout life, also called adaptive Immunity. 
  • It develops based on the Antigen that a person gets exposed to. After that infection gets cured, it’s antibody will be remembered by the body forever. 
  • When the body gets infected with the same Antigen for the second time, immune response will be quick. The number of phagocytes and CRP- C Reactive Protein will increase promptly to fight with the infection. 
  • Otherwise, they remain constant in its concentration. 
Also Know: - 

Immunity matures at around 2-3 months of age to fight off any moderate level Infection. Till that mother’s immunity protects the child via Antibody that baby receives via Breast Milk.
                                           
Immune response can cancel the viral load

Steps of Immune action:-
  • When the body first gets exposed to any microorganism, nonspecific immunity will respond. That is called primary immune response. Meanwhile, a specific immune response will prepare itself in case the primary response cannot handle the organism.  
  • In case the organism is attacking the body for the second time, there will be memory cells. They will have memory about the virulence of the organism. So, they will respond quickly.     
  • When the primary response cannot handle the microorganism, after around 4-7 days, adaptive immunity will take over. This will produce specific antibody responses against infection to fight it.
Additional Knowledge: - 

Antibodies are also known as Immunoglobulin – they are made up of Globulin protein to carry out immune related tasks. Types of it are G, A, M, D, E.

                                           
Injecting it will decrease the capacity of virus to cause infection

Specific cells for Infection:-
                   
Neutrophils:
Fights Bacteria and Fungus.
Lymphocytes:
Front liners to identify and destroy microorganisms.
Eosinophils:
Fights larger Parasite.
Monocytes:
Fights virus.
Basophils:
Fights Bacteria and Parasite.

Serious: -

Sometimes the immune system goes crazy and starts attacking its own body cells. The umbrella term for that is Autoimmune Disease.

                                    

The science of chronic infections: -

  • You might be wondering even if the immune system is that strong, why do we get long lasting Infections?
  • That is because of Chronic inflammation. As it will decrease the activity of WBC. So, the response of the body will be delayed. And the infection will flourish in the body. 

Vaccination: -
  • The best way to get immune to infections is by getting Vaccinated.
  • According to CDC - Centers for disease control and prevention, children must take vaccination of specific diseases at a particular age. 

To know more about Vaccination, We highly recommend you check out this article.
Below given Images explains it all…. 

Vaccination against different diseases

Also, these should be taken at the specific age in child's life...
From birth to 6 years of age

Ways to strengthen Immunity:-
  • Plant based food: - Turmeric, Ginger, Garlic, and Broccoli are the foods full of Antioxidants. Consumption of it will reduce inflammation in the body by scavenging free radicals that are detrimental for the immune system.
Also, fibres in them will feed the gut microbe and keep them healthy. Healthy gut microbe will not allow any harmful microorganism to enter the body via the gut.


  • Intermittent Fasting:- It decreases the WBC, that in turn triggers regeneration of WBC that are more mature and equipped. 
So, IF lifestyle is worth giving a try.


More amount of added sugar can increase the risk for Obesity and Diabetes type 2. Those conditions along with high blood sugar will drastically increase the risk of Infection.                                                                                                       

  • Exercise:- 
Among the list of advantages of exercise, one is immunity boosting. Moderate exercise - 150 minutes per week if done regularly can fasten the regeneration procedure of Immune cells . 
Also, it can make vaccines more effective.

  • Sleep:- 
If the person is deprived of sleep, the body can make less Cytokines - proteins that trigger immune response and help reduce the inflammation.  
  • Stop Smoking:- 
Hair like structure in the lung – Cilia gets paralyzed due to smoking . This makes the lung more vulnerable to Infection – Pneumonia. 
It’s hard for those who are habitual to smoking. However, Chewing Nicotine Gum will delay the urge to smoke and will help in quitting it. 
To stay healthy by giving up on smoking, we highly recommend you trying this….
                           




  • Reduce stress:- 

 Long term stress promotes imbalance of immune cells. Also, the Cortisol hormone gets released as a result of it, decreasing the Lymphocyte counts of the body.


Conclusion: -


  • Immunity will keep us safe from infectious diseases . It develops in two phases - Intrauterine and Postnatal. The immune response getting developed after birth is more specific and powerful. 

  • Strengthening the immune response could be the most important thing for a better life. This could be done via living a stress free life, eating healthy and quitting the habit of Drinking Alcohol and Smoking.

If you are serious about making an Impact in the world, you need to live longer for that.  The easiest way you do it is to start implementing above stated measures.

The best thing, all are free.......!

After reading this, if you have any questions , feel free to leave a comment below...


Take Care Everybody......!