Health Tip: How to boost your immune system
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Loading... - Anneli Manurmi
- 09 Feb 2023
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"A poorly functioning immune system can cause a variety of health problems."
The human immune system is arguably the most complex system in the human body. But scientists have made a lot of progress in understanding how it functions.
That’s important for understanding illnesses and how to manage them. For instance, it’s important to understand that an immune response takes several days to fully develop. This knowledge would hopefully prevent people from getting impatient and seeking inappropriate care.
The immune system is made up of an intricate network of cells, tissues and molecules. These control the delicate balance between eliminating cancerous or infected cells, and not harming the body in the process.
A poorly functioning immune system can cause a variety of health problems.
It could lead to a person getting recurrent infections. Depending on the nature of the immune deficiency, the infections can range from viral (such as colds, flu, shingles and fever blisters) to bacterial (such as tuberculosis) or fungal (such as thrush).
Immune system dysfunction can also present as excessive inflammation or even auto-immunity. In this case the body starts seeing its own tissues as foreign and attacks them. Some examples of these conditions are rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and psoriasis.
The factors that affect our immune system range from things we can’t change, such as our genetic make-up and exposure to past pathogens, to things we may be able to control or modify.
I am an immunologist, and in this article I unpack the changes you can make today to help your immune system function better. They include diet, managing stress levels, and limiting exposure to environmental factors, such as germs, pollution and toxins. Read More…
