What is the Immune System?
Your Immune System Has 5 Parts That You Need To Be Aware Of
These 5 parts combine together to enable your immune system to maintain your health and protect you from any dangerous diseases.
Part One – White Blood Cells
Think about your white blood cells as real troopers inside your body. They will respond to anything they believe to be a threat to you and then will take action to eliminate it so that it cannot bring any harm to you.
You have two main types of white blood cells and each of these works in a different way to protect you. The first type will attach themselves to the foreign body so that it becomes weaker. The second will mount a direct attack in an attempt to kill it right away.
Part Two – The Complement System
The complement system is the second part of your immune system and its job is to assist the white blood cells. What it does is increases the effectiveness of the white blood cells in a number of different ways.
Your complement system tells your white blood cells to literally eat the harmful bacteria that they kill, which ensures that they are cleared out of your system. In addition, the complement system is responsible for the cause of inflammation in your body to weaken the effectiveness of harmful cells.
The final job of the complement system is to rupture the membranes of any harmful cells which significantly weaken them so that it is easier to attack them.
Part Three – The Lymphatic System
A crucial part of your immune system is the lymphatic system. It is also a key component of your circulation system. The lymphatic system works throughout different blood cells assisting them to transport specific things via the bloodstream.
This is an important task for many reasons but in relation to your immune system, it is critical because it provides the highway that will transport and direct your white blood cells using your bloodstream so that they can get to the infected area fast and perform their work.
Part Four – Bone Marrow
Bone marrow is another critical part of your body because it is the source of your white blood cells that will protect you from harmful foreign bodies. Bone marrow also produces red blood cells and platelets which you need to harden any clots and stop bleeding.
Part Five – The Spleen
The last main part of your immune system is the spleen. This important component assists in the filtering of your blood. Your spleen will eliminate any microorganisms it discovers in your blood and in addition to this it assists your immune system by producing antibodies which are essential to protect you from diseases.
How Does Your Immune System Protect You?
The immune system works by providing a level of immunity to illnesses and diseases to the different parts of your body.
In this article we will take this a step further than just being aware of what your immune system does to how it actually does it. It is fair to say that the majority of people do not have a clear understanding of precisely how their immune system protects them from viruses such as flu and possibly even coronavirus.
We believe that it is really important for you to know this so that you can be aware of your own reactions to a disease and what your immune system requires to continue to protect you.
Your Immune System will give you a Fever
Often your immune system will protect you by giving you a fever. You will probably think that having a fever is a bad thing, but the truth is that your immune system giving you a minor fever can help you a lot.
The first thing that your body will do is to raise its temperature to try and eliminate the virus; this is because the virus will be unable to survive at high temperatures. This can be quite a dangerous process for you so it is important that you keep track of your temperature to ensure that it does not get too high.
It responds with White Blood Cells
When your immune system detects the presence of foreign bodies in your system it will respond by using white blood cells. Think about white blood cells as your enforcers – their job is to eliminate any harmful microorganisms that they discover.
As mentioned above, some of your white blood cells will become attached to these harmful organisms in an attempt to make them weaker. Others will mount a direct attack on the harmful organisms to try and kill them. The best part is that the white blood cells will learn about the organisms they got rid of enabling you to develop immunity to them in the future.
Inflammation is part of your Immune System
When people are sick they will often find that certain areas of their body become inflamed which is obviously uncomfortable. We all know that inflammation is not a great experience but it could be a sign that you have an infection as it is an important part of your immune system.
Once bad bacteria get into your system it will use your blood vessels to travel around and spread all over. Your immune system can make certain areas of your body inflamed so that it constricts the blood vessels located in that area and making it harder for the bacteria to spread throughout your body.
When your white blood cells notice this inflammation they will respond immediately to try and eliminate the bad bacteria. You might think that a lot of the ways your body reacts to sickness are uncomfortable and annoying but this is all part of your immune system protecting you and making you feel better as fast as it can.
So it is vital that you do everything that you can to take care of your immune system so that it will continue to protect you all of the time.
How Can Sunlight Help To Bolster Your Immune System?
When you were a child you were probably told by your mother and father to go out into the sun more because it was beneficial for you. They were right to tell you this because being in sunlight offers you a wide range of benefits.
Not getting enough sunlight is not a good thing as you place yourself at a higher level of risk of becoming sick and being miserable. People that are often in the sunlight tend to be happier and healthier.
Sunlight produces Vitamin D
Being exposed to sunlight will encourage your body to produce more vitamin D which is vital for a robust immune system as well as healthy bones. When your bones are healthier they produce higher-quality bone marrow which is a critical component of your immune system.
If your bones are weak then you are going to be at risk to diseases such as osteoporosis. This is a very nasty disease that makes your bones brittle and more porous. If this happens then your bones will fracture and break a lot more easily. A lack of sunlight can also make you more susceptible to certain cancers which you definitely want to avoid.
Improve your Mental State with Sunlight
When you are in a good mental state you will help your immune system and sunlight can definitely improve your mental state. It has been proven that there is a strong link between your physical health and your mental health and that this has a direct impact on your immune system.
If you are depressed or stressed, you can become sick a lot quicker than if you are content and happy. A good dose of sunlight will also help to give your mood a boost and relieve any stress that you have. In addition, this takes some of the burden away from your immune system which means that it can use its resources to fend off diseases instead.
You do not want to bog down your immune system with poor mental health because this will weaken it dramatically and prevent it from working to protect you in the most effective way.
Just by the process of going for a 15 – 20 minute walk each day can help improve your mood and relieve stress. This is a 2-pronged attack – firstly a walk gets your attention out and about and off of whatever is bothering and secondly you get some direct sunlight. Even if there is a tiny amount of sun coming through the clouds it’s good for you!
You cannot Replicate Sunlight
No matter what you have heard it is not possible to replicate sunlight. Sitting in front of a window with the sunlight coming in is definitely not the same as being out in the sun for example.
There may be interior lights available that claim to use the identical wavelength as sunlight does but these will never be the same. You will never get the same amount of benefit from a light bulb that you will by actually being out in the sunlight.
The natural UV rays associated with real sunlight trigger the production of vitamin D in your body. You will filter this out if you are sitting indoors by a window that has the sunlight streaming in. Artificial interior lights will never be able to produce these natural UV rays either.
If you live in an area where there is little sunlight for months on end you can still get some vitamin D in your body but it takes longer. Therefore it’s a good idea to take a vitamin D supplement during winter months.
Take Action
For more information on your immune system, supplements you can take and some recipes download this FREE Immunity Support Pack.
