Health Tips That Boost Immunity

Many people only wonder what they can do to boost their immune system after they are down with fever, cold and our worst nightmare, cancer. Our immune system is amazingly complex. It is a network of cells, tissues and organs that work together to defend the host against attacks by foreign invaders. Having a little knowledge about the immune system will stimulate your interest into taking care of your own well-being in the long term. I will keep it short and interesting, so read on!

First line of defense

Imagine your body as a double storey terrace house. The terrace fence is just like your first line of defense also known as innate (non-specific) immunity. The physical and chemical barriers include our skin, mucus membrane, tears, saliva and stomach acid. For instance, skin sebum, tears and saliva contain lysozyme which breaks down bacterial cell wall. The gland of the stomach lining produce hydrochloric acid and kill invading organisms when we swallow unclean food stuffs.

Second line of defense

However, when our enemy drive a jeep and knock a hole in our fence, they will be able to enter and the security alarm will sound off. This is what happens during inflammation, and is characterized by swelling, redness, heat and pain. When there is a break in the skin due to injury, invading microbes will enter. This is one of the second line defense responses which demonstrate the non-specific immunity response we have towards invaders. Others include white blood cells (i.e. macrophages, neutrophils and monocytes), complement protein and interferon. In the case of neutrophils, they ingest and kill the bacteria. The names might sound too sciency, so just imagine that you’ve raised a Rottweiler in the house and it is fighting the burglar for you.

But what happens when your Rottweiler is not big and strong enough? We can get some help from Life Extension Immune Protect with PARACTIN®. This supplement helps to activate the complementary proteins and enhance macrophages and natural killer cell function. PARACTIN® also uses a herb extract, Andrographis paniculata, that has been used for thousands of years to help suppress damaging inflammatory cytokines.  It contains phytochemical that exerts powerful immune-boosting effects on the human body.

Third line of defense

If your Rottweiler lose the fight, we have our third line of defense aka acquired (specific) immunity. This part of the immune system involves B cells which mature in the bone marrow and T cells which mature in the thymus. B cells produce antibodies and mark the viruses, bacteria and foreign bodies for destruction. T cells attack organisms directly and kill infected cells. An aging immune system lacks the balance of naive T-cells that attacks new invaders and memory T-cells that attack past invaders. The deficit of naive T-cells result in the body less able to defend itself against new invasions.

Life Extension Immune Senescence contains a Cistanche plant extract that stimulates the development of naive T-cells and lower the number of memory T cells, thereby creating a more balanced immune response. It can also boost the functions of the innate (non-specific) immune cells, which is your system’s first line of defense. This oral formula has instantly offered a dual-mechanism support for your immune system.

Practical Approach

See how important your immune system is in trying to help you fight the bad guys and prevent you from falling ill? It is what you feed your workers with and what bricks you use to build your terrace. Follow 4 very simple yet overlooked guidelines to better your immune system:

• A well-balanced diet is essential to your overall health and immune system. I know rare steak and sashimi are delightful, but make sure you have them in creditable restaurants who practices food safety hygiene. Eat freshly and fully cooked food to ensure minimal bacteria instead of chicken rice and economic rice that have been prepared since early in the morning.
• Moderate amount of exercise has been shown to have positive effects on the immune system. The bacteria get flushed out of the lungs and via perspiration. Physical activities also help to boost your antibodies and white blood cells to reduce your chance of getting cold, flu and other illness. So now you wonder why your active peers are less prone to getting sick.   
• Oh yes, I have to agree that Singapore has long working hours and attractive night lives but getting at least 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep is essential. Evidences have shown that sleep deprivation suppresses the immune system and lower your defenses against illness and infection. Having more sleep in exchange for a stronger immunity, why not?
• Being chronically stressed up produces high levels of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. They suppress the immune system by causing less natural killer cells, interferon and infection-fighting T cells to be produced.

If you feel that you need additional support for your immune system because it is not easy to fulfil these 4 guidelines on a day-to-day basis, you can take these two universally known supplements:

1)Life Extension Super Bio-Curcumin:                     

Curcumin is an orange-yellow component of turmeric, a spice often found in curry powder. Curcumin has been shown to act in a multi-faceted manner and provide remarkable health benefits. It can modulate the activation of T cells, B cells, macrophages, neutrophils and natural killer cells as well as downregulate the expression of various proinflammatory cytokines. Curcumin is now considered to be a promising anti-cancer agent as it has the ability to help restore the immune activity against cancer. Moreover, it has been reported to have beneficial effects in arthritis, allergy, asthma, atherosclerosis, heart disease, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes.

2)New Chapter Garlic Force

Garlic is unique because it contains more than 100 sulfuric compounds which is powerful enough to wipe out bacteria and parasites in your body. It can boost the virus-fighting T-cells in your bloodstream that helps you to fight colds and the flu caused by viruses. Scientists from the University of Florida reported in the journal Clinical Nutrition in 2012 that taking garlic extract reduced the severity of cold and flu symptoms faster in those who took the garlic extract than among those who did not.