How to Keep Your Immune System Naturally Robust
Effective Herbal Remedies for Stronger Immunity and Lasting Health
Supporting your immune system doesn’t have to be complicated. Simple, consistent habits—like regular exercise, staying hydrated, getting enough sleep, soaking up sunlight, and nourishing your body with nutrient-rich foods—can make a significant difference.
Understanding how your immune system works empowers you to support it more effectively—gaining insight into your body's functions enables you to care for it with greater knowledge and less fear.
When we don’t understand how things work, our imagination takes over, and suddenly, a cold virus becomes a death knell. Your immune system will support you if you are in good health and not compromised.
By keeping your lymphatic system flowing and strengthening your memory cells, you enhance your body’s natural defenses and set the foundation for lasting health.
The immune system
The immune system is made up of the lymphatic system, white blood cells, specialized cells, and antigens. Lymphatic tissue in the spleen, liver, tonsils, adenoids, and intestinal walls helps filter and drain fluids through the lymph nodes, removing harmful substances and supporting immune function.
The human body has three levels of immunity or defense against invasions: innate, passive, and adaptive.
Innate or Natural Immunity is something you’re born with, such as the skin's protective layer and white blood cells. White blood cells are part of the lymphatic system and mount a rapid response as a non-specific defense against invasion. White blood cell types include:
Monocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, natural killer cells (NK), mast cells, lymphocytes (T-cells), and cytokines (the fever-producing cells).
Macrophages are born of monocytes and stay in the tissues. During phagocytosis, macrophages ingest bacteria, foreign cells, and damaged (pre-cancerous) and dead cells. I imagine macrophages like a tiny Pac-Man, gobbling up all the intruders or ne'er-do-wells. (Fantastic imagery for biofeedback work).
Passive Immunity is borrowed from another source and is short-lived. A good example of passive immunity is antibodies from a mother's breast milk, providing the infant with temporary immunity.
Adaptive or Acquired immunity is not present at birth and develops when the body is exposed to a pathogen. It is a very complex system that is often misunderstood.
A simple overview of the adaptive immune response
Adaptive immunity is incredibly effective. The immune system is designed to learn from past infections, and it does so by producing antibodies and memory cells that can recognize and fight off pathogens if they re-enter the body.
This adaptive immune response is a key part of how immunity works, and it all happens at the cellular level:
Upon entering the body, the second line of defense, namely the macrophages, neutrophils, and some B cells, attack the pathogen. When they consume and destroy it, they keep the valuable part of the pathogen that lets your body know that it's not part of you and props it outside their cell membrane. This is called antigen presentation.
The immune system learns the best way to attack each antigen and develops a memory for that antigen. Once the antigen is remembered, subsequent responses are quicker and more effective than those after the first exposure.
Lymphocytes (T and B cells) are the white blood cells responsible for acquired immunity. Dendritic cells and cytokines are also involved. B cells mature in the bone marrow, T cells mature in the thymus, and dendrites are found in the skin, tissue, and lymph nodes.
The Complement System enhances the effectiveness of antibodies and consists of 30 proteins.
When a helper T-cell bumps into the cell carrying an antigen, the antigen-carrying cell releases a cytokine (chemical messenger) called interleukin-1 to let the T-helper cell know that it's got information. The T-helper cell, in turn, releases interleukin-2, which alerts B cells and cytotoxic T-cells to mature and attack the pathogen. The third line of defense starts from the interaction with the T-helper cell. 1
Support the immune system
A healthy lifestyle is the key to an efficient immune system. Continuous physical and emotional stress, including poor diet, smoking, excess alcohol, toxins, poor digestion, and chronic disease, lowers our natural immunity.
A properly functioning immune system can resist infections. Every system in our body reacts to stress and sometimes needs additional support. Omega-3 fats, zinc, quercetin, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, and probiotics can balance gut flora and improve immune system function.
Diversity of the gut microbiota is an expanding field of research. Peyer’s patches, the immune sensors of the small intestine, play a pivotal role in gut bacterial flora and the immune response by transporting antigens and bacteria. Peyer's patches have also been found to play a key role between innate and adaptive immunity in the gut.2
According to Harvard Health Publishing:
“Scientists have long recognized that people who are malnourished are more vulnerable to infectious diseases. For example, researchers don't know whether any particular dietary factors, such as processed foods or high simple sugar intake, adversely affects immune function.
There is some experimental evidence that various micronutrient deficiencies — for example, deficiencies of zinc, selenium, iron, copper, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, C, and E — alter cellular immune responses. However, whether that translates to changes in the human immune system and impacts on health remain unknown.” 3
Spices such as ginger, cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, clove, and black pepper are some of the best remedies for digestion and, thus, for raising immunity. A nice warm cup of chai contains all these spices in one beverage. Steamed vegetables, grains, and warming herbal teas can enhance digestion.
READ: Unlock The Secrets to Authentic Masala Chai with This Homemade Recipe
Best herbs, vitamins, and micronutrients for enhancing immunity
Plants have many benefits and were used for thousands of years before synthetic pharmaceuticals. Indeed, they were the first medicines. Plants are an essential and beneficial adjunct to our health.
Herbal remedies are undoubtedly a simple and valuable way to support immune system function. There are specific herbs that can help reduce stress and boost the immune system in a variety of ways.
READ: Two Wonderful Herbs to Naturally Reduce Stress
Of course, the efficacy of herbal medicines depends on each herb's quality. I always recommend buying herbs from a quality, organic source. (I usually buy from Mountain Rose Herbs and can confidently recommend them.)
I have included scientific studies and reports in the footnotes for further reading and have identified how each herb impacts different components of the immune system.
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