10 Things That Cripple Our Immune System

 

The human immune system is an amazing thing. It is what prevents us from contracting illnesses and keeps us in good health. With that being said, it is a miracle that it is able to do its job with the amount of things we unknowingly do that counteract its efforts. It is important to think of the immune system as a muscle that can get stronger when worked out or weakened with abuse. Every day we do things that can cause it to weaken. Here are ten common things that cripple our immune system.

 

1.Sugar
Parasites that live in our bodies feed off sugars, depleting Immune boosting reserves of vitamin C, vitamin A, Zinc, etc. By avoiding ingesting high amounts of sugar we are able to starve these parasites. Sugar also has been linked to the nourishing of abnormal tissue cell growth such as cancer. When sugar is metabolized by our body it breaks down into glucose which is used for energy production. In a breakthrough by Dr. John Ely in the 1970’s it was found that glucose and vitamin C have a similar molecular structure, in his research Dr. Ely found that higher amounts of glucose in the body restricted the absorption of vitamin C by white blood cells. Our immune system depends on white blood cells to neutralize foreign bodies such as viruses and bacteria, vitamin C needs to be present within the cell for it to survive the oxidization process that occurs when it attacks these foreign bodies.

2.Sleep Deprivation
Humans need between 7-9 hours of sleep nightly in order to allow our bodies time to reboot from the incidents of the day. During our sleep cycle our bodies replenish fundamental nutrients that optimize our body’s performance. When we attempt to get by with less sleep it creates a stress response that interferes with the normal healing and rejuvenation process. Having a heightened stress response also lowers immune coordination and increases the inflammatory process. Repeatedly depriving yourself of sleep results in a chronic stress, immune dysregulation, and inflammation.

 

3.Drinking Tap Water
Water is a critical part of staying healthy, however, municipal water sources are filled with toxins that our body can NOT process. Some toxins commonly found in municipal tap water are chlorine, fluoride, arsenic, and other heavy metals. Reverse osmosis water filtration systems can remove most of these toxins at home. It is best to use bottled water or pre-filtered water from home when you are out and about instead of the public water fountains. Add ¼ tsp of Pink Sea Salt per gallon of water when you filter at home in order to add back helpful nutrients that get lost in the filtration process.

4.Staying Indoors
  According to the EPA, our indoor environment is two to five times more toxic than our outdoor environment. In recent years it has been found that we spend as much as 90% of our time indoors, just soaking in pollutants. Researchers are currently looking into the impact of indoor pollutants on the rising incidents of chronic illness among Americans. When we go outside we are exposed to low levels of natural pathogens, our immune system is able to gently adapt to hese.  Being outside also offers the benefit of sunlight and vitamin D3.

 

5.Chronic Dehydration
Water is the basis of all life. In fact over 50% of our bodies is made up of water. When we become dehydrated a water rationing system is put in place by Histamine, a neurotransmitter in our body. Obviously some places get priority to the water reserves like the brain, lungs, liver and kidneys. The parts of the body that are least important when our bodies decide to distribute its water resource while dehydrated are the bones, discs, muscle, and skin. If the dehydration becomes chronic water must be taken from more important places in the body. Symptoms associated with dehydration include allergies, asthma, colitis, constipation, chronic pain, dyspepsia, migraine headaches, and rheumatoid arthritis.

6.Too Much or Too Little Exercise
A sedentary lifestyle creates a weak body and weak immune system. When we do too much exercise it puts our body into chronic stress mode. The right type of exercise along with the right intensity and the proper rest and nutrition afterwards is critical for a healthy immune system.

 

 

 

 

7.Eating Too Much and Too Often
  All systems in our body utilize energy in order to work. Our brain allocates this energy according to what it is we are doing at any given time. The immune system shares the same energy pool as both the kinetic system and the digestive system. When we are exercising the brain allocates more energy to the kinetic system. While we are in the act of eating and up to 4 hours after the digestive system is given energy priority. All other times when we are fasting and resting the immune system receives more energy. By continually ingesting food, or even eating every 3-4 hours (as is recommended by nutritionists) we are depriving our immune system of the energy it needs to operate efficiently. By fasting for 12-16 hours in a 24 hour period we can enhance our immune systems.

 

8.Destructive Emotions
  In research published by the Brain Injury Association of Massachusetts low-level thinking creates chronic inflammation and oxidative stress in the body. Emotions included in low-level thinking are depression, anger, bitterness, self-loathing, and un-forgiveness. Toxic waste generated by toxic thoughts confuse our immune systems and set them up for hyperactive inflammatory processes.

 

9.Using Certain Medications
  Medications have their uses but overuse is possibly one of the leading causes of dysfunctional immune systems. Continued usage of antibiotics weakens our immune system and reduces levels of cytokines (a messenger hormone used within the immune network). They also destroy healthy flora within our guts, these microflora are often responsible for informing the immune system of environmental stressors. Fever reducers also interrupt the workings of our immune systems. Fever is the body’s way of creating an environment meant to kill off bacteria and parasites, by reducing fever regularly we are allowing the agent making us ill to remain in our bodies. Fever doesn’t become dangerous to bodily function until 104F and should be reduced sparingly in order to allow for quicker recovery times from illness.

 

10.Poor Hygiene and Toxic Chemicals
Pathogenic organisms are constantly looking for ways to infiltrate the fortress that is our bodies and over. Good hygiene practices including bathing daily, dry brushing your skin, and good oral hygiene help bolster defenses against these intruders. Take care when applying products because some chemicals can actually aid pathogens in infiltrating your body.