Creating Strong Immunity

Everything you do — everything you touch, breathe, eat, and think affects your immunity. Everything! How you live your life is the most powerful resource known for preserving and restoring your immunity. Factors such as sleep, exercise, nutrition, stress reduction, and spiritual connection provide the foundation for a strong immune response. This information can be translated into practical steps you can take to enjoy a life of greater health and vitality.

A healthy lifestyle is also a natural way to build your immunity. This involves approaches that are simple, inexpensive, and safe — and that really work. You can become highly skilled at fine tuning your lifestyle to produce maximum health. And these changes can be incorporated into your daily life gradually, at your own pace.

The beneficial effects of lifestyle on immunity have been documented in thousands of research studies. These studies come from a wide range of disciplines, from universities and medical centers around the world. This research has rediscovered the importance of the "style" in which we live our lives, and highlights its potential to enhance our overall health.

THE WELLNESS FACTOR

The strength of the immune system is always a factor whenever there is illness — whether it’s the common cold or cancer. It’s the missing part of the equation we tend to overlook. You have probably experienced cycles in your life when you seemed to catch everything that came along. At other times, you may have remained perfectly healthy while those around you became ill. Your ability to resist illness is a yardstick that measures the strength of your immune system. The strength of your immunity can have a profound impact on whether you get sick, how long you stay sick, and how ill you become. So the immune reserves you build through a healthy lifestyle provide a buffer that will help to prevent or minimize illness.

BUILDING GOOD RESISTANCE

New information suggests that infections can leave us vulnerable to more serious conditions if they deplete our immunity. This is important, because it can no longer be assumed that colds, flu, and other common illnesses are always harmless. Cryptosporidium is a case in point. In response to a recent outbreak in Canada, health officials said that most people who suffered from this flu-like illness would probably recover within two weeks. However, they warned that the same microbe could be more harmful to people who had weakened immune function. Generally, those most vulnerable are young children, older people, and those with chronic health conditions. Understanding immunity and susceptibility can aid us in maintaining good health and strong resistance.

The Centers for Disease Control has repeatedly advised of the rising incidence of infectious diseases. A recent news article on a meningitis outbreak in the San Francisco Bay Area reflects how vulnerable we may become when immune function is compromised. When a form of meningitis was contracted by a number of children in northern California this year, a local public health officer pointed out the risk involved "This is not an outbreak. Fifty to 60 percent of the population carries [strep] bacteria in their throats. Normally, it’s not a problem, but if someone had a prior cold, and their body can’t combat it, then it [could become] serious."

These infections were not caused by exotic super-germs. They were the result of the overgrowth of potentially dangerous bacteria that normally coexist within us. Staph bacteria are another example of microbes that most of us carry. Like strep, these resident bacteria aren’t usually a problem, because a healthy immune system will keep their growth in check. This is one of the reasons why severe illness from strep and staph is relatively rare. However, under certain circumstances, they can cause dangerous secondary infections, so they are to be taken seriously. Meningitis (which can result from strep infection) causes long-term damage in one out of four cases. The threat of these types of bacterial infections clearly demonstrates why it is so important to build robust immunity.