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Creating Strong Immunity by Len Saputo, MD
& Nancy Faass, MSW, MPH continued NEW RESEARCH For the past fifteen years, extensive research has deepened our understanding of immunity, particularly through the enormous number of studies on cancer and AIDS. Science has made great strides in the exploration of how the immune system works and how to enhance its function. As a result, the American public has a greater appreciation for the importance of immunity. There is also a large body of medical literature that documents the role of lifestyle factors in immunity. This research reflects the impact on our health of the things we do every day. It also provides information we can use to modify our lifestyle, in order to enhance health and immune function. LIFESTYLE AND IMMUNITY To explore the effects of lifestyle on immunity, consider the example of the common cold. Our vulnerability depends on the balance between the strength of our immunity and the strength of the threatening virus. Once exposed, we only get sick if our immune defenses are inadequate. When our reserve defenses are depleted, they can no longer prevent the virus from invading our cells. We all know that when our defenses are strong, we almost never get sick. Yet many of us tend to overestimate our ability to resist illness, and in the process we neglect our health. Most of us don’t get enough rest. We often eat on the run. We may be exposed to a variety of germs and toxins daily. And, for most of us, stress has become a way of life. We frequently take better care of our cars than of our bodies. It doesn’t take a research scientist to figure out why we sometimes get sick. Consider the effects of lifestyle on our susceptibility to illness. The factors that may increase our vulnerability to disease can also be modified to improve our resistance.
Len Saputo, M.D., is founder and director of Health Medicine Forum, a nonprofit educational foundation. He is also medical director of the Health Medicine Institute, an integrative medicine center in Walnut Creek, California. Nancy Faass, M.S.W., M.P.H., is a writer and editor in San Francisco. Her work includes Optimal Digestion and Integrating Complementary Medicine into Health Systems. |
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