What is the Immune System?

The immune system is a complicated network of cells and proteins that protects the body against infection, viruses, bacteria, and foreign bodies. The system retains a record of every germ; it has defeated enabling it to recognise and destroy the invader quickly if it enters the body again.

Efficient functioning of the immune system relies on three key components:

• Nutrition
• Movement
• Positive Thoughts

Like a computer, the system is only as good as the information you put into it.

Nutrition

Consuming the right balance of food is critical for the immune system to do its job in protecting the body’s health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, in the Western World, our diet lacks sufficient levels of essential vitamins and minerals, which can lead to increased levels of inflammation in the body, which creates the perfect backdrop to so many diseases.

Each cell in our body has a cell membrane; this is the outer structure that holds the cells together. These cell membranes are made up of omega 6 and omega 3. For Optimal strength, each cell needs three Omega 6 to one omega 3. We call this the ‘Three to One Balance Ratio’.

Western diets tend to be rich in Omega 6, and we don’t eat a vast quantity of fresh oily fish which contain Omega 3. Also, much of the food is processed and lacks many of the required vitamins and minerals our body needs. As a result, the Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio in the Western world tends to be 15 to 1, which many health professionals and nutritionists believe contributes to higher levels of inflammation in the body. Achieving a balance of 3 to 1 should help your immune system function efficiently, thus providing many health benefits.

What’s your Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio?    

Movement

Movement and exercise helps our body to remove rubbish and toxins from our bodies through the Lymphatic System.  Along with maintaining strong and healthy muscels and bones.

Positive Thoughts

Our bodies have a chemical reaction to how we think, these chemicals can have both a negative and positive effect on our health.  As a rule of thumb positive thoughts tend to have a positive effect on the bodies health where as negative thoughts tend to have a negative effect.  

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