REMEMBER: A healthy OUTSIDE

starts from the INSIDE.

What Is Immunity?What Is Immunity? the ability of an organism to resist a

particular infection or toxin by the action

of specific antibodies or sensitized

white blood cells.

What is the Immune System?

The immune system is our body's

defense against infections. It attacks

organisms that can harm

good health.

Why the Immune System is So ImportantWhy the Immune System is So Important

Without an immune system, we would have no

way to fight harmful things that enter our body from the outside

or harmful changes that occur inside our body.

The main tasks of the body’s immune system are:

•to fight disease-causing germs (pathogens) like bacteria,

viruses, parasites or fungi, and to remove them from the body

•to recognize and neutralize harmful substances from the

environment

to fight disease-causing changes in the body, such as

cancer cells

OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WEAKENS WITH…

*Age *Alcohol

*Lack of Immunizations *Smoking

*Medical Treatments *Malnutrition

*Autoimmune Diseases *Drug Abuse

10 Ways to 10 Ways to BOOSTBOOST Your Your

Immune SystemImmune System 1. Eat a Healthy Diet- Nutrition is our primary protection in the battle against infection.

Key soldiers in the fight include vitamins like A, C, E, B6, and minerals like zinc, iron and

selenium.

*Primarily Plant Foods *Whole Grains *Fresh Fruits/Vegetables *Low-Fat Dairy Products *Herbs and Spices *Nuts and Seeds *Lean Proteins-Fish, Poultry, Eggs, Beans, Legumes *Unsaturated Fats-Olive Oil, Canola Oil, Peanut Oil

2. Pay Special Attention to Gut Health- Your gut wall houses 70 percent of the cells that make up your immune system. When the gut is healthy, it acts as one of the first lines of defense against illness and disease.

3. Limit Sugar-Consuming too much sugar can affect the way the white blood cells in your immune system attack bacteria.

4. Hydrate-The immune system relies on our blood stream (which is about 90% water) to transport fluids and nutrients, so they can better do their job. Without proper hydration, blood volume goes down, and reduced blood volume means that these transportations don’t work efficiently.

5. Moderate Physical Activity-In the short term, moderate exercise stimulates the immune system by improving blood circulation. In the long term, regular exercise slows down changes that happen to the immune system with ageing, therefore reducing the risk of infections.

6. Get Adequate Rest-During sleep, your immune system releases proteins called cytokines. Certain cytokines need to increase when you have an infection or inflamma-tion, or when you're under stress. Sleep deprivation may decrease production of these protective cytokines.

7. Manage Stress-Stress causes your body to produce greater levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Over time, your body can get used to having too much cortisol in your blood. This opens the door for inflammation, a condition that impacts the functions of a healthy im-mune system

8. Good Hygiene-Personal hygiene helps keep your immune system from being over-

whelmed by an on-slot of germs. Common sense and following good personal hygiene

will limit the possibility of these germs finding a way into your body.

9. Vaccinate-Vaccines help develop immunity by imitating an infection. It causes the

immune system to produce T-lymphocytes and antibodies. Once the imitation infection

goes away, the body is left with a supply of “memory” T-lymphocytes, as well as B-

lymphocytes that will remember how to fight that disease in the future.

10. Don’t Smoke, Moderate Alcohol Use, Avoid Substance

Abuse-Long-term struggles with tobacco, alcohol or drugs can lead

to considerable damage to many systems in the body, especially the

immune system. The immune system may be harmed directly or may

contribute to a higher risk for infection, coupled with a lower immune

response.

Take Care of Your Immune System and

It Will Take Care of You!