The organs that make up the immune system are positioned through the body. They are called lymphoid organs because they are home to lymphocytes, small white bloodcells that are the key players in the immune system.
Lymphocytes are known as "T cells" ("T" stands for "thymus"; located in the chest).
Lymph nodes, which are located in many parts of the body, are lymphoid tissues that contain numerous specialized structures to further help the body fight invaders. The lymphocytes travel through the whole body using the blood vessels. The cells can also travel through a system of lymphatic vessels that closely parellel the body's veins and arteries. Cells and fluids are exchanged between blood and lymphatic vessels. This allows the system to monitor and find the invaders.
Small, bean-shaped lymph nodes are placed along the lymphatic vessels, with clusters in the neck, armpits, abdomen and groin. (remember when you went to the local doctor and he felt around your neck to see if your "lymph nodes" were swollen when you had a sore throat?) Each of these lymph nodes contain special compartments where immune cells congregate... just waiting for an invader to be spotted and knocked out! All lymphocytes exit the lymph nodes through outgoing lymphatic vessels. Once in the bloodstream, lymphcytes (white blood cells) are transported to tissues throughout the entire body. They "patrol" everywhere looking for foreign invaders.
Clumps of lymphoid tissues are found in many parts of the body, especially in the linings of the digestive tract, airways and lungs - key areas that serve as "gateways" to the body.
The GI tract (gastro-intestinal tract) is a unique cellular environment. The gut is naturally filled with helpful bacteria, viruses and fungi (yes, some bacteria, viruses and fungi are actually helpful!). These along with protective immune system cells work together in a delicate balance to keep your gut in good shape, thereby assisting nutrients to enter into the body that help the immune system to fight invaders. When this delicate balance is interrupted, conditions such as malabsorption of nutrients and resulting GI diseases occur (diverticulitis, Crohn's disease, Celiac disease, Irritable bowel, leaky gut syndrome, etc) that lead to any or more of the following symptoms:
- Chronic fatigue and lack of energy
- Intestinal gas, bloating, intestinal cramps
- Rectal itching, constipation, diarrhea
- Urinary infections (cystitis)
- Vaginal infections (vaginitis) - many women accept vaginitis as a normal way of living.
- It is also quite frequent for women to alternate between cystitis and vaginitis
- Menstrual problems, PMS
- Glandular problems, such as thyroid and adrenal dysfunction
- Low libido, depression, anxiety, hyperactivity, insomnia
- Irritability, difficulty to concentrate
- Allergies, chemical sensitivities
- Weakened immune system, headaches, migraines
- Joint pain, muscular pain and weakness, numbness
- High or low blood sugar level (Diabetes or hypoglycemia)
· Yeast infections to the urinary tract and bladder affect 90% of the population. Antibiotics are not the solutions, they are the CAUSE! Painful urination and bladder infections can be eliminated with super-food nutrients.
· Yeast infections are the invisible threat to health, particularly for women. These can be local (on skin, in mouth, on genitals) or systemic (throughout your body and in GI tract!)
The most common disease causing invaders are bacteria, virus and parasites (which include yeast and fungus). Each uses a different tactic to infect a person and each is thwarted by different components of the immune system. Most invaders live in spaces between cells and are readily attacked by antibodies. All viruses and a few types of bacteria and parasites must enter cells of the body to survive, which requires a different kind of immune defense response. Antibodies are created by the immune system working together to fight off these invaders found either inside or outside the body's cells.
A healthy immune system has the remarkable ability to distinguish between the body's own cells and the foreign invader's cells. Normally the body's immune defenses co-exist peacefully where they all work together in harmony. In abnormal situations, the immune system can mistake the body's own cells for an invader's cells and launch an attack against the body's own cells or tissues. This is called an AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE. Sometime the immune system responds to a seemingly harmless foreign substance (like ragweed pollen or cat hair or food particles, etc). The result is an "allergy" (literally a response to a false alarm!).
Most medical doctors and medical literature will tell you that "no one knows exactly what causes" an autoimmune disease. Holistically we know that it ALWAYS involves a number of factors: certain drugs, viruses (or any invader), damage to body's cells (specifically the GI tract and colon are overgrown with invaders), hormone imbalances, lack of Vitamin D3, heavy emotional/spiritual trauma. It's interesting to note that autoimmune diseases are far more common in women than in men! That points to hormones and emotions as major contributing factors.
The main dietary factors that lead to an autoimmune response in the body are:
1. Overuse of medical drugs. Taking antibiotics (even a few times) leads to imbalance of good gut bacteria. When you take an antibiotic you kill bad bacteria AND good bacteria. This disturbs that delicate balance I mentioned earlier and damages the intestinal lining in the body and allows an overgrowth of bad bacteria (yeast, fungus, bacteria or parasites).
2. Poor digestive health. Inflamed digestive tract, parasitic infections that result in multiple illnesses such as indigestion, leaky gut, nutritional deficiencies, all resulting in autoimmune diseases (Hashimoto's thyroid disease, diabetes, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, etc.)
3. Food allergies. Remember... this is the response to false alarms, but nevertheless the response is there. If you the body continually ingests foods that create these false alarms the permeability of the intestines becomes compromised and major diseases follow.
4. Excess iodine in the diet. This is why a woman with HASHIMOTO'S thyroid disease should never take iodine!
5. Eating too may sugars, flour and processed foods cause blood sugar swings which stimulate bacterial overgrowth and suppresses normal immune function.
The 5 points above contribute to adrenal exhaustion causing further complications and confusion in the immune system. This is where the HORMONE connection to the autoimmune problem comes in to play.
Once the adrenal glands become exhausted or confused, high levels of cortisol are created which suppresses the immune system and causes the conversion of Free T3 thyroid hormone to convert into Reverse T3 at too high a level. Estrogen and Progesterone (made by both the adrenal glands as well as ovaries) also work synergistically with the thyroid hormones.
The thyroid is the gland that regulates the body's metabolic rate. Low thyroid tends to cause low energy levels, cold intolerance, and weight gain. Excess thyroid causes higher energy levels, feeling too warm, and weight loss. Excess estrogen may compete with thyroid hormone at the site of its receptor. In so doing, the thyroid hormone may never complete its mission, creating hypothyroid symptoms despite normal serum levels of thyroid hormone. Progesterone, on the other hand, increases the sensitivity of estrogen receptors for estrogen and yet, at the proper level, inhibits many of estrogen's side effects.
When you gut becomes overgrown with invaders (bad bacteria, parasites, yeast/fungus, viruses, etc) a deficiency or absence of good bacteria is created. This is called DYSBIOSIS. Up to 20% of thyroid hormone conversions from T4 to T3 takes place in the intestines but ONLY if the body had enough good bacteria! Not having enough beneficial bacteria makes the "less active T3" (reverse T3 which acts like brakes on the car and slows you down) more available.
A study conducted at the Internal Medicine Department at the Catholic University of Sacred Heart in Rome, Italy concluded (inpatients with hypothyroidism due to autoimmune thyroiditis - Hashimoto's disease) there is a connection to thyroid dysfunction and bacterial overgrowth in the GI tract.
Therefore your estrogen and progesterone, cortisol and thyroid hormone balance along with proper gut health are KEY to your immune system staying focused and in good shape.
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