Tag: human body

Our Immune System and how we get sick.

Todays post is about the Immune System.

This past week I have been resting, letting my body and immune system work through a virus.

This one really crept up on me. Most of us usually feel when we are becoming unwell. We feel achey, maybe get headaches or a ‘heavy head’. Usually this is what happens to me. Well, this time I didn’t see it coming.

The previous week, I had been very busy, I worked more hours than usual. I had appointments to attend and other projects to complete. I was feeling tired, but that was to be expected after my busy week. Or so I thought.

So, ending up in bed late last Sunday night with a fever, was a surprise. Not a nice one either. This got me thinking about how we get sick.

I had been quite confident that I was healthy, with a fairly good immune system. So, what let me down?

In hindsight, stress and lack of quality sleep. Not giving my body, and my immune system, enough time to recover.

The Immune System

The immune system is one of the hardest working mechanisms in the human body. What many people may not realise is that the body actually has two immune systems: the innate (or primary) system and the adaptive (or long-term) system.

When a possible threat from an illness-causing invader is detected, the innate system, is alerted to respond to the threat.

However, many people have a lowered immune system that can cause the innate system to work harder than it needs to in protecting the body.

So when that system has to work harder, we have less energy and in many cases, an overwhelming feeling of fatigue and feeling really tired.

The 4 most Common Causes of Lowered Immune System are
  1. Stress. Nearly all of us have felt the effects of stress at some point in our lives. Headaches, pounding chest pains, uneasiness and an overall tense feeling are hallmarks of stress. These factors all combine to cause the immune system to have to work harder to defend the body against threats to health.
  2. Lack of sleep.You may not realise it, but while you’re sleeping the cells in your blood that fight infections are working to keep infections at bay. So lack of sleep and fatigue can leave your defence system weak.
  3. Not enough exercise. Your body’s defences will likely not be at their best if your lifestyle is too sedentary.
  4. Improper nutrition, Fats, particularly polyunsaturated fats, tend to suppress the immune system. Also be on the lookout for the consumption of too much sugar, which can inhibit the process by which white blood cells work to destroy viruses and bacteria.

So while our immune system is struggling with keeping up with our busy lives, it is left open to attack. It now has a diminished ability to fight off the germs and viruses that can lead to colds, the flu and other threats to our well-being.

This is information that a lot of us already are aware of, however, our lives get so busy that it’s easy to forget.

It’s a shame we have to become ill to remember it all again.

 

Until the next post, take time to rest and

Live Clean n Prosper

Iridology – reading the eyes.

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Scott suggested that he contribute to the blog, so he has written todays post.

I recently attended a workshop that was really interesting so I thought it was time I wrote a post for the blog.

Irises, eyes

Learning about my eyes

One of my lecturers from college held an Iridology workshop in her home and I was lucky enough to be invited. Iridology is the study of the eyes to help determine health, although I have discovered it is so much more. I have had photos of my eyes taken by a student naturopath at the Endeavour College Clinic. The lecturer was able to read my eyes from them. What she was able to discern from my eyes just blew me away. This is a person who only knows me as a face in a classroom, but she spoke about me like she had known me all my life.

What I learned

You see Iridology looks not just at your physical health but your personality too. I don’t mean that it is some kind of psychic thing but rather a way of reading your eyes. Then using this knowledge as a way to make better decisions regarding health. For example it was determined that I have a strong constitution, these are graded from 1 to 5, I am a 1. It may seem on face value that is very desirable but it also means that I can tend to push myself to hard sometimes. Compared to a person who is a 4 or 5 who is better at knowing when to stop and take a rest to avoid injury.

Also identified are 4 basic personality types, these are Jewel, Stream, Shaker and Flower; I am a Stream. I won’t go in to all the traits of this type but the description fits my personality. There are many Iridology charts that explain all sorts of things that are indicated in the eyes. As a beginner I plan on sticking to the basics until I learn more.

Many people tend to think of Iridology as some kind of voodoo, however there are some aspects that medical science agrees with. Take the cholesterol ring, this is a kind of smoky ring around the outside of the iris that indicates, you guessed it high cholesterol.

How does it work?

It is not yet fully understood how Iridology works, but the theory is that the iris contains nerve fibres that are connected to various parts of the body through a nerve pathway in the brain. As we experience different things a small marker is left in these nerve fibresHowever it happens, I am a convert and I plan to keep learning as much as I can about this fascinating subject during my studies, so I can use it in my own practice in the future.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper

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Science has proven Grandma knows best!

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First of all, Happy Mothers’ Day to all the Mum’s.

Second, it seems that our Grandmothers know best! Of course.

According to a recent newspaper article, scientists are finally proving what our grandparents have known for years. Many of us have that been advocates for these lifestyle changes are often viewed with skepticism. It is great to have science backing us up.

food, garden, washing, walking

Some of the most notable changes mentioned, are things that Scott and I have been doing for some time. I thought I would share these with you, quoting from the article as I go.

Easy lifestyle changes

  • Cooking from scratch, using real food ingredients. “This will save you kilojoules and having a raft of additives in your meals.”
  • Using old recipes and cookbooks. “Cornwell University in the USA compared recipes from the 1936 and 2006 editions of ‘The Joys of Cooking’. They found that recipes in the 2006 version had an average 63% more kilojoules.”
  • Grow your own fruit and vegetables. “Helps kids to eat more and home grown tastes better. Less chemicals and gardening is great for reducing stress.”
  • Eat at the dinner table. “Helps a child’s vocabulary, develops table etiquette and creates an opportunity for family communication.”
  • Switch off screens. “Studies have shown that excessive screen-time impairs brain structure and function. Mostly in the frontal lobe, which controls our sense of empathy.”
  • Ditch the chemicals. “Research into lung function found that it was 14% worse in people who used modern household cleaning products regularly, than those that didn’t.”
  • Hang out the washing. “The suns’ rays actually help to disinfect clothes and remove stains. It is also an opportunity to get some Vitamin D.”
  • Go for walks. “Research from Harvard University shows that people who walk regularly live longer and have a lower risk of heart disease and stroke. They are also more likely to have a healthy weight and stronger immune system.”
  • Get to sleep early. ‘Studies have shown that those who don’t stay up late are more optimistic, patient and productive. They also have stronger immune systems than night owls.”

We don’t have children, but for those that do…..

2 more changes.

  • Let kids be dirty. “Microbiology Professor Brett Finlay and Immunologist Marie-Claire Arrieta, authors of ‘Let Them Eat Dirt’ say – Keeping children too clean can weaken their immune systems by depriving them of valuable microbes.”
  • Play outside. “Time outdoors is beneficial for adults and kids alike as it improves concentration. Exposure to sunlight also reduces a child’s risk of developing near-sightedness.”

These are all easy changes to make that can have a long-term impact on your health and wellbeing.

We have found that ‘cooking from scratch’ has encouraged us to have a more varied diet, as we try different recipes. It actually saves us money when we plan our meals in advance as we only buy the ingredients we need for the week.

Scott has found that spending time in our small fruit and vegetable garden lowers stress. It is also great to be able to add home grown vegetables to our meals.

Finally, it is great to read that more studies are finding that constant exposure to modern chemicals is having an adverse effect on our bodies.

Till the next post,

Live Clean n Prosper

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