Immunity has become a very hot topic in our society the last two years because of Covid-19. Everywhere that we turn there is another opinion on what is best to reduce your chances of getting sick but most of these options are focused on decreasing your environmental exposures. In order to dive into this further we first have to talk about the germ theory. The germ theory was originally brought forward by Robert Koch and he proposed that microorganisms known as pathogens or ‘germs’ can lead to disease when the body is exposed to them. The problem began when they looked at sick and healthy individuals they found that both cases were found to have the pathogen in their body. However one was sick and displaying symptoms and the other was carrying the disease and without symptoms or any awareness of this pathogen being present. How does this happen? Well it is dependent on how our body and especially the immune system is functioning that determines the process of whether you actually get sick or whether you can suppress the pathogen and stay symptom free. The same concept is displayed if you think about a classroom full of kids and 25 of the kids in the class get sick and display symptoms and 5 of the kids in the class seem unphased. Once again I would argue that those 5 kids have a higher functioning immune system allowing them to seem untouched by these same germs. The equation below helps to understand the germ theory and how some people get less sick than others.
Virulence of Pathogen X Number of Pathogens X Opening Size = Severity of Disease
Resistance of the Host
Lets breakdown what this equation means. Virulence of pathogen: this means the effectiveness of the germ to replicate and infiltrate the body. Number of pathogens: represents the amount of a germ that is able to get into the body. Opening size: The area where the germs are able to get into the body (a cut, mouth, nose etc.) The resistance of the host: The ability of your immune system to battle and fight off the germ that enters the body to keep it from spreading. A Lot of the methods that are commonly talked about in our medical community and media are focused on the top portion of this equation. All of these methods are about minimizing the number of germs in your environment with things such as cleaners/disinfectants, gloves, masks, social distancing and quarantining. When we look at the reality of these methods, there are billions and billions of germs on every surface that is in our environment as well as the air we breathe. A typical disinfectant requires up to 6 minutes on a surface to completely disinfect the area which is not typically done. Then we have other issues such as masks actually being too big of holes in the cloth to actually stop the small particles of germs from passing in and out of the host. What I choose to focus on for immunity is the easiest thing that I can control to help make sure my body is going to have its best chance against germs and that is the bottom half of the equation (resistance of the host). If we build our own immune system then, even when we are exposed to germs, our body is going to have a better chance of never getting sick or at least not having a violent reaction and massive breakdown from the germ. So what can we do to increase our immune system and resistance to germs?
1. Get adjusted- the immune system is controlled by our nervous system so if there is an interruption to this communication then we are going to have lower function to lymph and immune cells. There was also a study conducted that showed patients who were adjusted regularly had a 200% increased immune system function compared to patients who were not adjusted.
2. Elderberry- inhibits the early stages of infection by blocking key viral proteins responsible for attachment and entry into our cells.
3. Colloidal Silver this is a natural antibiotic and antiviral source to help fight infection
4. Increase Vitamin C used in immune cell formation
5. Increase Vitamin D used in immune cell formation
6. Increase Zinc intake used in immune cell formation
7. Take Probiotics- 80% of our immune system is found in our gut. It is imperative that we have proper gut function for normal immunity.
8. Eat Phytonutrients- help fortify the cell walls of our cells.
9. Stay hydrated- we need to be properly hydrated so that we can continue to excrete toxins that are brought into the body.
10. Get plenty of sleep- Sleep is when we heal the body the most and repairs are done. If the body is not able to keep up with the breakdowns then we are going to be more prone to sickness.
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