Suddenly a lot of us are inquisitive to learn about our immune system since COVID struck. Everyone is worried about issues surrounding our immune system & how to boost it. So what is the immune system?
Simply put, the immune system is a network of tissues, cells & proteins that protect us against pathogens, the disease causing microorganisms such as bacteria, virus & fungi. Therefore boosting of the immune system does not mean multiplying the number of immune cells or making the immune response more potent. A perfect way to look at this would be how can I maintain a healthy immune system & be way from various illnesses.
There are various lifestyle measures that can help us maintain a healthy immune system. There is no brainer here & most of these aspects we already know but we seldom follow them as basic building blocks of our lifestyle. These are:
- A healthy & balanced diet
- Consumption of Vitamin D including supplementation, if required( specifically for vegans & vegetarians)
- Limit alcohol consumption
- Manage your stress
- Exercise consistently
- Stop smoking
We will discuss in detail some scientific information & knowledges to support the aforesaid actions/measures. Even if you adopt & follow these healthy lifestyle strategies & have a healthy immune system, you are still exposed to risk of COVID-19. Before delving into more scientific aspects, let’s discuss the basics about the immune system.
Immune system involves various kinds of cells distributed across various sites of our body. Immune cells can move between these sites in our blood stream & lymphatic system. We can divide the immune system into
- Innate immune system
- Adaptive immune system
Innate immune system is our first line of defence against pathogens. It includes physical barriers such as skin & mucous membranes that lines our respiratory & gastrointestinal tracts. This prevents pathogens from attacking the tissues.
Inflammation is another part of innate immune response which involves dilation of blood vessels, release of inflammatory proteins & migration of immune cells to clear pathogens. Besides white blood cells are also an important part of the innate immune system. Also known as phagocytes, white blood cells play an important role in destroying pathogens & infected cells. There are various kinds of phagocytes in the immune system, including macrophages, monocytes and neutrophils. Another important type of white blood cell is the natural killer cell that destroys cells infected with viruses/other pathogens. Innate immune systems help in protecting & safeguarding which is a foreign or alien. It is not specific for any particular pathogen.
Adaptive immune system is specific to particular antigens- molecules are unique to specific pathogens & are found on their surface. By recognising & mounting an immune response against specific antigens & remembering them, this immune system helps us to develop immunity to various pathogens throughout life. If in future we are exposed to that particular pathogen, our body is effective in responding & clearing it. Two main cells of adaptive immune system include:
- B-cells: These produce antibodies that bind to specific antigens & neutralise pathogens.
- T-cells: These destroy infected cells or secrete chemicals such as cytokines to recruit other immune cells & coordinate immune response
B cells & T cells specialise to form memory cells that help in remembering antigens & respond to them more effectively, the next time we encounter them.
Let us figure out how our immune system helps in adopting optimal lifestyle measures.
- Healthy diet: In order to function effectively, our immune system requires optimum dietary energy intake as well as adequate amount of macronutrients-protein, fats & carbs & micronutrients-vitamins & minerals. Our immune system is less effective in case when our diet lacks essential & sufficient nutrition. Such people with nutrient deficient are more exposed to the risk of attracting infections. In order to avoid such deficiencies, include lot of fruits & vegetables in your diet that includes daily recommended intake for various micronutrients.
- Vitamin A: Vitamin A plays an important role both in innate & adaptive immune systems. It helps in maintaining integrity of physical barriers. It is also required for effective functioning of innate immune cells including natural killer cells( explained in earlier paragraphs) & neutrophils(that destroys pathogens). In the case of adaptive immune systems, Vitamin A is involved in the development of B cells & T cells.
- Vitamin C: It is generally assumed that Vitamin C boosts our immune system. However scientific evidence to support this is obscure. Vitamin C is important both for innate & adaptive immune systems. Vitamin C helps in stimulating production, development & movement of various white blood cells which includes innate immune cells such as neutrophils & phagocytes. Vitamin C also protects white blood cells against the damage caused by reactive oxygen species that are generated during immune response. However, there is no clear cut evidence to support that Vitamin C reduced risk of attracting infection.
- Vitamin D: Also known as sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D is micronutrient which lends scientific support in favor of reducing risk to infection & illness caused by pathogens. It plays various roles in our immune system by binding to the Vitamin D receptor found on the surface of immune cells. Vitamin D stimulates white blood cells called macrophages to engulf phagocytosis. It also enables macrophages to secrete certain antimicrobial proteins to neutralise bacteria. In the case of adaptive immune systems, Vitamin D suppresses the production of antibodies by B-lymphocytes. This is actually beneficial since it prevents auto-immunity where the immune system attacks its own healthy cells. As discussed in my earlier blog, vegans/vegetarians & those living in countries having less sunlight face Vitamin-D deficiency & therefore Vitamin-D supplementation may be essential.
- Zinc: It is an essential nutrient that plays a variety of roles both for innate & adaptive immune systems. It helps maintain integrity of physical barriers that prevents pathogens from invading the tissues. It also regulates release of signalling molecules-cytokines which are secreted during inflammatory response. In the adaptive immunity system, zinc plays an important role in production of T-cells.
- Regular & consistent workout: Whether regular workout helps keep you away from infection & illness caused by viruses depends upon intensity of workout. A recent research has suggested that exercise of 60 to 90 minutes duration with moderate intensity has a beneficial impact on our immune system. Exercise under 60 minutes is said to increase the exchange of various while blood cells between lymphoid tissues & bloodstream. This improves ability of immune system to recognise & respond to alien pathogens.
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