Respectful Vigilance HC

This is an interesting topic that has gotten more and more attention in recent years. People have known about immunity and the immune system, but the rise in conditions termed “auto-immune,” having “weak immunity.”, the rise in “food allergies, sensitivities, etc. are relatively new. What is causing these trends? How do we protect ourselves and stay healthy? What even is “immunity?”

So, a super simple definition would be that the immune system is there to protect us from micro invaders and problems. It is more designed to look at small problems than at big ones. So, not going to help you fight off a bear, stop a bullet, or prevent a car crash. Think more germs, parasites, bacteria, viruses, traditional allergies, chemicals, etc. The system has to identify problems and eradicate them as best as possible. Let me paint a picture next.

You have a person living in a city. They walk down the street to work breathing in air that has a lot of fumes from cars and buses. The contaminants go into the body. Maybe the person put on some synthetic based perfume before going out to smell nice for someone at work. She eats some genetically modified wheat-based donuts and has sugar in her coffee for extra energy. At her office she sits at the computer and is exposed to low levels of electromagnetic pollution so that the office can have connectivity to the web. A coworker often picks on her calling her names. She works an 8-hour shift inside. She shakes hands with clients and breathes the air in rooms with them in small spaces. She checks her phones social media during the day and walks home through traffic again to reach her dwelling. She then repeats this pattern on a daily basis.

Ok. So, we have all kinds of problems going on here. But because they are “low level” issues, they are often missed and ignored by people and by culture. In this kind of situation, can you imagine what the immune system is doing and how it feels?! Think of a nagging problem that you have to deal with. Even though it may be something low level, eventually it will become very frustrating, and you may even unleash on a friend or loved one. This is what we are doing to our immune systems. We are asking them to do things that they are not really designed to do. We are exposing lots of new threats that it is not used to dealing with. Hopefully this image helps to understand things a bit.

I personally do not believe in some concepts in “auto-immunity” where the immune system is said to attack itself or somehow self-destruct. I am aware that there are many conditions out there and there are other opinions. What I believe is happening in many of these cases is that the immune system has just gotten so irritated, upset, or hurt that it is basically malfunctioning. Anything that gets hyped up enough without the ability to resolve the problems will eventually malfunction. In my view, a better way of dealing with these conditions and problems is to fix the causes while supporting the system in general. How do we do this? There are actually many relatively easy supports and some that are not so easy.

1. Just as with detoxing, removing the things causing the problems is step number one. Some of this may be easy when making a plan and other things will not be. Cleaning up the diet is big. A lot of people unfortunately eat problematic foods and drinks that they may or may not be mildly allergic to every day. If you look at the most common “food allergies,” they are often to foods that have been genetically modified, altered, or processed in new ways that degrade the quality of the foods. Think wheat, corn, soy, dairy, eggs, etc. So not only does removing the junk stop the bad reactions, but adding in the good stuff gives your body the nutrition it needs to support and boost immunity. You will be getting more vitamins, minerals, proteins, etc. Personal care products can be another problem. Mainstream products are often loaded with cheap chemicals and fragrances that people spray, rub, or wash with. There are many better options. Just this one step could go on, but what I would really recommend people do is make a list. Make a list of all the little things that you think might be irritating or subtly hurting you. Foods, products, people, etc. Unfortunately, the list may be longer than you might think at first. I have realized over time that people are pretty good at avoiding major threats. Things like bad physical fights, accidents, fires, etc. Not that these things do not happen, but they are statistically much rarer than these low-level problems we are talking about. Having a little extra sugar in your coffee is not a threat we are designed to fear. Then there are the environmental factors that we sometimes have little control over. Things like exposure to traffic pollution, noise pollution, electromagnetic frequencies. This step could continue, but the basic point here is to remove as many offensive, annoying, and irritating things out of your life. This could even mean people. You remember the term “that person is getting under my skin.” There are reasons for sayings like this. If you feel attacked, threatened, annoyed, or otherwise; the body goes into protection mode. Too much of this is not great for the immune system. Ok. So, remove the micro-offenders to ease the irritation on the system.

2. Step number two is to add in things that the immune system enjoys. The first thing that comes to mind is sunlight. Light does so many beneficial things. Many of us are indoors most of the time and do not get nearly enough light. Of course you can overdo it, but that is a different issue. Getting 20-30 minutes of good outdoor light exposure can work wonders for lots of things. Fresh air is great as well. This may be a hard task if you live in a polluted city. You can get plants and possibly an air purifier, but there really is no substitute for non or low polluted air. Adequate hydration. Ironically, these are the things I would recommend for most any health conditions which you will notice in my writings. So, sunlight, fresh air, and high levels of hydration. Mentally, the immune system needs more peace and love. It does not like being irritated, hyped up, stressed, etc. There are so many of these elements we are bombarded with every day. Peace is something that may need to be cultivated. It does not just come naturally for many people. A great thing to do is practice meditation, mindfulness, contemplative practice, combined with breathing exercises. The meditation practices can help calm an overactive and irritated mind and the breathing exercises help the body to relax. Love and healthy relationships are a great help as well. Developing a healthy social life, community, and a spiritual practice can do wonders. Then there is regular exercise. I know, some people do not like this step. However, basic cardio exercise is just so beneficial for many things. Natural medicines can also be very supportive. There is much scientific data coming out on the benefits of certain herbs, spices, and supplements for immune system and general health. Doing a bit of research and consuming these can help a lot as well to keep micro invaders like bacteria and parasite away, as well as decreasing inflammation. High quality oils like olive or coconut can help to sooth things down a bit.

3. The last step in my recommendations for immunity may indeed be the most difficult for many of us. This is to develop a respectful and loving relationship with yourself. How many of us criticize ourselves? Ask for perfection? Ask for too much at times? The immune system loves confidence, respect, and love. It likes to know that you are sure of yourself and what you are doing. When you are strong in sense of self, you will provide sturdy boundaries and make sure that you are protecting yourself from these little nagging things that drag you down. This step can take quite a bit of work, but it is possible.

Whew. 3 major steps. Quite a bit of information. The subject of immunity is a large one, but I do think that if you think of it in some of these terms it may help to understand. Many health issues are actually much simpler than they would appear. I think culture, certain types of medical thinking, and just pure confusion have made some things more complicated than they need to be.

To summarize. Respect and love yourself enough to protect your well-being. Often times this is not the big dangerous things we are so conditioned to watch out for. These are also the little things that happen every day that cause irritation and sickness. Get outside in nature. Get some light and fresh air. Drink plenty of water. Stay clear of people that pick on you, put you down, etc. Eat healthy food. Listen to some good music. Develop your spirituality. Just put a little more effort into caring for yourself in the little ways that you deserve.

Bottom line.

-Joe