Tag: immunity

Thymus: Forgotten yet most crucial šŸ™Œ

by drjurisharma, posted in life

Hello everyone !Ā Have a wonderful and safe day šŸ™‹šŸ»

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This Coronavirus Pandemic has created havoc within us in these couple of weeks. Thousands of people are affected and already killed by the virus. In today’s world, it has created an atmosphere of panic, fearfulness which has greatly affected our mental health. We were never prepared for such Pandemic. It’s also true, that we can never avoid such naturally acquired disaster. But, we can at least armed our bodies better by start building up a strong, powerful immune system.

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Therefore, to take proper care for our body, we need to be more aware and more informative about how our body’s natural defence system function. Concerning our immunity and the immune system, Thymus is an important gland that plays a vital role. This lymphoid gland seems to be an underrated gland that is hardly discussed. People know or give very little importance about this gland. But this gland plays the most significant role in building immunity in our body by supporting the immune system. This is a small gland which lies behind the sternum (the chest bone). It usually atrophies as ageing progresses. But its function remains intact lifelong. Its main function is that it supplies the defence cells of the White blood cells army of Immune system which are responsible to fight against viruses and cancers cells.

img_0746Certain type of precursor cells originate from the stem cells in the bone marrow of bones and go through the bloodstream to the thymus gland where they mature and are trained to perform their specific functions of defence. Thymus secretesĀ hormones likeĀ ThymosineĀ whichĀ helps in the development and maturation of these cells. Not all cells produced mature and make through a very specific selection and training process. Many of them die within the thymus. Only 1-2 % of the cells become ready to perform their function of defending against harmful pathogens and cancer cells. Therefore, these matured and trained cells are released in the lymphatic system to perform their specific functions. The different cells released from the thymus are categorised as T (thymus) cells and B (bone marrow) cells. The T-cells mainly fight against antigens and cancer cells.

T-cell types :
#Natural killer T-cells fight against viral infections. They release certain chemicals like Cytokines which can kill the viruses or other pathogens along with the affected cells.
#Helper T-cells not necessarily kill the viruses but tagged them as ‘harmful’ so that the natural killer cells can eliminate these antigens. So, the helper T- cells help in coordinating the immune system.
#Regulatory T- cells mainly control and regulate the immune system. it naturally keeps the balance. If this is not done, then T-cells will attack the body’s own tissues leading to autoimmune conditions. The body may suffer from different autoimmune conditions like various inflammations and allergies. So, the function of this regulatory cell is very important to balance the immune defence system.

B-cells mainly produced antibodies. There are a variety of antibodies. The antibodies do not kill the pathogens but instead, they tag and segregate them as harmful viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites. So, the natural killer cells can destroy them. Our body can produce as many as millions of antibodies which can identify different specific pathogens and tagged them accordingly.

Fortunately, it is amazing to know that our body has been naturally equipped with such a powerful strong immune system with Thymus playing an important role. We are gifted with a very sophisticated defence immune system. But, as we age, the thymus gland slowly atrophied, become smaller and smaller in size. So the release of matured and trained T-cells and B-cells from the Thymus is slowly reduced too. Therefore, our immune system gets weaker and weaker and we become susceptible to diseases and infections.

So, how do we maintain and keep our immune system function intact and powerful? To support the thymus gland and the immune system from functioning at their optimal potential, we need to adopt a healthy lifestyle: Healthy eating, low-stress level and meditation, exercise.

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1 Vitamin D: This particular vitamin is anti-inflammatory and is very useful in the development and maturation of Helper and Regulatory T cells which are integral in the immunity defence army of cells. Dietary sources are best and supplements only given under clinical recommendation. Not to forget, sunlight is an important source of vitamin D.Ā So, being in the sun for at least 15 mins a day can be very beneficial.

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2. Iodine is important because it helps in the process and maturation of Natural Killer cells.

3. Zinc: Another important mineral which greatly supports the immune system and defends us from the invasion of pathogens. Food chart is given in my previous post on Zinc: https://wordpress.com/post/healthhappinesshealing.org/3137

Stress Management mind map
Stress Management mind map, business concept background

4. Stress: Enough has been talked and written about stress which may harm our body and the immune system. Therefore, we need to control our stress level every day by adopting different stress-relieving tips and keep ourselves calm.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love to all šŸ’

Post: Immune boosters ā¤ļø

by drjurisharma, posted in life

Hello everyone! Have a wonderful week ahead šŸ™‹šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø

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Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love šŸ’

Post : Meditation minimizes Inflammation šŸ™Œ

by drjurisharma, posted in brain, cognitive health, emotional health, happy, happiness, wellness, seratonin, dopamine, sunlight, endorphins, healing, health, life, meditation, inflammation, disease, physical health, mental health, wellbeing, mental health, nature, Science, wellness

Hello everyone ! Hope everybody is doing great šŸ™šŸ»

We know by now that chronic inflammation is the commonest cause of various disease state in the body. Inflammation is a natural attempt of our body ‘s immune system to fight against a certain state like infections, injury or toxins which can harm the body. It is a defence system.

When cell damages, your body releases chemicals in the form of antibodies and protein to combat the threat and increases the blood supply to the damaged area to fasten the healing. This usually lasts for a few days and is called acute inflammation. But when the response lingers for a long time can be harmful to the body. In the chronic inflammatory state, the body goes into a constant state of threat. This is the state responsible for many diseases ranging from cancers, asthma, heart diseases, stroke, diabetes and even Alzheimer’s disease.

Chronic inflammation is influenced mainly by chronic stress, anxiety, prolonged infection, injury, autoimmune diseases (like type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriasis and many more), long exposure to toxins and lifestyle factors like smoking, obesity, alcoholism.

Physically, maintaining the health of the body by eating an anti-inflammatory healthy diet (antioxidant-rich ), exercise, Yoga, sleep helps the body greatly to prevent and defend from the inflammatory state.
But then, this is not enough, our environment, our thoughts, feelings, emotions are equally important for healthy mental health, responsible to prevent and defend the body from the inflammatory state. So, how do we maintain a sound, calm mind in spite of all the day to day triggers of stress from our daily grind?

Several types of research have found that meditation-like mindful practises does reduce inflammation by impacting in the brain ‘s functional connectivity. Stress reduction mindfulness practices have shown a marked reduction in inflammatory biomarkers like C reactive proteins.

Learning and practising meditation isn’t rocket science. We don’t need a special session under an expert or Guru to learn to meditate. It is simply a state with the least distraction and freeing the mind from the clutter of thoughts. It is making an effort to put our mind in a relaxed, calm and ā€œnothingā€ state. There are loads of books, reading materials and videos on Youtube and other channels of guiding and teaching you to meditate. But for me, self learning and adopting my method to relax my mind and meditate , works better. Just devote some time for yourself everyday, away from all distractions.

Mindfulness too greatly helps the mind to free from the thoughts clutter. Like meditation, you don’t need to go to a “no thought” state. Instead, you remain fully aware of your surrounding, yet not being reactive to it. It is a basic human ability to be fully present at the moment. Like being simply aware of your breaths, or simply focussing on whatever task you are performing at the moment.

To conclude, whether you may meditate or learn to practise mindfulness, the main purpose is to clear your mind from unnecessary thoughts clutter. This helps your mind greatly from going into chronic stress and overthinking. Maintaining a calm and relaxed mind not only prevent unnecessary inflammation but nurture the physical body and is also self healing.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love to all šŸ’

Post: Green tea: 7 wonderful benefits

by drjurisharma, posted in healing, health, wellness

Green tea is one of the healthiest beverage known in the world today. So waking up every morning with a cup of green tea is awesome to kick start the day.

I am both tea land coffee lover but and green tea tops my list. It is always advisable to choose a high-quality brand of green tea as low-quality brands may contain fluoride.

7 most important proven benefits are :

  1. Green tea is very rich in polyphenol antioxidants and catechin called EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate). They have proven health benefits of reducing inflammation and help in fighting cancer.
  2. Like coffee, green tea contains caffeine. Not just caffeine, it also contains amino acid L-theanine which increases the activity of neurotransmitter GABA. They not only keep you awake but improves the brain function and has anti-anxiety effects. Catechins in green tea have a protective effect on the neurons so lower the risk of Alzheimers and Parkinson’s disease.

3. Green tea is the recommended supplement for weight loss. it boosts the metabolism and increases the fat burning.

4.Many studies have proved that green tea drinkers do have a protective effect against some type of cancers like breast, prostate and colorectal cancers. It is due to loads of antioxidants found in green tea.

5.The catechins in green tea can boost your immunity and lower the risk of both bacterial and viral infections like influenza. It can improve your dental hygiene by killing oral bacteria.

6.Green tea increases the antioxidant capacity of blood and thereby reduces the LDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) from oxidation. it reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. It slightly reduces blood sugar too. So good for type 2 diabetics.

7. Since green tea drinkers have a protective effect against cardiovascular diseases, protected against some cancers, boosted immunity, they likely to live longer and healthy.