Wat moet je weten over het immuunsysteem?

De immuunsysteem is a very important part of the body. It’s the important task of defending and protecting the body against disease-causing ziektekiemen. The immune system-with its system of special cells, proteins, tissues and organs-works hard day in and day out to avoid illness and infectie. But there are times when it fails to work optimally, and we get ill consequently.

Kwalen

Everyone has experienced being ill, whether from simple ailments such as colds or the flu, or from something more serious like pneumonia or malaria. This implies that our immune system isn’t always in excellent condition. Sometimes it weakens and we become prone to ailments. At other times it’s strong, so much so that when a viral disease affects everyone around us, we nevertheless stay disease-free. It’s intriguing to learn about it and how it defends, and at times fails to defend, our entire body.

De cellen waaruit het voornamelijk bestaat zijn witte bloedcellen, bekend als leukocyten. Ze worden gevonden in verschillende delen van het lichaam, zoals de thymusklier, bot marrow and spleen. They’re also in lymph nodes located throughout the body. Like soldiers, these white blood cells circulate throughout the body, monitoring a variety of places for the existence of “antigens” that identify dangerous foreign microorganisms.

Antilichamen

When they discover an antigeen, they create “antibodies” to attack the foreign bodies. Phagocytes are specialized white blood cells which neutralize invading entities by gobbling them up. Lymphocytes are another sort of white blood cells which”remember” previous invaders and handle them when they try another round of attack against the body.

Sometimes, these leukocytes or other pieces of it weaken, and the body becomes more vulnerable to various infections. Deadly germs can certainly colonize certain areas of the body and wreck havoc there. People that are “immunocompromised” are individuals that have a weak or compromised immune system. Examples are individuals with AIDS, cancer sufferers undergoing chemotherapy, and those about to get organ transplants.

Wist je dat?

Many medications, like those for cancer, suppress it. Milder forms of immunocompromise are more commonplace and influence nearly everyone from time to time. When we are stressed, tired or depressed, our immune system suffers. This can also be caused by inadequate diet, lack of sleep or rest, and physical vermoeidheid. Marathoners, by way of instance, are known to be particularly prone to infections after conducting the complete 42-kilometer race.

Diegenen die zichzelf essentiële voedingsstoffen onthouden zijn ook vatbaarder voor verschillende soorten ziekten. En studies hebben aangetoond dat depressieve mannen en vrouwen immunocompromitterend zijn, omdat het zenuwstelsel het immuunsysteem rechtstreeks beïnvloedt. Zelfs veroudering heeft de neiging de kracht van het systeem te verminderen, volgens oudere mensen die gemakkelijker ziek worden. Blijkbaar kunnen veel dingen in ons eigen leven het immuunsysteem aantasten.

Slotopmerking

De meest voorkomende boosdoeners zijn angst, uitputting en slechte voeding. We kunnen dit compenseren door te proberen onze angst te verminderen, voldoende rust te nemen en evenwichtig te eten. We kunnen ook voedingssupplementen nemen die het immuunsysteem versterken, zoals multivitaminen. We zouden allemaal goed voor ons immuunsysteem moeten zorgen, zodat we gezond en ziektevrij blijven.