Why do some people get minor illnesses more than others? Is an already weak immune system going to protect from more serious disease? What would happen if a super disease appeared and threatened to wipe out millions of people? Being exposed does not mean you will get sick. The strength and response of the individual immune system will have an impact on that person’s health.
Our bodies have a built in mechanism in the form of our immune system to protect us against attacks from disease causing germs. Every day life exposes us to tiny microbes that are mostly unseen and unfelt. These silent particles can pack quite a punch on our bodies.
Bacterial infections, viral infections like flu and hepatitis A, are all threats to our bodies. Antibiotic resistance is exploding and scientists could run out of new antibiotics. Salmonella, Staphylococcus, the sharp rise in imported diseases, infectious diseases like HIV and AIDS, mad cow disease, SARS, and E. coli food poisoning are all examples of why our immune systems must be strong and quick to respond to these forces.
The immune system is the body’s natural shield against infection. It provides many layers of defense. Science and research have produced a great deal of knowledge about how the immune system functions. While we can’t do anything about the fact that we are becoming resistant to disease, or we have more imported disease, or even the rapid rate that disease is appearing, we can build a supercharged immune system with the power to fight disease.
Once a cell is attacked by a virus, it activates a natural substance produced by our bodies called interferon. Interferon has a specific role that activates immune cells to fight invading germs and alerts neighbor cells to trigger resistance mechanisms. Interferon helps protect us daily against exposure to millions of germs that can lead to serious infection.
The problem is that the daily challenges of life weakens the body’s ability to make natural interferon. There is constant exposure to germs, stress at work, poor nutrition, stress at home, pollution, and fatigue all seriously compromising our immune systems. Between 1985 and 2000, there was an alarming increase of infectious diseases by 60 percent, with numbers rising.
Interferon was first discovered over forty years ago, and was used in synthesized form to treat many diseases including cancer. For prevention, more recent scientific discoveries have led to a way to boost the production of our own natural interferon. Prevention is always more important since it helps keep disease away from our bodies.
Today, we are better able to defend ourselves against disease. We take care of our overall fitness with nutrition and exercise. We can benefit from what nutritional science teaches us about natural interferon and how it strengthens and improves the immune system. An immune system with healthy cells full of natural interferon to fight disease is prepared and ready to fight back as soon as an invader attacks.
