Build your immunity

Are you sick of catching bugs and struggling to shake them off? Investing in your immune system is essential for a vital life. Improve your inner armoury so you can fight off the bugs that circulate and have more happy days than sick ones.

- CAROLINE ROBERTSON

Your immune system is your primary defence against infectious disease, so the best thing anyone can do is to educate themselves about how to do that. - Dr Joseph Mercola

Your immune system is your greatest ally against illness and infection. When you appreciate your amazing capacity to overcome immune challenges you become more confident in your healing abilities. Rather than a single soldier, your immune system is a complex crew of cells, chemicals, systems and organs pulling together to protect you. A vigilant immune system identifies and disables threats such as abnormal cells, bacteria, fungi, viruses or toxins. Our immunity community thrive when supported by a nurturing attitude, diet, supplements, herbs, regimes and therapeutic aids.

Defence duo

The immunity army has two strong arms. One is inborn immunity and the other is acquired immunity through exposure over a lifetime. Innate immunity is very rapid whereas adaptive immunity can take four to seven days to mount a response. Our innate immunity includes barriers such as the skin and secretions like mucus that prevent pathogens from invading. It's like a club bouncer, keeping undesirables out. When the skin barrier or mucous membranes are compromised allergies, inflammation and infections can occur. In response to invaders, chemical mediators called cytokines, specialised white blood cells and clotting factors may be released. The gut, respiratory tract and eyes are also part of this barrier.

Acquired or adaptive immunity is our second line of defence. This is our specialised response to specific invaders such as antibodies produced after contracting measles. Specialised lymphocytes called B and T cells are activated to create antibodies that inactivate the foreign invader or antigen. A dysfunctional or overreactive adaptive immune response can cause allergies and autoimmune conditions.