Using Your Immune System to Stay Well

Experts explain how you can tap the power of your immune system to avoid getting sick.

Article is by Colette Bouchez, reviewed by Brunilda Nazario MD, WebMD

You and a friend step into a crowded elevator and immediately notice two people coughing and sneezing up a storm. Within a couple of days you come down with a bad cold -- and blame it on that elevator ride. Yet your friend -- exposed to the same germs at the same time -- remains perfectly healthy.

What made the difference?

The power of the immune system. It's a network that can help us avoid illness -- or sometimes become the underlying reason we get sick.

"The strength of our immune system is what makes the difference between who gets sick and who doesn't. The one with the immune system functioning below base-line normal has an increased risk of getting sick," says Woodson Merrell, MD, integrative medicine at Beth Israel Medical Center, NY.

But is there anything you can do to keep your immune system from dropping below par -- or increase its activity if it does?

Doctors say yes ...  the secrets lie in understanding a bit about how the immune system works -- and how your everyday life can stoke the fires of protection.

In simplest terms, the immune system is a balanced network of cells and organs that work together to defend you against disease. It blocks foreign proteins from getting into your body. If a few happen to sneak by your biological sentry, not to worry. With a powerful "search and destroy" task force, your body deploys a host of additional immune cell forces designed to hunt down these unwanted invaders and ultimately works to destroy them.

Fending Off Illnesses

"This entire system is known as the 'humoral' response. It's your body's innate ability to manufacture antibodies that counter the infectious particle -- allowing your body to eradicate it," says Phillip Tierno Jr., PhD. (microbiology, diagnostic immunology and author of The Secret Life of Germs.)

Antibodies are proteins which can identify normal "self" cells verses foreign invading cells. They work as part of the immune system to destroy abnormal or foreign cells. This, he says, not only affects your ability to fend off common illnesses like colds, the flu, or a stomach virus, but it can also play a role in protecting you against catastrophic diseases like cancer or even heart disease.

Additionally, we also have a second protective response known as the "cell-mediated immune system." This immunity involves immune system cells, rather than proteins, which are "helper" or "killer" cells. The cells help our body create memory of past defense against disease protection.

"Your body recognizes that pathogen again, and immediately calls up the memory of the previous infection and sets out to destroy the invader before the disease develops," says neurophysiologist Carl J. Charnetski (co-author of "Feeling Good Is Good For You: How Pleasure Can Boost Your Immune System and Lengthen Your Life.")

This mechanism is also the biologic behind vaccines for illnesses such as measles, chicken pox, or hepatitis.

"The concept of inoculating us against diseases is based on deliberately introducing a harmless amount of a pathogen so that our [immune] cells can react, learn, and remember how to produce antibodies enough to fight it," says Charnetski.

Vaccine Recommendations

According to the CDC, the recommended vaccines for children and adolescents include hepatitis A and B, diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, polio, pneumococcus, and Haemophilus influenza type B -- called HiB.

The CDC says seniors need vaccines against pneumococcus and the flu, as do all adults who may be immunocompromised by diseases such as HIV or cancer. Everyone needs to update their tetanus vaccine once every 10 years, while those who work in high-risk jobs (like hospital workers) need vaccines for hepatitis A and B. Other vaccines, including one for meningitis, may be required for teens and for college students living in dorms. It is also recommended for people at elevated risk of getting the disease, such as travelers to countries with high rates of meningococcal disease.

What Affects Immunity

Much like soldiers who grow weary in battle, your immune cells can also lose some of their protective effects when your body is constantly battling poor health habits. As such, it's not surprising that doctors frequently recommend certain lifestyle changes as a way to optimize the function of your immune system.

"The most important thing you can do for your immune system is to achieve lifestyle balance and adopt the fundamentals of healthy living. This will give your immune system what it needs to function at optimal capacity," says Merrell.

At the top of that balance list: reducing stress.

"There is overwhelming evidence that stress -- and the substances secreted by the body during stress -- negatively impacts your ability to remain healthy," says Charnetski.

Merrell agrees: "There are dozens, if not hundreds of studies attesting to how stress affects the body's ability to respond to infection."

The good news is that lowering your stress can help your body maintain both your physical and your emotional health.

"People who have less stress are simply healthier overall," says Charnetski.

Remember when Mom used to say that staying out too late would cause you to get sick? Mom was right! Experts say that not only does prolonged sleep deprivation wear down immune protection but getting adequate rest can help boost your defenses.

"We don't know the exact mechanism by which sleep impacts immunity, but we do know that a lack of it prevents the body from repairing cells. And when we skip that important physiological step, we get sick more easily," says Tierno.

To help give your immune system an extra boost during cold and flu season, Charnetski says get seven to eight hours of sleep a night.

A loving touch can make a difference

A loving touch can make a difference... Research published as early as the 1960s at the University of California at Berkeley showed that having a social support system -- particularly if it involved frequent physical touching, such as hugs and handshakes -- was more predictive of long life than age, medical status, or even smoking.

Less is More

Nobody around to pat you on the back? Charnetski says moderate alcohol intake also releases the opioids and raises IGA levels.

At the same time, if you drink too much you may find your immunity goes down.

Ironically, Merrell tells WebMD that the same rule of "less is more" also applies to exercise.

"Moderate exercise -- like a brisk 30-minute walk three or four times a week -- has been shown to increase your immunity to disease, while overtraining and working out too much will actually run down your immune system and make you more susceptible to illness," he says.

Chicken Soup, Herbs, and a Mushroom Cocktail

It's hard to deny the comforting feeling we'd get from a bowl of Mom's nurturing chicken soup -- particularly when we were sick. But doctors say there were more than just warm and cozy feelings at work.

Indeed, studies published in the journal Chest in 2000 showed chicken soup can pump up immune power, and may help you get well faster. Moreover, it's not the only food with healing powers.

Merrell says both modern Western studies and thousands of years of Chinese wisdom validate the impact of mushrooms on immunity, particularly the varieties known as Reichi, Maitake, and Shitake.

"They work on cell lines of factors directly involved in fighting some major disease processes, including enhancing production of tumor necrosis factor, interleukins, and interferon," says Merrell.

What can also help, he says, is a diet low in red meat and high in fish, fruits, and vegetables, particularly blueberries and broccoli.

"Along with green tea these foods help take some stress off the immune system so it doesn't have to work as hard to protect you. So the bottom line is you're better protected," says Merrell.

When it comes to giving your immune system an herbal boost, among the most popular choices has always been echinacea, a plant credited with helping users avoid colds and the flu. Newer studies, however, have challenged that traditional wisdom, leaving some in a quandary over its effectiveness.

But Merrell says any confusion stems from the fact that the herb was not studied in the way it's used in traditional Chinese medicine -- as part of a mixed blend of natural ingredients.

"The strength of echinacea, as well as, most herbal treatments, lies in their ability to interact with other herbs. So unless you are testing blends, you are not likely to find the kind of success that thousands of years of Chinese medicine has shown," says Merrell.

Music and Your Immunity

Finally, to get the most out of your immune system -- and enjoy yourself besides -- Charnetski suggests programming your IPOD with your favorite tunes and listening often. How can this help?

In studies on a group of Pennsylvania newspaper reporters, Charnetski and his colleagues took saliva samples to measure levels of IGA. As the reporters closed in on their daily deadlines, stress levels increased and IGA levels dropped.

But after listening to just 30 minutes of music, tests showed IGA levels began to climb, even though stress continued to increase. And, he says, levels of IGA remained elevated even after the music stopped, indicating it may have long as well as short-term effects.

And while priming your immune system is one way to fend off disease, Tierno says we mustn't forget that nothing beats the power of frequent hand washing to help you remain healthy and well.

Says Tierno: "If you can cut down on the number of pathogens able to get into your body, your immune system can put its full attention on protecting you from catastrophic diseases -- and keeping you healthier overall."

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Published Dec. 19, 2005.
SOURCES: Woodson Merrell, MD, director, integrative medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City. Phillip Tierno Jr., PhD, director, clinical microbiology and diagnostic immunology, Tisch Hospital, New York University Medical Center; author, The Secret Life of Germs. Carl J. Charnetski, PhD, professor of psychology, Wilkes University, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; co-author, Feeling Good is Good For You: How Pleasure Can Boost Your Immune System and Lengthen Your Life. CDC. Berkman, L.S. American Journal of Epidemiology; vol 109: pp 186-204. Rennard, S. Chest, Oct. 17, 2000. Charnetski, C.J. Psychological Reports; vol 8: pp 218-222.