7 Interesting Facts About The Human Immune System

The human body is an absolute marvel of science and biology, with every limb, bone, tissue and cell having their own important functions. One of the most important systems in the body has to be the immune system. Our immunity is what keeps us alive in a world teeming with bacteria and germs. If you've ever seen the movie "The Boy In The Plastic Bubble" (1976), you might gain some understanding of what the world can be like if you have no immune system.

Our knowledge about this particular system has revolutionized medicine, propelling the creation of most vaccinations, that have drastically increased the average human life span. To give you a little bit more insight into this incredible system of warriors and protectors, here are 7 facts you may not have known about your immune system.
 
1. Laughter can really be the best medicine
Studies have shown the general positive effects that laughter can have on the body. Laughter (and enjoyment in general) can increase the production of dopamine, serotonin and other feel-good hormones released by the brain, which can drastically reduce stress.

According to a study by Dr. Stephen Sinatra, laughter can also boost your immune system by increasing the cytotoxicity (which is basically the ability of one type of cell to foreign cells) of NK cells (natural killer cells). Natural Killer Cells are the type of white blood cells that can actually differentiate between infected or cancerous cells and normal ones.

They can avoid the latter and wipe out only the former in a much more effective way.
 
2. White blood cells are the 1%
White blood cells, also called Leukocytes, are the knights of the human body, fighting off harmful bacteria and keeping your body free of infections and viruses. It is one of the most important components of the human body. So one would think that the bloodstream is chock-full of these heroes, but in reality, they only make up 1% of the cells in your blood.

In this case, though, the 1% is pretty large, with up to 10,000 white blood cells in every microlitre (one-millionth of a liter) of blood. That counts for a lot when you consider the fact that there are 5 liters of blood in the human body. These cells are always on the move in the bloodstream, hunting down possible invaders, anywhere they might be.

3. Cows revolutionized our immunity
People first began experimenting with inoculation in the 1700's by introducing milder, but still deadly elements of the smallpox virus taken from previously inoculated patients, so the immune system could develop a resistance to the virus. Though this method was quite effective, it still resulted in many deaths.

It was eventually discovered that dairymaids had developed a stronger immunity to smallpox than most people when they had been previously exposed to cowpox, a disease with a lower fatality rate than Variolation (which is what the method of inoculation for smallpox, also known as Variola, was called). Using this knowledge and the cowpox virus, Edward Jenner pioneered a smallpox vaccine in 1796.
 
4. There is such a thing as too clean
The common belief is that the cleaner our environment is, the safer we are. But this is a misconception bred and borne by us. In truth, an extremely clean environment can halt the development of your immune system.

Your immune system ends up not getting exposed to many of the foreign particles that usually help it develop anti-bodies and become stronger. This can be especially problematic for children, whose 
immune systems require exposure to develop and grow.
 
5. Allergies are just the immune system’s mistakes
Everybody makes mistakes and your immune system is no different. Most of the reactions your body has to substances you're allergic to arise because the immune system gets confused and mistakenly takes the foreign substance, be it pollen, peanuts or dust, to be a dangerous foreign particle.

So it reacts the way it's built to react to anything that it has understood to be harmful and attacks the substance in your body, doing some damage to your body in the process. This causes many of the symptoms we experience, from itchiness to swelling in different areas.
 
6. Women are more vulnerable to immune system attacks
Autoimmune diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis, basically occur when the immune system gets all turned up. It becomes extra defensive and is unable to differentiate harmful foreign bodies from healthy cells and tissues in the body. So it begins to attack perfectly healthy cells, which can cause inflammation, severe pain and numerous other serious health problems. But as it turns out, autoimmune diseases are somewhat selective.

While less than 10% of the population in the USA suffer from auto-immune diseases, an article published in 2008 in the American Journal of Pathology observed that nearly a whopping 80% of those suffering from autoimmune diseases were women. Women can be especially vulnerable to these diseases during ovulation, pregnancy and immediately after giving birth.

7. Stress, sleep, sunlight and your immune system
Stress is not good for your immune system. Too much stress may result in your immune system getting suppressed, which directly increases the likelihood of you catching a virus.

Lack of sleep similarly affects your immune system, reducing the number of natural killer cells in your body, and can even reduce the effects of vaccinations as a result, as observed in a 2012 study.

Sunlight can have mixed effects. Exposure to sunlight can increase the Vitamin D in your body, as well as the production of serotonin, which keeps you happy and can help reduce stress. But high levels of exposure to ultraviolet radiation and sunlight can result in the suppression of the immune system, and thereby an increased vulnerability to infections and viruses. As with most things, a little is good for you, a lot can be bad. 

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     

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Benefits of drinking water in copper mug for 10 days

Well, this isn't my experience, but wanting to share what I read about benefits of drinking water from a copper mug/ vessel. Anyway, this habit has become quite fashionable, so much that the cost of copper mugs and vessels has shot up ! The author's name wasn't mentioned .


Have you noticed the comeback of copper mugs, glasses and jugs in the market? The practice of drinking water stored in a copper vessel overnight is not new but age old. Our ancestors stored water in copper vessels before having it, as it is believed that the process killed harmful bacteria and microorganisms in water.

So, today when we have ROs and water purifiers, the practice might seem worthless, but it’s not. The benefit of having water stored in a copper mug is not one but many.
My personal experience

And here is my personal experience when I tried it for just 10 days.

I remember, it was around Christmas that me and one of my colleagues went to buy Secret Santa. My friend bought a fancy copper mug as a gift for someone and it was from here that I thought maybe I should try it too.

Before sleeping, I washed my brand new glass and filled it with water and kept it covered on my side table.

Next morning, I got up and the first thing I did was to have water from the copper glass. Because, it’s the winter season, the water was too cold. I still continued the practice for almost another week.

Sometimes it’s the charm of new things that make you develop some healthy habits. I made sure to wash the glass every night and drink that water the first thing in the morning.

Though I did not feel any major changes apart from one that I felt thirsty throughout the day. I usually drink too little water and this turned out to be a beneficial habit for me.

Another change that I noticed was, my bowel movements improved after I started having copper water.

Another change that I noticed was, my bowel movements improved after I started having copper water.

Almost on the ninth day, I felt a little sore in my throat after gulping down that cold water. It didn’t take much time and next day, I had a nasty cold.

Since I stay alone, I always call my mom first whenever I am under the weather. And so this time too I called her to inform what had happened. The first thing she told me was that maybe the cold water that I was having as soon as waking up made my throat sore in the first place. She explained how the practice is absolutely healthy and has tons of health benefits but maybe this is not the time to continue with it.

So, for now I have kept the glass back in the kitchen while waiting for my throat to recover.

​Benefits of having water in copper glass
Copper is a trace mineral, which is essential for human health. It has antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties. Unlike many other nutritional elements, your body cannot synthesize copper and thus you need to get it from dietary sources. Some best dietary sources of copper are seafood, whole grains, lentils, nuts, seeds, cereals, potatoes, peas, chocolate and dark green leafy vegetables. And drinking two-three glasses of water stored in a copper vessel is another easy way.

According to Ayurveda, this little step can balance your all three doshas – kapha, vata and pitta. It also ensures proper functioning of different organs and many metabolic processes.

This is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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Benefits of Oil Pulling

Oil pulling includes gargling oil around the mouth like a mouthwash. During oil pull you put a tablespoon of oil in your mouth and then rinse it around for 15 to 20 minutes. The advantage of doing this is, it decreases the measure of unsafe bacteria in the mouth. The microscopic organisms in the mouth create a biofilm on the teeth a thin layer that they use to stick to the surface. This is what we call ‘plaque’.
Having some plaque on your teeth is only normal. Yet, when it gets out of hand, it can bring about a wide range of issues, including bad breath, yellow teeth, gum aggravation, gingivitis and cavities. The way oil pulling works is basic. When you are gargling oil around your mouth, the bacteria get stuck in it and break down in the fluid oil. 
Here is a step-by-step instruction for the procedure:

1. Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of oil in your mouth - Natural sesame oil is generally used in oil pulling. It is also okay to go with natural coconut oil.
    
2. Rinse for around 20 minutes - The oil will get thicker and smooth as it blends with the saliva during this time and it should be velvety white while releasing. It will be two-fold in volume during this time because of the salivation. It can be difficult to gargle for the full 20 minutes, but it is very effective.
    
3. Spit the oil into a dustbin in case you have a septic framework - Do not spit into the sink. The oil may thicken and clog the pipes. Try not to swallow the oil as it is ideally full of bacteria, poisons and discharge that are currently not in the mouth.
    
4. Wash well with warm water - Warm water will clean the mouth better. Rinse a couple of times with warm water to get any residual oil out of the mouth. A few sources prescribe washing with warm saltwater.
    
5. Brush well - Try to brush with a brushing blend to ensure any bacteria that still remains, is killed.

Some of the most common benefits of oil pulling are as follows:

1. Can reduce harmful bacteria in the mouth: Streptococcus mutans is one of the principal bacteria in the mouth and a key player in plaque development and tooth decay. 
2. Can reduce plaque and gingivitis: Gingivitis is caused by the aggravation of the gums and happens when the immune system begins attacking the microbes in the plaque.
    
3. Can reduce bad breath: Bad breath, also called halitosis, is caused by the scent of chemicals and gasses delivered by the bacteria in the mouth.

Oil pulling can be really effective and can combat many oral problems even before they develop.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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Study reveals special occasion drinking during pregnancy is harmful

Researchers claim that even one or two shots of alcohol on special occasions during pregnancy is harmful.

Research showed that even small amounts of drinking during pregnancy can cause insulin resistance, which increases the likelihood of diabetes.

The study conducted on rats mimicked " special occasion drinking", where a pregnant mother might be encouraged to have one or two alcoholic drinks.

Male rats exposed to this low level of prenatal alcohol showed signs of becoming diabetic at around 6 months old. The researchers only gave alcohol to the mother rats on 2 days during their pregnancy.

The rats' blood alcohol concentration only reached 0.05% and yet their male offspring became almost diabetic, with insulin levels reaching higher than expected to maintain normal blood sugar levels.

Another interesting finding was that insulin-resistance was sex-specific, occurring only in the make rats. There are a couple of potential reasons for this, one being that during pregnancy, the placenta adapts to prenatal stress differently depending on if it's a male or female fetus, and this can impact on fetal growth and development.

The other factor is hormone changes as offspring grow into adulthood. In this case, estrogen protects against insulin-resistance, and because males don't have high estrogen, they don't experience the same protection. 

Commenting on the study, senior author said, even a small amount of alcohol during pregnancy can be harmful, so, if you're planning on getting pregnant don't drink. 

Families, partners and friends should support a woman's choice not to drink alcohol during pregnancy. If a woman accidentally becomes pregnant and unknowingly drinks alcohol during the first part of their pregnancy, the important thing once they know is to stop drinking, have a good diet and take care of themselves, throughout the remainder of the pregnancy, said one of the authors.

this is only for your information, kindly take the advice of your doctor for medicines, exercises and so on.     
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Researchers discover genes that help bacteria prevent treatment

Researchers have discovered two genes that make some strains of harmful bacteria resistant to treatment by copper, which is a powerful and frequently used antibacterial agent, says a new study. The discovery showed that Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, which is highly resistant to antibiotics, can acquire additional genes that promote infections and antibacterial resistance and may open new paths for the development of antibacterial drugs.

The study,  showed the two genes, named copl and copl, in some strains of S. aureus bacteria protect the germs from copper. The genes may promote the survival of S. aureus in settings, such as in hospitals, that could lead to infections or they may lead to S. aureus strains with higher copper resistance.

Recently, hospitals began using it against bacteria found on medical instruments and other surfaces. It has also been used for thousands of years to sterilise wounds and drinking water. But the two newly discovered genes encode proteins that help remove copper from S. aureus cells and prevent it from entering.

The findings, revealed that some strains of S. aureus have newly acquired genes embedded in their genome in pieces of DNA called transposons. Transposons aid in the spread of genes that can give rise to bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and more likely to cause disease. The newly discovered genes are encoded within a transposon, said the study.

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Houseflies makes you prone to infection and diseases

Flies may be more than pesky picnic crashers as researchers have found that they could also carry hundreds of bacteria harmful to humans and play a role in spreading diseases. Because flies often live close to humans, scientists have long suspected they played a role in carrying and spreading diseases, but this study adds further proof of that threat.
 
‘We believe that this may show a mechanism for pathogen transmission that has been overlooked by public health officials, and flies may contribute to the rapid transmission of pathogens in outbreak situations,’ said a Professor. The researchers examined microbiomes of 116 houseflies and blowflies from three different continents. They found that in some cases, these flies carried hundreds of different species of bacteria, many of which are harmful to humans.

‘The legs and wings show the highest microbial diversity in the fly body, suggesting that bacteria use the flies as airborne shuttles,’ said a researcher. Blowflies and houseflies — both carrion fly species — are often exposed to unhygienic matter because they use feces and decaying organic matter to nurture their young, where they could pick up bacteria that could act as pathogens to humans, plants and animals. The study also indicates that blowflies and houseflies share over 50 percent of their microbiome, a mixture of host-related microorganisms and those acquired from the environments they inhabit.

Surprisingly, flies collected from stables carried fewer pathogens than those collected from urban environments, the findings showed. The researchers found 15 instances of the Helicobacter pylori, a pathogen often causing ulcers in the human gut, largely in the blowfly samples collected in Brazil. The known route of transmission of Helicobacter has never considered flies as a possible vector for the disease, said a researcher.

Flies may not be all bad, however. The researchers suggest they could turn into helpers for human society, perhaps even serving as living drones that can act as an early-warning system for diseases. ‘For one, the environmental sequencing of flies may use the insects as proxies that can inform on the microbial content of any given environment that otherwise would be hard or impossible to sample,’ said a researcher. ‘In fact, the flies could be intentionally released as autonomous bionic drones into even the smallest spaces and crevices and, upon being recaptured, inform about any biotic material they have encountered,’ he added.

THIS IS ONLY FOR INFORMATION, ALWAYS CONSULT YOU PHYSICIAN BEFORE HAVING ANY PARTICULAR FOOD/ MEDICATION/EXERCISE/OTHER REMEDIES.   

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