Amazing Facts About Your Immune System!

Did You Know? Amazing Facts About Your Health and Wellness!

• The immune system is responsible for protecting the body from disease.

The immune system identifies harmful bacteria, viruses, and cancer cells and attacks them with white blood cells. The body contains approximately 50 billion white blood cells in its approximate 10 pints of blood. Each drop of blood contains 7,000 to 25,000 white blood cells.

• White blood cells are relatively small in numbers.

“They are much fewer in number than red blood cells, accounting for about 1% of your blood,” according to the American Society of Hematology. 55-70% of those white blood cells are neutrophils.

• The body’s defenses against infection constantly dies off and is regenerated.

The immune system’s white blood cells are produced in bone marrow. Bone marrow produces 500 billion red and white blood cells per day. The white cells are released in an immature form. They travel to and then mature in the thymus.

• Exposures to viruses, bacteria, and parasites build the immune system.

Research conducted on neonatal mice in 2012 revealed that mice raised in a germ-free environment had weaker immune systems than mice that had exposure to germs. The mice that had not been exposed to germs showed increased signs of lung inflammation and asthma. The researchers concluded that “exposure to microbes during early childhood is associated with protection from immune-mediated diseases.”

• The immune system does most of its work gastrointestinal system.

Up to about 80% of our immune system which is one reason gut health is so important.

• Laughter may boost the immune system.

Researchers in some studies exploring the effects of emotion on health found that “laughter increased natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity” in test subjects, according to Dr. Stephen Sinatra. “NK cells are lymphocytes (white blood cells) that can distinguish cancerous and virally infected cells from normal cells, and can destroy the former without harming the latter,” says Sinatra.