How Your Immune System Works

There are two types of immunity: innate and acquired. Your innate immune response is the one you receive at birth. As you passed through your mother's birthing canal, you came into contact with microorganisms from her vagina and rectum. You also received organisms through breast milk and, if you were bottle-fed, through your formula. These microbes have developed in and on you as you've aged. They outnumber your body cells by trillions. They are known as your microbiome.

The innate immune system biologically steps in whenever invading microbes are present. You don't have to become ill to boost your innate immune system response. In contrast, an acquired immune response either remembers having dealt with a particular illness before or developed immunity by developing antibodies, which means that once you've had a specific disease and overcome it, you won't get it again because your immune system remembers the invader and knows what to do to stop it in its tracks. An exception to this is when you live with herpes. Acquired immunity can't kill herpes, even though you have antibodies, because the virus hides. However, it's still essential that your immune system runs optimally so that when the herpes virus reappears, it can effectively deal with it.

Your acquired immunity response comes from contracting a disease or receiving a vaccination and overcoming it. 

Your immune system is like an army that constantly safeguards your body against potential attacks from pathogens. A pathogen is a virus, bacterium, or other microorganism that can cause disease, such as the Herpes Simplex Virus. Your nasal passages and digestive system depend on mucus and a healthy amount of stomach acid to block and kill harmful microbes at the gate. When they enter the body, sometimes through the skin, the immune system responds to deal with them, which leads to an inflammatory response.

Every time your immune system encounters an invader throughout your lifetime, it becomes more effective. Any new pathogen that enters your body that resembles a previous one is dealt with and destroyed quickly, to the point where you may not even be aware you are on the verge of becoming ill. Studies have shown that children who grow up around more germs tend to have healthier immune systems and far less inflammation in adulthood. 

Inflammation is your body’s natural response to injury, infection, or irritation. It’s a protective mechanism that removes harmful stimuli and initiates the healing process, and its role is central to the immune response. Here’s how it works.

• Detection: Immune cells detect pathogens or damaged tissue and release inflammatory signals (cytokines, histamine, prostaglandins).
• Recruitment: These signals attract white blood cells, such as neutrophils and macrophages, to the site of injury or infection.
• Containment: Immune cells work to isolate harmful agents, prevent their spread, and clear debris.
• Repair/Healing: After the threat is neutralized, inflammation helps tissue repair and regeneration.
• Communication: Inflammatory signals alert other parts of the immune system, including the adaptive immune system (T cells and B cells), to prepare for long-term defense.

Some common causes include:

• Infections: Bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites trigger immune cells to release signaling molecules called cytokines, which initiate inflammation.
• Tissue Damage: Cuts, burns, or mechanical injury prompt cells to release damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) that attract immune cells.
• Chemical Irritants or Toxins: Poisons, pollution, or reactive chemicals can provoke inflammation.
• Chronic Stress or Metabolic Dysfunction: Conditions like obesity, high blood sugar, or mitochondrial dysfunction can create low-level, chronic inflammation.
• Autoimmune Reactions: The immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue, causing chronic inflammation.

Types of Inflammation are as follows.

• Acute Inflammation: Fast, short-term, and usually beneficial (e.g., swelling after a sprain).
• Chronic Inflammation: Slow, persistent, and often harmful; linked to conditions like autoimmune disease, heart disease, Diabetes, and even herpes virus reactivation. Why does it reactivate herpes? The herpes virus has a built-in radar for imbalances in the body, and inflammation is a signal of an imbalance in the immune system. Herpes takes advantage of this imbalance to reactivate and replicate itself. 

Inflammation is essentially the immune system’s “alarm and repair” mechanism. Without it, infections and injuries would go unchecked. But excessive inflammation or inflammation in the wrong place can damage tissues, leading to herpes outbreaks and other diseases.

While chronic, subtle inflammation doesn’t always cause a full-blown outbreak on its own, it primes HSV, making it much easier for small triggers, such as minor stress, slight infections, or sleep disruptions (that wouldn't normally trigger an outbreak), to set off a flare. The risk of a flare-up increases when cortisol or histamine levels are elevated. 

Put another way, an overactive or underactive immune system can cause allergic responses and autoimmune conditions. When your "army" is overactive, it jumps the gun. It attacks harmless cells and compounds, such as pet dander, nutrients, and pollen, triggering an immune response that further inflames the body. An overactive immune system is a contributing factor to diseases such as Crohn's Disease and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

A weakened immune system often results from poor food choices that disrupt gut bacteria, leading to Leaky Gut Syndrome and inflammation. Leaky Gut Syndrome occurs when food particles and toxins leak through the intestinal lining into the bloodstream, triggering the immune system to perceive them as invaders. You can end up with an overactive immune system and inflammation. Inflammation also reduces the immune system's ability to produce antibodies when needed. You can end up with a weakened immune system when you need it most. Herpes causes inflammation, and inflammation triggers herpes outbreaks.

Nourishing Your Immune System

There are several natural ways to nourish your immune system. I'm not referring to boosting or stimulating it, which can lead to an overactive immune system. No. Nourishing your immune system involves providing it with the essential nutrients it needs to function optimally. 

Sometimes, your immune system may need help from the outside to overcome illnesses and diseases. Thankfully, in the modern world, we have medicines that can help. However, there are many natural ways to optimize your immune system through your mind, lifestyle, and diet.

How to Nourish Your Immune System Through Your Mind

• Engaging with nature (forest bathing)
• Meditation
• Breathing (an exercise)
• Journaling
• Engaging with positive, loving, uplifting people
• Creativity
• Learning new things

How to Nourish Your Immune System Through Your Lifestyle (Behaviors)

• Movement
• Limit exposure to chemicals.
• Eat a genetically appropriate diet.
• Eliminate or significantly reduce refined sugar and white flour products.
• Get quality sleep (8-10 hours per night) at the same time. The immune system is sensitive to circadian rhythms and benefits from early sleep (before 11 PM). 
• Consume healthy fats (omega-3s)
• Quit smoking and limit alcohol.
• Wash your hands often, especially after being outside or in public.
• Extricate yourself from toxic relationships.

How to Nourish Your Immune System Through Your Diet

To nourish your immune system through your diet, stay hydrated by drinking plenty of fresh water or caffeine-free tea, and avoid foods and substances to which you are sensitive or allergic. The following foods support a healthy immune response.

• Healthy fats (walnuts, fish, seeds, avocado, coconut oil) 
• Foods containing vitamin C (citrus)
• Taking adequate amounts of vitamin D (crucial for all humans)
• Orange and leafy green vegetables
• Fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, miso, yogurt, and apple cider vinegar (don't consume fermented foods if you have symptoms of IBS or Histamine Intolerance)
• Medicinal mushrooms (maitake, shiitake, reishi, and chaga) 
• Fluids, such as pure water, tea, and broth
• Yogurt (plain, organic, no sugar added)
• Consume holy basil (tulsi), cinnamon, turmeric (curcumin), and ginger.
• Flowers, such as chamomile, passionflower, and rose rock (cistus)
• Raw honey (raw local honey and Manuka honey are best)
• Follow an anti-inflammatory or antihistamine diet.