Your immune system doesn’t just keep colds and the flu at bay. How well it works can determine if you will get allergies, asthma, food poisoning, autoimmune diseases, and even certain types of cancer.
Your immune system’s job is to identify all of the foreign invaders (called antigens) that make their way into your body, and isolate and destroy them before they can cause damage. Fevers and swelling are two of your body’s ways of taking out the enemy.
However, if your immune system is too hopped-up, it can have a tough time telling the difference between healthy and harmful organisms—it may even attack your body’s own cells. An overactive defense system can lead to widespread inflammation, which sets the stage for many chronic diseases.
Your immune system works together with the other systems in your body. For instance, your circulatory system transports nutrients to bone marrow where immune cells are produced, and your hormones, which are affected by everything from stress levels to sleep patterns to weight, can either boost or suppress the immune response. This means the best way to avoid getting sick (and we’re talking everything from colds to cancer) is to work on staying healthy as a whole. So, instead of squirting hand sanitizer like it’s going out of style, try these natural health boosters instead:
6 ways to nourish your immune system.
Learn how to super charge your immunity.
Test yourself with our “Quick, Don’t Get Sick!” checklist
