Immune Function – Modifiable Factors of Aging

Immune function is very important to sustain life. If your immune system is set too high, you may develop allergies or an autoimmune disorder such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, and Crohn’s. If your immune system is set to low you may develop infections or cancer. Approximately two-thirds of your immune system is located in your gut. It is the gut associated lymphoid tissue and the mucosal associated lymphoid tissue. When you have dysbiosis you can severely stress your immune system.

Dr. Sidney Baker say’s that the role of the nervous system is to survey the external environment and then to elicit an appropriate response, he then says the role the immune system is to survey the internal environment and then to elicit an appropriate response. If we consider that the neurotransmitters in the central nervous system also affect every single cell as well as the immune system, and that everything that affects immune system also affects central nervous system, we can conclude that the immune system is a circulating nervous system. This is what is called psychoneuroimmunology. The premise behind psychoneuroimmunology is that every thought that we have produces neurologic and immunologic changes. The conclusion is that negative or stressful thoughts create a sick body, while positive, happy thoughts create a healthy body.

There is research associating specific infections with the onset of specific diseases. The Journal of Rheumatology states, “Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) affects approximately ½ million people in the U.K. and some 96% of them possess HLA-B27, while the frequency of this antigen is about 8%…Clinical studies have showed that AS patients during active phases of the disease, had increased quantities of fecal IgA antibody levels against Klebsiella microbes.”

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