More Than Protecting The Body, Know 9 Amazing Facts About The Immune System

JAKARTA - In general, the body's immune or immune system plays various roles in addition to protecting the body from infection. The immune system itself is present in every cell tissue in all organs that works together to protect the body from infectious attacks.

Launching Everyday Health, Saturday, May 8, the human body is a potential place for bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites to breed. Well, in warding off pathogens the immune system works to prevent them from growing and causing disease.

In full, here are little-known facts about natural immunity and its role in not only protecting the body.

Each part has its own role

According to an immunologist and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Texas Center for Health Sciences in Houston, Dat Tran, MD., The immune system is like a guard. There are parts and have their respective functions in protecting the body.

First are the white blood cells that first identify pathogens and fight infection. Lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, remember the invading microbes and fight them faster when they attack again.

The other part is the bone marrow. Meanwhile, the lymph nodes are responsible for producing and storing infection-fighting cells throughout the body. And the spleen helps control the amount of blood in the body and cleanses old or damaged blood cells in the body.

Immunity can be stimulated with a vaccine

"Vaccines educate the immune system using unique components of the pathogen so that, after future exposure to the pathogen, you have very minimal or no symptoms," explained Tran.

This means that the vaccine can stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies against 'invaders; foreigners without actually making someone infected with the disease. In short, when the body faces future infections it knows how to fight them.

Not all germs are bad

Good bacteria can provide defense against bad bacteria and infections. The balance in this case needs to be maintained because if the good bacteria decreases, the bad bacteria can take over.

Stress can lower the body's immunity

Cortisol will increase when stressed. The hormone cortisol at a balanced level is important for the body's function, but too much can cause a number of health problems including decreased immunity.

Positive emotions are good for immunity

To overcome the decline in immune due to stress, positive emotions are needed. Tran cannot explain the mechanism clearly, but the happier a person is, the more likely he is to care for a healthy life and reduce stress.

Lack of sleep also affects immunity

Not only does it trigger shocks to your body's health condition, lack of sleep can also lower your immune system. Based on research, lack of sleep makes it easier for you to catch a cold.

The immune system can attack itself

In autoimmune cases, the immune system can destroy its own healthy tissue. This case occurs when the white blood cells in the body are unable to distinguish between pathogens and normal cells of the body, which triggers a reaction that damages healthy tissue.

Autoimmune cases are mostly experienced by women. Based on the search, some 8 percent of the population in the United States, autoimmune diseases, including the third largest after cancer and heart disease. And some 80 percent experienced by women.

Too clean prevents the immunity from functioning optimally

This last fact is often overlooked. Cleanliness does need to be maintained, but sometimes maximum cleaning with a disinfectant can ward off good things too.

Minimizing foreign pathogens actually minimizes the development of the immune system. Tran recommends staying clean, but there's no need to overdo it.