Revealed: How Stress Reduces Immune System Strength

Worried about staying healthy? Want to improve your immune system strength? I'm about to reveal the one thing in particular you can do to keep your defenses strong...

Reduce stress.

Stress undermines your immune system in multiple ways, making it hard for your internal defense force to protect you adequately from the threats to your health all around you.

The American Medical Association reports that 80-85% of doctor visits can be traced back to stress.[1]

You may think viruses and other microbes make you sick.

But that's not necessarily the case. Sure, germs lead to an infection. But only if they outsmart your immune system, get inside of you and establish a foothold in your body.

And stress - more often than not - opens the door and lets them in. Here's how...

How Stress Slows Your Immune System Down

In 2004, researchers Suzanne Segerstrom and Gregory Miller, analyzed close to 300 studies examining stress' impact on the immune system. They found that small bouts of stress - like an exam or giving a speech - increased immune activity and sometimes shifted immune activity from one part of your immune system to another.

But chronic stress did something very different.

Chronic stress unequivocally drags your defenses down. [2]

See, your immune system is primed to respond to stress. On every immune cell lie specialized receptors for the stress hormones norpenephrine, epinephrine and cortisol.

When you're exposed to a short bout of stress, your body's fight or flight reaction kicks in. As part of getting ready for a fight, your body gets prepared for wounds and exposure to infections. So your immune system goes on high alert.

This immune response exposed short-lived stressful moments can be good. Some research indicates it may even help you fend off cancer.

But when stress is ongoing, things change.

As Dr. Yufang Shi, a researcher at the National Space Biomedical Research Institute explains, "Following periods of prolonged physical stress... white blood cells that fight disease, called lymphocytes, die at an increased rate and immune system organs like the thymus and spleen lose mass and begin to atrophy."[3]

Your immune system dwindles in both numbers and strength. In fact, stress is so potent, doctors use the stress hormone, cortisol, to tamp down an overactive immune system.

But stress doesn't just take out immune cells - it slows your immune response in another profound way...

Stress Handicaps Your Immune Response At The Genetic Level

Your immune system depends heavily on communication to be effective.

Too much stress may limit how effectively your immune system cells respond to immune signals by altering immune cells at the genetic level.

So while the signals may be there... and you may have immune cells roving around patrolling... the immune cells may not be listening to the signals and responding appropriately.

In one study published in Biological Psychiatry in 2007, researchers compared the immune reactions of people who were caregivers to family members with chronic illness to people who didn't have these responsibilities. The immune cells of people who were caregivers barely responded to signals that would ordinarily trigger a response.

When researchers looked a little deeper, they found something very disturbing.

The caregiver's immune cells had changed at the genetic level from those of non-caregivers.[4] This research indicated that the stress caregivers were experiencing may be changing how their immune system functioned at the genetic level, hampering their immune cells ability to respond to immune signals.

Reducing Stress Is A Powerful Immune Booster

Reduce the immune-destroyer stress and you give your body a fighting chance.

Stress destroys your best defense against illness - your immune system. Without this to protect you, anything can get you.

There are plenty of natural and effective immune allies out there. But if you don't tackle stress, you're losing half the battle no matter what you take.

By managing your life and making choices, you can reduce stress as well as relax and recharge. And by doing this, you give your body a powerful reinforcement against one of the biggest threats to your health.

Sources:

[1] Department of Public Health Education. Research page. University of North Carolina website.

[2] Segerstrom S et al. Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry. Psychol Bull. 2004 July; 130(4): 601-630.

[3] Hammit, L. Study identifies key player in the body's immune response to chronic stress. Press release from National Space Biomedical Research. September 2007.

[4] "A Functional Genomic Fingerprint of Chronic Stress in Humans: Blunted Glucocorticoid and Increased NF-κB Signaling" by Gregory E. Miller, Biological Psychiatry, Volume 64, Issue 4 (August 15, 2008).

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Eat Your Way to a Stronger Immune System

Winter months bring the dreaded and inevitable cold season. Recent research has unearthed a great deal of information and evidence linking our immune systems to our intestinal health. Colds are most often synonymous with a wide array of medicinal and chemical treatments, despite there being no cure. Focusing on cold prevention and overall immune system strength through our food can also have impressive results.

First in line: garlic. This potent onion relative contains allicin, a sulfuric compound with amazing antibacterial properties that is extremely useful in fighting infections both topically and internally. When garlic is ingested, it travels through your digestive system and is absorbed into your bloodstream. By this method, it helps to create an "inhospitable environment" for both bacteria and viruses alike within cells. It is most beneficial in its raw form, and daily consumption can aid in prevention and treatment of the cold virus. Can't stand the thought of eating raw garlic? It is readily available in an extracted capsule form that may still have a slight taste, but can be much easier to stomach.

Probiotics, found in yogurt and many other fermented foods, are the good bacteria that help the intestinal tract stay balanced and functioning properly. They are commonly referred to as "live active cultures" and this means that they contain beneficial living organisms that work inside your intestines once they are ingested. When your gut gets out of whack, the cold virus can more readily absorb into your cells, and probiotics work to strengthen the stability of the intestinal tract and its overall immune response. There are many foods other than yogurt that contain probiotics, such as soft cheese, miso soup, pickles, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, kombucha and tempeh. These foods provide a wide variety of textures and flavors for an array of immune boosting taste bud preferences.

Zinc is a mineral that has widely been utilized for immune boosting benefits. When taken soon enough, it is thought to possess the ability to "block" a virus from attaching to cell membranes, and as a result, can prevent a virus from completely erupting within the body. Zinc is most often supplemented by means of a pill, lozenge or nasal spray, but it is also readily present in many foods as well. Typically, foods rich in protein also contain significant amounts of zinc, such as shellfish, beef and lamb, spinach, pumpkin seeds, beans, nuts and mushrooms.

Omega-3 fatty acids are essential nutrients for overall health and have recently been correlated to immune function and virus prevention. It is thought that they do so by means of their anti-inflammatory properties. Inflammation feeds disease, so by minimizing inflammation, omega-3 fatty acids aid in viral, bacterial and even cancer prevention. As crucial as they are to our cellular functions, our bodies cannot produce Omega-3s on its own-we must absorb them through food. Salmon, sardines flaxseeds, and walnuts are all very high in Omega-3 fatty acids, and in addition, they are high in other vitamins and minerals that collectively work together to help maintain a healthy immune system.

Robin Reichert is an AFPA certified nutrition consultant, AFPA certified personal trainer, Beachbody coach and freelance writer specializing in health and fitness. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Science in natural health. Her services include both in-home personal training and online fitness coaching. To find out more about the Beachbody coaching business or some of Beachbody's most popular fitness programs, such as P90X or Insanity, you can visit her blog and/or website at http://www.robinsonestopfitness.com

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