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1. How Your Immune System Works
2. Christmas Cookies and Your Health
3. Neuropathy (nerve damage) the cause and its relief [updated]
4. The Nerve Cell & the Nervous System - What is a Healthy Nerve?
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How Your Immune System Works by Marshall Brain
Inside your body there is an amazing protection mechanism called the immune system. It is designed to defend you against millions of bacteria, microbes, viruses, toxins and parasites that would love to invade your body. To understand the power of the immune system, all that you have to do is look at what happens to anything once it dies. That sounds gross, but it does show you something very important about your immune system.
When something dies, its immune system (along with everything else) shuts down. In a matter of hours, the body is invaded by all sorts of bacteria, microbes, parasites... None of these things are able to get in when your immune system is working, but the moment your immune system stops the door is wide open. Once you die it only takes a few weeks for these organisms to completely dismantle your body and carry it away, until all that's left is a skeleton. Obviously your immune system is doing something amazing to keep all of that dismantling from happening when you are alive.
The immune system is complex, intricate and interesting. And there are at least two good reasons for you to know more about it.
First, it is just plain fascinating to understand where things like fevers, hives, inflammation, etc., come from when they happen inside your own body. You also hear a lot about the immune system in the news as new parts of it are understood and new drugs come on the market -- knowing about the immune system makes these news stories understandable. I
Your immune system works around the clock in thousands of different ways, but it does its work largely unnoticed. One thing that causes us to really notice our immune system is when it fails for some reason. We also notice it when it does something that has a side effect we can see or feel. Here are several examples:
When you get a cut, all sorts of bacteria and viruses enter your body through the break in the skin. When you get a splinter you also have the sliver of wood as a foreign object inside your body. Your immune system responds and eliminates the invaders while the skin heals itself and seals the puncture.
In rare cases the immune system misses something and the cut gets infected. It gets inflamed and will often fill with pus. Inflammation and pus are both side-effects of the immune system doing its job.
When a mosquito bites you, you get a red, itchy bump. That too is a visible sign of your immune system at work.
Each day you inhale thousands of germs (bacteria and viruses) that are floating in the air. Your immune system deals with all of them without a problem.
Occasionally a germ gets past the immune system and you catch a cold, get the flu or worse. A cold or flu is a visible sign that your immune system failed to stop the germ.
The fact that you get over the cold or flu is a visible sign that your immune system was able to eliminate the invader after learning about it. If your immune system did nothing, you would never get over a cold or anything else.
Each day you also eat hundreds of germs, and again most of these die in the saliva or the acid of the stomach. Occasionally, however, one gets through and causes food poisoning. There is normally a very visible effect of this breach of the immune system: vomiting and diarrhea are two of the most common symptoms.
There are also all kinds of human ailments that are caused by the immune system working in unexpected or incorrect ways that cause problems.
For example, some people have allergies. Allergies are really just the immune system overreacting to certain stimuli that other people don't react to at all.
Some people have type I diabetes, which is caused by the immune system inappropriately attacking cells in the pancreas and destroying them.
Some people have rheumatoid arthritis, which is caused by the immune system acting inappropriately in the joints.
In many different diseases, the cause is actually an immune system error.
Finally, we sometimes see the immune system because it prevents us from doing things that would be otherwise beneficial. For example, organ transplants are much harder than they should be because the immune system often rejects the transplanted organ.
Basics of the Immune System
Let's start at the beginning. What does it mean when someone says "I feel sick today?" What is a disease? By understanding the different kinds of diseases it is possible to see what types of disease the immune system helps you handle.
When you "get sick", your body is not able to work properly or at its full potential. There are many different ways for you to get sick -- here are some of them:
Mechanical damage - If you break a bone or tear a ligament you will be "sick" (your body will not be able to perform at its full potential). The cause of the problem is something that is easy to understand and visible.
Vitamin or mineral deficiency - If you do not get enough vitamin D your body is not able to metabolize calcium properly and you get a disease known as rickets. People with rickets have weak bones (they break easily) and deformities because the bones do not grow properly.
If you do not get enough vitamin C you get scurvy, which causes swollen and bleeding gums, swollen joints and bruising. If you do not get enough iron you get anemia, and so on.
Organ degradation - In some cases an organ is damaged or weakened. For example, one form of "heart disease" is caused by obstructions in the blood vessels leading to the heart muscle, so that the heart does not get enough blood.
One form of "liver disease", known as Cirrhosis, is caused by damage to liver cells (drinking too much alcohol is one cause).
Genetic disease - A genetic disease is caused by a coding error in the DNA. The coding error causes too much or too little of certain proteins to be made, and that causes problems at the cellular level. For example, albinism is caused by a lack of an enzyme called tyrosinase. That missing enzyme means that the body cannot manufacture melanin, the natural pigment that causes hair color, eye color and tanning. Because of the lack of melanin, people with this genetic problem are extremely sensitive to the UV rays in sunlight.
Cancer - Occasionally a cell will change in a way that causes it to reproduce uncontrollably. For example, when cells in the skin called melanocytes are damaged by ultraviolet radiation in sunlight they change in a characteristic way into a cancerous form of cell. The visible cancer that appears as a tumor on the skin is called melanoma.
Next Week - Infections and what goes wrong
Want to strengthen your Immune System?
Christmas Cookies and Your Health
Okay, I know that at this time of the year, your attention goes to "Christmas Cookies" and you forget about your health.
So I decided to help this along and give you recipes where you can have all the fun of Christmas eating without the unhealthy aspects.
"Snickers"
2 tbs of natural peanut butter (no sugar please)
1/4 cup "choczero" white choc chips melt those together
1/2 cup peanuts (sea salt peanuts)
Once all mixed, drizzle Lily" dark chocolate on top
Put small spoonfuls on parchment paper and freeze for about 45 minutes.
And some great Dr. Berg Low-Carb Desserts including Strawberry Cheesecake, Chocolate Avocado Ice Cream, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Shortbread Cookies, Cinnamon Buns, etc. etc. etc.
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Neuropathy (nerve damage) the cause and its relief [updated]
What is neuropathy pain? What creates the nerve pain, tingling, numbness, burning, etc. known as neuropathy? What you can do to get relief from the symptoms of neuropathy no matter what the cause?
1) What is Neuropathy?
2) Types of Nerves that can be damaged
3) What causes nerve damage
4) Other terms for neuropathy
5) What are neuropathy Symptoms
6) Treatments for Neuropathic Pain
7) Neuropathy Treatments - find what natural vitamins to take to relieve neuropathy pain, numbness and tingling by building healthy nerves
What is neuropathy?
How does it happen? Read entire article Neuropathy
The Nerve Cell & the Nervous System - What is a Healthy Nerve?
When nerves are healthy, sensory nerves (such as those in your fingers and toes) communicate well to the environment and receive messages clearly. There is no tingling, no numbness, no burning, and no pain in the feet, hands or anywhere else.
Healthy motor nerves communicate to the muscles so that they move on demand. They relay the commands sent to the muscles from the brain. There is no unsteadiness, or being unbalanced, no dropped foot. There is no muscle weakness.
When a nerve is healthy, it has a myelin sheath surrounding it. This covering protects the nerve and just like a wire with a protective coating, it will not short circuit or create any uncomfortable feelings such as tingling, burning or pain.
What does the body need to build healthy nerves?
The body needs specific nutrients (vitamins) that will nourish the nerves and create health in each individual nerve. This, of course, will build a healthy nervous system. It helps to supplement these B vitamins as it is difficult to get enough of these vitamins in food, especially if your nervous system health is fading.
B1 (thiamine) Besides being important for energy production, cardiovascular function, brain function, eye health and proper functioning of the muscles and all body cells, It is necessary for nerve function.
B1 is used in the development of myelin sheaths: Myelin sheaths are the protective covering of the nerves. Deficiency of vitamin B1 results in weakening of the sheaths. Adequate intake of vitamin B1 ensures the development of myelin sheaths and aids nerve functioning. It is also required for regulating the transmission of particular types of nerve signals along the brain and the spinal cord.
Thiamine also contributes to optimal cognitive activity, normal brain functioning, and learning capacity.
Vitamin B1 even acts as an antioxidant, helping to guard the body against the destructive effects of free radicals.
Vitamin B1 Deficiency
Active Nervous SystemA vitamin B1 deficiency can happen due to numerous reasons, such as poor diet, abusing alcohol, or liver and kidney problems. Eating large quantities of sweets, sodas, and processed foods can also create a higher risk of deficiency.
A deficiency may result in muscle weakness, fatigue, muscle cramps, and stiffness. A vitamin B1 deficiency can also negatively affect heart function and cause the heart muscles to weaken.
Using alcohol results in lower vitamin B1as it uses up B1 and lowers the amount of B1 that can be absorbed by the body. It blocks the B1 absorption but also damages the lining of the small intestine which will disrupt normal absorption of all ingredients.
Vitamin B1 deficiency results in digestive problems
A thiamine deficiency can negatively affect the nervous system resulting in tingling, numbness, irritability, poor memory retention, and depression.
B12 - Vitamin B12's primary use by the body is aiding in the production of red blood cells, and in helping to maintain the health of the central nervous system. It keeps nerve cells healthy and protects against deterioration of the nerves.
It is critical for maintaining this myelin sheath around nerves. Nerves are encased in a fatty sheath composed of a protein called myelin which shields nerve fibers from each other.
Vitamin B12 Deficiency
A deficiency of vitamin B12 can contribute to a wide range of problems. Extended periods of deficiency can eventually result in degeneration of nerves as the body needs it to build the myelin sheath. Those who suffer from a vitamin B12 deficiency can have tingling sensations numbness, and burning feelings, weakness in the legs and problems walking.
General symptoms of vitamin B12 deficiency can include tiredness, weakness, abdominal pain, nausea, constipation, flatulence, reduction in appetite, and menstrual problems. This can be reversed when the deficiency is remedied.
Other B vitamins:
B2, B6 and B9: B1 (thiamine) is dependent on the other B vitamins. Absorption of B1 into the body requires adequate supplies of vitamin B6, B12 and B9 (folic acid). A deficiency in vitamin B12 can increase loss of B1 in the urine, and vitamin B6 also appears to help regulate distribution of thiamine throughout the body.
B9 (folic acid): Is necessary to activate the absorption of the B12. It also improves circulation, which is particularly important point for diabetics as they tend to be deficient in folic Acid and also tend to have impaired circulation. Folic acid is also helpful in restoring healthy nerves for anyone, diabetic or not.
B2: The body utilizes vitamin B2 to keep tissue healthy and to help accelerate healing of injuries. B2 protects the nervous system.
Vitamin D: One of the functions of Vitamin D is the regulation of nervous system development and function.
All these vitamins nourish the nerves and calm the nerve endings.
What type of B1 & B12 should you use:
You need to both the Benfotiamine (B1) and Methyl B12. The result is that the blood stream levels of vitamin B1 and vitamin B12 can be greatly increased, providing the nutritional support needed by the body to rapidly and far more effectively nourish the nerves.
You might have heard of the new type of vitamin B1 being produced, called Benfotiamine. It is a fat-soluble version of vitamin B1. What does this mean? It means this form of vitamin B1 can be taken orally in large dosages and it will not flush out of the body the way ordinary thiamine (vitamin B1) does. This is due to the fact that this type of B1 will be delivered into the blood stream where it can travel to the cells and be used. It doesn't just flush from the body.
Methylcobalamine (called Methyl B12). This is the form of vitamin B12 that can be directly utilized by the body. When regular B12 (called cynocobalamine) is taken, the body has to convert it into the Methyl B12 in the gut. Often a person can have a hard time converting B12 especially as they get older. Methyl B12 already comes in this useable form. So, when you take this type of B12, your body uses it.
B12 from food is absorbed in the intestines. and needs a secretion from the stomach called gastric intrinsic factor in order to be effectively absorbed. If you are deficient in gastric intrinsic factor you will absorb much less vitamin B12, and therefore can become deficient.
Both Benfotiamine and Methyl B12 have been shown to be non-toxic and without any side effects even in very high dosages, so it can be taken as a supplement.
Taken together with the three other B (B2, B6, B9), and Vitamin D3 in the exact proportion that work together will produce the best results.
RECOMMENDED:
There is a formula that will give you this type of Nerve Support. It contains all these vitamins in the right proportions.
You can find out about it here
RHP® Nerve Support Formula
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