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1. What are the Components of the Immune System
2. Polyphenols Found in Olive Oil Could Be Key Ingredient for Improving Food Safety
3. Neuropathy, What is it? How does it happen? What can be done?
4. 15 Health Benefits of Kale – And 8 Delicious Kale Recipes
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What are the Components of the Immune System
One of the funny things about the immune system is that it has been working inside your body your entire life but you probably know almost nothing about it.
For example, you are probably aware that inside your chest you have an organ called a "heart". Who doesn't know that they have a heart? You have probably also heard about the fact that you have lungs and a liver and kidneys.
But have you even heard about your thymus? There's a good chance you don't even know that you have a thymus, yet its there in your chest right next to your heart. There are many other parts of the immune system that are just as obscure, so let's start by learning about all of the parts.
The most obvious part of the immune system is what you can see. For example, skin is an important part of the immune system. It acts as a primary boundary between germs and your body. Part of your skin's job is to act as a barrier in much the same way we use plastic wrap to protect food.
Skin is tough and generally impermeable to bacteria and viruses. The epidermis contains special cells called Langerhans cells (mixed in with the melanocytes in the basal layer) that are an important early-warning component in the immune system. The skin also secretes antibacterial substances. These substances explain why you don't wake up in the morning with a layer of mold growing on your skin -- most bacteria and spores that land on the skin die quickly.
Your nose, mouth and eyes are also obvious entry points for germs. Tears and mucus contain an enzyme (lysozyme) that breaks down the cell wall of many bacteria. Saliva is also anti-bacterial. Since the nasal passage and lungs are coated in mucus, many germs not killed immediately are trapped in the mucus and soon swallowed. Mast cells also line the nasal passages, throat, lungs and skin. Any bacteria or virus that wants to gain entry to your body must first make it past these defenses.
Once inside the body, a germ deals with the immune system at a different level. The major components of the immune system are:
Thymus
Spleen
Lymph system
Bone marrow
White blood cells
Antibodies
Complement system
Hormones
Let's look at each of these components in detail
Lymph System
The lymph system is most familiar to people because doctors and mothers often check for "swollen lymph nodes" in the neck. It turns out that the lymph nodes are just one part of a system that extends throughout your body in much the same way your blood vessels do.
The main difference between the blood flowing in the circulatory system and the lymph flowing in the lymph system is that blood is pressurized by the heart, while the lymph system is passive. There is no "lymph pump" like there is a "blood pump" (the heart). Instead, fluids ooze into the lymph system and get pushed by normal body and muscle motion to the lymph nodes. This is very much like the water and sewer systems in a community. Water is actively pressurized, while sewage is passive and flows by gravity.
Lymph is a clearish liquid that bathes the cells with water and nutrients. Lymph is blood plasma -- the liquid that makes up blood minus the red and white cells.
Think about it -- each cell does not have its own private blood vessel feeding it, yet it has to get food, water, and oxygen to survive. Blood transfers these materials to the lymph through the capillary walls, and lymph carries it to the cells.
The cells also produce proteins and waste products and the lymph absorbs these products and carries them away. Any random bacteria that enter the body also find their way into this inter-cell fluid. One job of the lymph system is to drain and filter these fluids to detect and remove the bacteria. Small lymph vessels collect the liquid and move it toward larger vessels so that the fluid finally arrives at the lymph nodes for processing.
Lymph nodes contain filtering tissue and a large number of lymph cells. When fighting certain bacterial infections, the lymph nodes swell with bacteria and the cells fighting the bacteria, to the point where you can actually feel them. Swollen lymph nodes are therefore a good indication that you have an infection of some sort.
Once lymph has been filtered through the lymph nodes it re-enters the bloodstream.
Thymus
The thymus lives in your chest, between your breast bone and your heart. It is responsible for producing T-cells (see the next section), and is especially important in newborn babies - without a thymus a baby's immune system collapses and the baby will die. The thymus seems to be much less important in adults - for example, you can remove it and an adult will live because other parts of the immune system can handle the load. However, the thymus is important, especially to T cell maturation (as we will see in the section on white blood cells below).
Spleen
The spleen filters the blood looking for foreign cells (the spleen is also looking for old red blood cells in need of replacement). A person missing their spleen gets sick much more often than someone with a spleen.
Bone marrow
Bone marrow produces new blood cells, both red and white. In the case of red blood cells the cells are fully formed in the marrow and then enter the bloodstream. In the case of some white blood cells, the cells mature elsewhere. The marrow produces all blood cells from stem cells. They are called "stem cells" because they can branch off and become many different types of cells - they are precursors to different cell types. Stem cells change into actual, specific types of white blood cells.
White blood cells
White blood cells are described in Part 4 of this series.
Antibodies
Antibodies (also referred to as immunoglobulins and gammaglobulins) are produced by white blood cells. They are Y-shaped proteins that each respond to a specific antigen (bacteria, virus or toxin). Each antibody has a special section (at the tips of the two branches of the Y) that is sensitive to a specific antigen and binds to it in some way. When an antibody binds to a toxin it is called an antitoxin (if the toxin comes from some form of venom, it is called an antivenin). The binding generally disables the chemical action of the toxin. When an antibody binds to the outer coat of a virus particle or the cell wall of a bacterium it can stop their movement through cell walls. Or a large number of antibodies can bind to an invader and signal to the complement system that the invader needs to be removed.
Antibodies come in five classes:
Immunoglobulin A (IgA)
Immunoglobulin D (IgD)
Immunoglobulin E (IgE)
Immunoglobulin G (IgG)
Immunoglobulin M (IgM)
Whenever you see an abbreviation like IgE in a medical document, you now know that what they are talking about is an antibody.
Next week Part 4 - The Complement System of Immunity
Polyphenols Found in Olive Oil Could Be Key Ingredient for Improving Food Safety
Consuming lignan-rich olive oil could reverse the effects of some food fungal toxins, according to a newly published study in the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
The over-consumption of these toxins can lead to nervous system symptoms and motor system dysfunctions such as tremors and seizures.
"We believe lignan-rich olive oil can protect the sciatic and peripheral nervous system against the insult caused by potassium channels-targeting fungal toxins."- Khaled El Sayed, researcher, University of Louisiana – Monroe
The research was carried out by a team of scientists from the University of Louisiana – Monroe, to address concerns about the possibility of food storage causing microbial growth that is known to produce toxins (mycotoxins), which can adversely affect the health of humans and livestock.
Mycotoxins (which are produced by the undesired growth of fungi) contaminate food and can even be toxic to the human nervous system in very small doses. An accumulation of mycotoxins over time can result in health hazards.
These risks could be reduced by the consumption of phenolic-rich olive oil, which can protect against potential food microbial contaminants that damage the nervous system.
“We believe lignan-rich olive oil can protect the sciatic and peripheral nervous system against the insult caused by potassium channels-targeting fungal toxins and therefore can be used to make human and livestock food additives to provide added protection and increase food safety,” study co-author Khaled El Sayed told Olive Oil Times.
The mycotoxin, Penitrem A, which can contaminate both human and animal food, is one of the most common contaminants to which humans are vulnerable. Penitrem A was confirmed as a common food contaminant after being detected in non-moldy bread samples, which had been stored and refrigerated for three days.
Other mycotoxins include lolitrems and ergovaline which are produced in pasture grasses. These are toxic to grazing animals and can lead to the livestock disease Fescue toxicosis, which costs the global beef industry more than a billion dollars annually.
The study’s authors believe olive oil could become a food additive ingredient for improving food safety and increasing protection for both humans and livestock.
El Sayed, who has long been an advocate of the health benefits of olive oil, secured funding from the National Cancer Institute earlier this year for developing oleocanthal as a cancer prevention tool.
In 2017, he led a study which concluded that a compound found in extra virgin olive oil was effective in preventing cancer and Alzheimer’s disease in mice.
Cited Oliveoiltimes.com
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Neuropathy, What is it? How does it happen? What can be done?
The word neuropathy is derived from two parts: "neuro" referring to the nerve and "pathy" indicating disorder.
Peripheral neuropathy is a condition occurring when injury or disease damages your peripheral nervous system. The peripheral nerves are the nerves that originate from your brain and spinal cord, and extend to your skin, muscles and tissues.
Find out what it is? What causes it? What can be done about it.
Neuropathy
15 Health Benefits of Kale – And 8 Delicious Kale Recipes
Kale is a green, leafy member of the cabbage family. It is very flavorful, has almost no fat and the vitamins, nutrients and health benefits are nearly unmatched.
Read about 15 Health Benefits of Kale
Easy to make shake - Protein Drink with Kale
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