With all this talk about protecting ourselves from viral infections, many of us are seeking the best ways to support our immune system.
Our immune system is a potent world of brutal frontline defenses and highly specialized backup troops.
While we have many drugs that are effective at stopping bacterial infections, aka antibiotics, drugs for viral infections, which are much more prevalent, are lacking. This is because bacteria are easier to target, they look very different from our own cells. Viruses however, are sneaky, and they infect our cells and basically turn our own cells against us. So having medicine that targets viruses, means they target us too, making antiviral drugs more risky, and something we deploy only after careful consideration once we factor in the serious side effects that result.
So what can we do to fight against viral infections without the high risk? Well, one of the best ways we can enhance our own immune system’s effectiveness is through movement. Why is this seemingly boring, and redundant answer an untapped and often unrecognized immune enhancer?
Movement, meaning the typical exercises, but also includes stretching, rolling your head from side to side, getting up for a glass of water, taking stairs, brushing your teeth and doing air squats. Any activity that stretches and squishes your muscles and organs is an effective way to improve your immune system.
But how?! Because movement pumps fluid. But we’re not just talking about blood and our cardiovascular system (although this is one of many reasons exercise is so good for us). We’re talking about pumping lymph through your lymphatic system.
Some of us may have heard of this parallel system that runs throughout our body, similar to our arteries and veins. But this track is used by your immune cells instead of red blood cells, and it is critical for full force activation of your immune defenses! And instead of a heart to pump fluid, we need movement.
The lymphatic system is like a super highway where your immune cells communicate with each other, giving each other updates on what’s happening. If it’s flowing well, and there are no traffic jams, information can be relayed quickly, which is what we need especially if our body gets breached with a harmful virus. We don’t want any delays here as this will give the virus lots of time to replicate and cause some serious damage.
So what happens first when an immune cell notices a viral infection in your lungs for example, it swallows up the virus, destroys it into small pieces, and carries the remnants of the virus as proof. It travels along the lymphatic system super highway where it will be able to alert your immune system’s big guns (B & T cells) which are the most effective against viruses, and tells them to wake up and get over to the lungs. These highly effective immune cells then travel to the battlefield via your lymphatic highway. So again, if we can pump this fluid through more often and quickly, then we get faster communication, activation, and response.
The second key to the lymphatic system are lymph nodes. We often notice these as annoying lumps swelling up under our jawline or neck when we’re sick. Your lymph nodes are like mega cities, where immune cells congregate after their highway journey. It’s where they meet each other and sit down to communicate what’s happening and alert your B & T cells to gather up their troops and move to battle.
Much of our lymph nodes are situated in our neck, shoulders, elbows, abdomen, hips, and knees. Your body’s clever way of maximizing the impact of movement (like doing squats, or something that feels as good a head roll, or shoulder stretch) as it keeps the immune cities flowing and prevents congestion.
So picture this, keep those highways open, flowing, and by pumping your body. You get to activate and “boost” your immune system’s efficacy on a daily basis, and for free!
Reference:
Immune: A journey into the mysterious system that keeps you alive. Philipp Dettmer.
