Our Immune System

There is much advice on the internet on how to boost the immune system.

Below are some suggestions from medical authorities such as Harvard Health, WebMD, Center for Integrative Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and Healthline.

What exactly does a balanced diet, a Mediterranean-style diet plus fermented dairy or cook meat thoroughly mean?

Below is an alternative list that is much more helpful. The justification for diet-based choices are found in the article.

White Blood Cells

The immune system is an incredibly complex series of inter-related systems that will be discussed very briefly.

White blood cells (leucocytes) are immune system cells that protect animals from disease and foreign invaders. They are produced in the bone marrow.

Lymphocytes are much more common in the lymphatic system than the circulatory system. Lymph organs include lymph nodes, spleen and tonsils. These are the sites that trap foreign material such as infectious microorganisms (antigens). Unlike the circulatory system that relies on the heart to pump the blood, the lymphatic system relies on body movement to transport lymph.

A protein (MHC Class 1 protein) displays protein fragments from within the cell on the cell’s surface. This is detected by a T cell (a type of lymphocyte) that is hunting for cells infected by viruses. The T cell releases substances to kill the infected cell.

If the MHC proteins are prevented from displaying on the cell’s surface because the virus is inside the cell, then Natural Killer (NK) cells (another type of lymphocyte) , recognise these cells as virus-infected and initiates the destruction of the cell. Cells infected by viruses release interferons, a class of anti-viral proteins. Interferons also signal nearby infected cells to increase the number of MHC molecules on their surface.

Inflammatory Response

The inflammatory response is characterised by the following symptoms:

Inflammation enables white blood cells to be summoned to areas of need. Common causes of inflammation include:

Inflammation can be either acute or chronic. Acute occurs in response to a particular event, chronic is when the event does not resolve and becomes long-standing in conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.

The Immune System

For us to survive, our immune system needs to protect us from many sources such as:

Innate Immunity

The innate immune system is common to plants, fungi, insects as well as animals. It comprises of a number of passive and active mechanisms to provide defenses against invaders.

Adaptive Immunity

Adaptive immunity appeared 500 million years ago in the jawed fishes and occurs in all vertebrates. Adaptive responses are specific to a specific type of invader. It has developed a memory so previous exposures to one organism can lead to a better prepared response if the organism is encountered in the future.

Cytokines

Most cytokines have only a local, transient effect. However, tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 (IL-1) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) are cytokines that reach sufficient levels in the blood to have systemic effects in the host, both in the acute phases and chronic phases.

They are involved in the inflammatory processes and are mainly produced by macrophages. TNF-α is also involved with programmed cell death (apoptosis) which includes cancer cells and it inhibits the formation of cancer cells.

Autoimmune Diseases and Biomimicry

Autoimmune diseases are a group of sinister diseases where the immune system attacks the body that it was designed to protect.

World-wide, the incidence of autoimmune diseases is increasing at the rate of 19% each and every year. ²

One mechanism that explains auto-immune conditions is molecular biomimicry. When intruders invade our bodies, the immune system creates antibodies that mark these intruders (antigens) as a foreign foe. The immune system then able to destroy the intruders.

Some of these antigens are from animal products. See:
The World Incidence and Prevalence of Autoimmune Diseases is Increasing

Get Bacteria – Balanced Diet

Microbes in the intestines are essential for the breakdown of complex carbohydrates, the production of short chain fatty acids and synthesis of vitamins. More than 1000 different species have been identified. Despite the vast number of bacteria species and people, there are only two types of bacteriological ecosystems in the gut (enterotypes) – those dominated by Prevotella genus bacteria and those by Bacteroides genera. Both Bacteroides and Prevotella belong to Bacteroidetes phylum. Enterotypes were strongly associated with long-term diets, particularly protein and animal fat (Bacteroides) versus carbohydrates (Prevotella). Microbiome composition changed within 24 hours of initiating a high-fat/low-fiber or low-fat/high-fiber diet. However, it takes a longer period of time to change the enterotype from one state to the other. ³

Choline is converted by our gut bacteria into trimethylamine (TMA) which is then converted into trimethylamine N-oxide – (CH₃)₃NO – in our liver. Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) is implicated in a number of detrimental outcomes. ^{4 5}

The choline in foods, such as eggs, can be turned by gut bacteria into TMA. However, it is only produced by the bacteria that are prevalent in high-fat, low-fibre animal-based diets.

The production of TMA is absent or greatly reduced in vegans. Feeding people steak or eggs can cause an increase in TMAO within a day.

Additional information regarding intestinal bacteria and diet is found at:
Eggs and the questionable benefits of choline

Plant-based Immunity

The role of nutrition is often overlooked or reduced to such statements as “eat a balanced diet” or “increase fruits, vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats, found in foods such as fatty fish, nuts and olive oil”.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),

Whilst vitamin A is very important for a healthy immune system, it does not work in isolation. As Michael Zimmerman states in his Pocket Guide to Micronutrients in Health and Disease:

Many drugs and some nutritional substances such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) “enhance” the immune by provoking it. CLA is a group of fatty acids with that are found in dairy with the most common being rumenic acids. It is a trans-fatty acid that is found in dairy products and the fat of cows and other ruminants.

When the immune system recognises a foreign substance (an antigen), it produces an immune response such as in increase in white blood cells such as neutrophils and eosinophils. This results in the immune system being primed in the event of a subsequent attack.

Plant-based immunity results from a completely different mechanism.

Cytokine production (interleukins, TFN-), increase in Natural Killer cells and macrophages, tumour destruction and instigates an inflammatory response. The inflammatory stimulates the innate immune system.

Brassicas, leafy greens, fruits and colourful vegetables contain a myriad of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. Attempting to isolate the active ingredient is a vain exercise as the synergistic effects of these components far exceed the contribution of the individual items. ^{8 9 10 11 12}

Books

Campbell, T. C. & Campbell, T. M. (2016) The China Study: Revised and Expanded Edition. Dallas, Texas: BenBella Books.
Greger, M. & Stone, G. (2015) How not to die. New York: Flatiron Books.
Campbell, L. (2013) The China Study Cookbook. Dallas, Texas: BenBella Books.
Greger, M. & Stone, G. (2017) The How Not to Die Cookbook: 100+ Recipes to Help Prevent and Reverse Disease. Flatiron Books.

Additional reading

When vegan diets do not work
Rheumatoid arthritis and fibrin
Rheumatoid arthritis – an autoimmune condition
Eggs and the questionable-benefits of choline
The problem with cow’s milk
Useful Books

Last updated on Tuesday 16 January 2024 at 14:27 by administrators

1. Blaus, B. (2013) Formed Elements of the Blood. [online]. Available from: https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/WikiJournal_of_Medicine/Medical_gallery_of_Blausen_Medical_2014. Rights: CC BY 3.0
2. Lerner, A. et al. (2016) The World Incidence and Prevalence of Autoimmune Diseases is Increasing. International Journal of Celiac Disease. 3 (4), 151–155.
3. Wu, G. D. et al. (2011) Linking long-term dietary patterns with gut microbial enterotypes. Science. 334 (6052), 105–108.
4. Romano, K. A. et al. (2015) Intestinal Microbiota Composition Modulates Choline Bioavailability from Diet and Accumulation of the Proatherogenic Metabolite Trimethylamine- N -Oxide. mBio. 6 (2), e02481-14.
5. Koeth, R. A. et al. (2013) Intestinal microbiota metabolism of l-carnitine, a nutrient in red meat, promotes atherosclerosis. Nature Medicine. 19 (5), 576–585.
6. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001). Vitamin A Deficiency Among Children—Federated States of Micronesia, 2000. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 50(24).
7. Zimmermann, M. (2001) Pocket Guide to Micronutrients in Health and Disease. Stuggart: Thieme.
8. Guggenheim, A. G. et al. (2014) Immune Modulation From Five Major Mushrooms: Application to Integrative Oncology. Integrative Medicine. 13 (1), 13.
9. Roupas, P. et al. (2012) The role of edible mushrooms in health: Evaluation of the evidence. Journal of Functional Foods. 4 (4), 687–709.
10. Tanaka, A. et al. (2016) Enhancement of the Th1-phenotype immune system by the intake of Oyster mushroom (Tamogitake) extract in a double-blind, placebo-controlled study. Journal of Traditional and Complementary Medicine. 6 (4), 424–430.
11. Kapusta-Duch, J. et al. (2012) The Beneficial Effects of Brassica Vegetables on Human Health. Rocz Panstw Zakl Hig. 63 (4), 8.
12. Sanlier, N. & Guler, S. (2018) The Benefits of Brassica vegetables on human health. journal of Human Health Research. 1 (1), 1–13.