Editor's Note: One autumn rain and one cold, the temperature starts to drop in autumn, and it is easy to catch a cold if you do not pay attention. Autumn is also a season of high incidence of respiratory diseases. Today, let's talk about immunity. Is illness a sign of low immunity? Why can't some people resist the flu virus? How to improve immunity?
What is immunity?
1、 Defensive power
The basic function of the immune system is to resist and eliminate various microorganisms, so that the human body will not be invaded and infected by pathogens. In other words, resistance is the most basic function of immunity.
2、 Self stabilizing force
Being free from invasion and infection of external pathogens is an important condition for the body to maintain internal environment stability. For example, the spleen, which has many immune cells with strong phagocytosis, can "detect" the red blood cells in the blood. Through phagocytosis, the aging and abnormal red blood cells can be eliminated, so as to maintain the vitality of the blood. With the increase of age and the aging of the body, the immune homeostasis of the human body will continue to decline, which is also an important reason for the high incidence of vascular diseases in middle-aged and elderly people.
3、 Surveillance
Everyone is constantly producing tumor cells and being infected by various viruses, but not everyone will suffer from tumor diseases or virus infection diseases. The reason is that the immune system can eliminate these "bad molecules" through NK cells and other immune surveillance mechanisms, so as to protect the human body from the threat of tumor and virus infection.
4、 Discriminative power
It is very important to identify friends and enemies because excellent weapons and equipment cannot be used to fight when you see people. The immune system of the body has the ability to recognize self and foreign antigens, tolerate self antigens, and reject foreign antigens.
Correct immune recognition is the beginning of the correct functioning of the immune system. However, in some cases, if the immune recognition is wrong, it may lead to immune dysfunction and immune pathological damage. For example, rheumatoid arthritis is caused by this mechanism.
5、 Activation force
After the immune system recognizes friends and enemies, T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes will be activated, proliferated and differentiated, and then produce antibodies or sensitized lymphocytes and other immune response effect products. The aging of immune cell function in the elderly will lead to the decline of immune activation. After infection with pathogens, the specific immune activation is slower, and more likely to cause serious pathogen infection.
6、 Effector force
Antibodies and other response effect products produced by immune response are the main weapon for organism to eliminate pathogens. For example, when hepatitis B virus infects the human body, the human body will produce a variety of antibodies, but only antibodies against hepatitis B virus surface antigen can prevent hepatitis B virus from infecting liver cells.
7、 Regulating force
It's not a good deal to kill 1000 enemies and lose 800. This requires the body's immune system to have a good regulatory capacity. While eliminating pathogens, it can avoid immune pathological damage and adverse reactions of immune response such as fever. If the immune regulation ability of the human body is abnormal, it is terrible. If it is serious, it will kill itself.
Five "pits" of immunity cognition, Jump away, don't get stuck!
Myth 1. Sickness is caused by low immunity
Human disease status is caused by many reasons. Infectious diseases often have clear biological pathogenic factors, while non infectious diseases are more complex, often due to multiple causes and one effect, and are caused by long-term exposure and accumulation. Whether people get sick or not, the ability of the immune system is only a part of the reason, and often not the decisive factor.
Take the simplest example, for example, when bacteria and viruses attack, the number of bacteria they contact daily is not large, and the normal working immune system can completely resist; When people unintentionally contact with infectious disease patients and lack protection, a large number of germs will enter the human body, even if the normal working immune system is unable to resist, which will cause disease.
Myth 2. The stronger the immune function, the better
The immune system itself is a double-edged sword, which can protect your body and may also harm your body. If we simply increase some immune cells or improve some immune response ability, we may break this balance and induce other diseases.
For example, if the immune defense is too strong, tissue damage or functional disorder may occur under the stimulation of allergens, which may lead to allergic reactions; If the immune homeostasis function is too strong, it will lead to autoimmune diseases, which are manifested by the immune system attacking normal cells. The more common ones are lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, hyperthyroidism, multiple sclerosis, etc.
Myth 3. Health products can improve immunity
It is dangerous to assume that taking a health care product can really increase certain immune cells or enhance the function of certain immune organs. The immune system must maintain the balance of its own functions and those of various organs of the body. Its function is too weak to realize the monitoring and defense functions. If its function is too strong, it will cause allergy and autoimmunity.
Up to now, scientists have not found any kind of health care products that can increase immunity and reduce the risk of infection. Therefore, the health food claimed to increase immunity has no effect in fact.
Myth 4. Drugs can improve immunity
At present, there are a small amount of drugs that can help those patients whose immune system function is inhibited to improve their immune ability, such as thymosin. Thymopeptide can enhance the immune response of patients to viral vaccine (influenza vaccine or hepatitis B vaccine), making their antibody level significantly increased after vaccination; Some antiviral and anti-tumor drugs also have immune regulating effects, such as interferon. However, these drugs all have strict indications and are not suitable for ordinary people, especially for specific patients. Whether immunomodulatory drugs need to be used or not needs to be diagnosed by the clinician and used under the supervision of the doctor.
Myth 5. The best way to improve immunity is to eat well
By improving diet and nutrition, the immune ability of the human body can indeed be improved to a certain extent. We often see that people in poor areas are malnourished and more likely to be infected with diseases.
The key to dietary nutrition is not to eat well, but to eat scientifically and balance. Ensuring the intake of high-quality protein is part of a healthy diet, but it cannot be emphasized. If ingested too much, it will lead to overweight and obesity and a series of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, etc., and the risk of cancer will also increase. The result is not worth the loss.
Strengthen immunity, It's more effective
On the basis of balanced diet, exercise is effective for improving immunity. Long term moderate intensity exercise can make the distribution of immune cells more extensive, and the function can be continuously improved; However, a long period of intense exercise may lead to a significant decline in immunity and slow recovery after exercise.
Therefore, regular exercise will gradually increase the level of basic immunity, which is the lasting immunity we need. However, exercise can not be stored to improve immunity. That is, if you do not exercise for a long time, this health benefit will gradually disappear.
The best exercise to improve the body's immunity is 30 to 45 minutes of moderate intensity exercise each time, about 5 times a week, and lasting for more than four weeks.
What is moderate intensity exercise? The subjective feeling of the athletes is that their breathing and heartbeat are obviously accelerated, they can speak but cannot sing, and they sweat slightly. At this time, the exercise intensity basically reached medium intensity. You can also judge whether the moderate intensity is reached by heart rate. A simple algorithm: if the heart rate is within (170 age) ± (10~20) times, even if the moderate intensity aerobic exercise is reached.
Only when moderate intensity exercise is achieved, breathing and blood circulation are accelerated, and metabolism is increased, can various functions of the body be mobilized, the functions of cells, tissues, organs and various systems of the body be promoted, and immunity be improved. If the intensity of exercise cannot be reached or the time of exercise cannot be reached, or three days of fishing and two days of drying the net, good health benefits cannot be obtained.
Several moderate intensity aerobic exercises are recommended:
Outdoor non group sports
1、 jogging
There are many people who cannot insist on jogging for 30 minutes continuously. What should we do? It is recommended to do a combination of walking and running first, running for a while and then continuing to run. Don't run too fast, and run slowly. The physical strength gradually improved, and then continued jogging for 30 to 45 minutes.
Running is too tiring. Can you use brisk walking instead of jogging? For most healthy adults, it is difficult to reach a moderate intensity with vigorous walking, and the increase of heart rate and respiration will not be obvious, so the effect of exercise will be greatly reduced. Therefore, the effect of running is better than that of walking briskly.
2、 Cycling
It is also a very good medium intensity aerobic exercise that the speed of cycling is slightly faster and the respiration and heartbeat are obviously accelerated.
Cycling exercise is especially suitable for obese people, and has much less pressure on the knee joint. Wearing masks on cycling can also avoid air pollution on the road. Intermittent exercise can be used to improve the effect of riding exercise, that is, fast for a while, slow for a breath, then fast for a while, fast and slow alternately. You must wear a helmet when riding.
Family indoor exercise
1、 Using fitness equipment
The common ones are dynamic bicycles, rowing machines and elliptical machines, which are very good home aerobic sports equipment.
2、 Exercise with bare hands or small instruments
Use your own weight to exercise large muscle groups, improve breathing and heart rate. For example, fight gymnastics or exercise with dumbbells and elastic bands are good choices.
Tips: Eating like this can improve immune function
1. Three meals a day to keep healthy
If you want to maintain your resistance, you must eat three meals. You can't reduce your meals. You can't eat one meal a day. You must eat breakfast, lunch and dinner.
2. Ensure 4 kinds of food every day
Four kinds of food should be guaranteed every day. These four categories of food should include cereals and potatoes, that is, grains; Vegetables and fruits; High quality protein foods; The fourth is grease. Eat at least four kinds of food every day.
3. Ensure more than 12 kinds of food every day
There should be at least 12 kinds of food in the four categories of food you eat every day. Such nutrition can help you improve your resistance.
4. Eat at least 25 kinds of food a week
Eating at least 25 kinds of food a week is considered to be a diet with balanced nutrition and strong resistance.
In short, we eat at least three or more liang of grain or potato every day, no more than one jin, which is the staple food of 3-10 liang a day. This includes rice, white flour, sweet potatoes, yams, taro and potatoes.
The second is vegetables and fruits. One jin to two jin should be eaten every day to meet the basic needs of nutrition. It not only supplements enough vitamins but also eats the dietary fiber we need.
The third is to eat good things in place, that is, meat, eggs, milk and bean products. At least 2-3 liang of meat, 1-2 liang of eggs, 1-2 bags of milk, and a little tofu every day constitute a high-quality protein combination to strengthen the physique and resistance.
Finally, there should be a little oil for protection, 2-3 spoons of oil every day. (People's Health Network Comprehensive Self health China, Guangming Network)
