Understanding how your immune system works is the chief cornerstone of maintaining vibrant natural health.

One only has to study the devastating effects HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) upon the body to realize what happens when our bodies lose our immunity shield. To say that the victims of AIDS become prey for every pathogen that walks by is an understatement. In my opinion HIV is far worse than the Ebola virus.... at least Ebola kills quickly...

Your immune system is a "system", hence it has components, or parts.

What are the Parts that form your immune system?

1. Your skin is the first line of defense. Wearing gloves, and keeping chemicals off of your skin is a good first step in preserving your immune system.

2. Your digestive tract works to throw off toxins and foreign matter. The intestines and the beneficial flora that live, play a critical role in immunity. The liver and kidneys act as critical filters to purify the blood.

3. Migrating immune cells, which are not fixed at any single location (such as nerve cells), target compromised areas of the body through complex "immune cell intelligence" that distinguish between good cells and invaders. Labels (antigens) are created for future comparison of known enemies. The intelligence of these cells are beyond human comprehension.... and they are a marvel to study....

4. The Thymus gland, master gland of immunity, and the lymph nodes, which are strategically placed around the body to secrete killer cells (lymphocytes) upon command and carry away dead soldier cells and dead pathogens.

5. Bone Marrow is the place of birth for immune cells.

Everything you touch, smell and eat has the power to build up your immune system or tear it down. To the degree that you are innately aware of this will determine how healthy, or sickly you live.

The first information that scientists had was that different cells in the body looked and behaved differently under a microscope. White blood cells were distinctly different looking than red blood cells. But they quickly noticed that there were different types of white blood cells.

They found out that animals that were sick had fewer white blood cells than healthy animals. Special dyes were then created to distinguish between different types of immune cells: neutrophils, eosinophils, basophiles, lymphocytes, monocytes and plasma cells.

All white blood cells develop from stem cells given at birth. It is not known if foreign stem cells injected into people will be safe or as effective white blood cells as those originally given at birth from the birth mother and father. Could white blood cells stemming from foreign (someone else's) stem cells turn on the recipient and create crippling autoimmune disorders down the road? Would the patient experience immediate healing only to face much more serious illness later on? And what about the children that may be born to them? Are they at risk for even greater illness than the original genes would have promoted? These are the questions being debated by genetics as the ill people beg them to give them stem cells to ease their painful sufferings. I wish the subject of stem cell research was a simple one...but it is not. Quite the contrary....

Early in life our stem cells divide into two major groups: Myeloid and lymphoid precursors. These two major lines divide further into very specialized immune cells that are the most intelligent cells in the body. So intelligent that they continue to confound researchers in their ability to adapt and evolve.

Although most students who view immune cell in a microscope are very impressed with all of the pretty colors, it is the lymphocytes that impress me the most. They are not colorful, but rather bland look with a very large dark nucleus. That super large nucleus is literally the brain of the cell. Lymphocytes are considered the 'brains" of the immune system and it no wonder the HIV virus is out to destroy each one of them, especially T cells (Thymus gland mediated). Without lymphocytes the immune system is dead in the water because they are the cells that first detect an intruder and alerts all of the other immune cells to act.

One particular type of lymphocyte cell, the phagocyte, is a special lymph cell that engulfs and eats cancer cells, bacteria, viruses, dead cells and toxins. Phagocytes (eating cells) inject a special poison into the invader that aides in killer the invader and promotes the phagocytes digestion of it. On any given day, we all have about 100 cancer cells running around our bodies seeking a place to land and populate. It is the busy phagocytes that keep cancer cells under control.

The lymphocytes live in the lymph nodes, which are special secreting tubes located in the neck, throat (tonsils), nose (adenoids), abdomen (spleen), chest (thymus gland), bone marrow, and intestines (Peyer's patches). When your lymph nodes swell and feel hard, be aware that your immune system is under attack.

One of the reasons why stress is so harmful to the immune system is that, unlike other major systems in the body, the lymph system has no pump. It is powered by oxygen and once we become aware of our breath, we notice that our breath becomes very quick and short when we are under stress. So take at least 5 short deep breathing breaks during the day to power your lymph system to protect you, especially from cancer which thrives in a low oxygen environment.

There is so much more I could write about the wonderful immune system. But for now, at least, your awareness has been heightened and you might take steps to shield your body from unnecessary exposure to toxins and junk food.