Posts Tagged ‘immune system boost’
Weakened Immune System Promotes Infection
- Image by Doramon via Flickr
As seniors age their immune systems decline leaving them more susceptible to a host of infections including those from viruses, fungi, and bacteria. In the case of cancer cells unless the immune system inactivates them or kills them, they will spread and develop into a fully developed malignant tumor. Studies of the pathology of free radicals has shown the link between the damage caused by free radicals and the weakened immune system in aging seniors. For example between 1982 and 1992 deaths due to infectious diseases increased by 22% according to a report in a major American medical publication. The same publication laid much of the blame for this increase on lack of preventative health care.
The good news that seniors can take from this report is that they can take preemptive steps about how to boost immune system. The lack of preventative health care can be reversed by taking simple preemptive aging measures for building immune system. One of the most important steps that seniors can take is to follow a daily antioxidant regimen that includes fruits, vegetables, vitamins, and minerals that protect against free radical pathologies that suppress the immune system. It turns out that free radical pathologies have been implicated in most of the disease processes of aging. The main disease processes of aging include cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, atherosclerosis, and cataracts as well as other degenerative diseases.
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Too Many Or Too Few White Blood Cells?
White blood cell count plays an important role in the building immune system foundations and maintaining proper function. The white blood cells are usually accounted for in any blood assessment. A high white blood cell count may mean a patient has an infection, hyperslenism, a bone marrow disease or heavy metal poisoning.
A low white blood cell count could also indicate infection and can increase an individual’s likelihood of contracting an infection. A low white blood cell count may also mean that the body’s immune system has been compromised by a serious disease, a viral infection, alcoholism, drug use, hormone imbalances and anaphylactic shock.
When Pets Take Care of You
There’s no doubt about it-pets cheer people up. They wait by the door for you to get home, they cuddle with you at night and, if you’ll let them, they’ll even share a meal with you.
But can pets actually work as an immune system booster? Many would say that they can, and they do. Research conducted on ill hospital patients and pet-therapy dogs shows that visiting with animals can: relieve depression and loneliness, provide distraction from pain and illness, and reduce symptoms induced by stress.
When someone is under a great amount of stress, it can lead to a weakened immune system, and if you are a cancer patient, for example, you want all the immunities your can get.
Pets can also take part in helping accident victims through the trying period of rehabilitation. Brushing your dog or cat’s coat, or playing fetch with your pup can work as low impact muscle exercise important to a full recovery.
Avoiding Malnutrition the Healthy Way
Many of today’s older Americans are malnourished, and the reasons are rather obvious upon closer inspection. The same medications that so many elderly people take to live healthy lives have a detrimental side effect: they limit appetite. That means that the older generation is trying to function without all of the vitamins and minerals recommended by doctors and nutritionists.
We also need vitamins to boost immune system function. In order to create effective antibodies that fight off germs and disease, we need a full complement of Vitamin D and calcium. These vitamins work in tandem to strengthen the immune system. Vitamin D is especially important for those senior citizens with mobility issues who might not get all of the sunlight they need.