The Immune System
The human immune system is complicated in that it affects the whole body system in many different ways. It is a built-in mechanism capable of self-protection and self-recuperation from any disease or disorder. The immune system holds the key to natural healing because it is ingeniously equipped with antibodies miraculously designed to fight against all foreign invaders, such as viruses, bacteria, and parasites—in short, diseases and disorders. Unfortunately, this unique system may also become compromised and even dysfunctional such that its immune defenses may indiscriminately attack the body’s own cells, including the healthy ones. This malfunctioning of the immune system is known as autoimmunity.
Autoimmunity and Autoimmune Diseases
Nobody is immune from autoimmunity; that is, everyone is, to some extent, predisposed to autoimmunity. To make matters worse, autoimmunity can affect almost any organ or body system. The human vulnerability to autoimmunity is affected and determined by many factors, such as the environmental, physical, as well as emotional factors. The result is that autoimmunity can cause a broad spectrum of human illnesses, known as autoimmune diseases. There are more than 100 types of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, and myasthenia gravis, among many others.Currently, modern medical science is still unable to identify the causes of autoimmune diseases. As a matter of fact, the concept of autoimmunity as the cause of human illness is relatively new, and it was accepted into the mainstream medicine only about half a century ago. Given that there is no known cure for autoimmune diseases, modern medicine focuses on controlling and managing the respective symptoms of different autoimmune diseases.
Due to the complicated nature of autoimmune diseases, involving different parts of the body, in particular, the immune system, there is increasing evidence linking them to the environmental agents, infectious agents and viruses, pharmaceutical and chemical agents, heavy metals, dietary factors, as well as a number of biological agents, including genetic disposition. Many experimental drugs have been developed to treat autoimmunity. Unfortunately, many of these experimental drugs may be toxic to the body with long-term adverse side effects on the health of the patient.
Natural Healing and Free Radicals
Cells make up body organs. To maintain and sustain life, some of these body cells replicate themselves continually, such as epithelial cells in the intestine, while others do not divide, such as cells in the heart and neuron cells in the brain. When cells die, body organs fail, health deteriorates, and aging accelerates, leading to ultimate death.
All human cells require energy and oxygen to function normally and optimally. During this oxidative process, free radicals are created. For example, when you breathe in life-giving oxygen, you also breathe out harmful carbon dioxide.Your body is composed of negatively and positively charged molecules, which must be balanced in order to enable your cells to function normally. A free radical is formed when there is imbalance in these molecules. A free radical also damages other molecules, causing them to produce more free radicals—and thus creating a chain reaction of damages that become the scourges of aging and the sources of disease and disorders, in particular, autoimmune diseases.
To initiate the innate natural healing process, you must prepare the body to heal.
- Stop compromising your immune system with toxins from the environment you are exposed to, the processed food you eat, the unclean water you drink, and, most importantly, the dangerous pharmaceutical drugs, prescribed or obtained over the counter. Protecting your immune system from these toxins holds the key to initiating the natural healing process.
- Detoxify your body on a regular basis, given that the accumulation of toxins from free radicals is inevitable. Body detoxification can be achieved through fasting and herbal healing.
- Boost the immune system to enhance natural healing by providing your body with an optimum environment for recovery and rejuvenation. A balanced acid-and-alkaline environment is conducive to cell replication and rejuvenation. Acid and alkaline are substances with opposing qualities. Your body functions at its best when the pH (acid-alkaline) is optimum, which is slightly alkaline. The pH of your blood, tissues, and body fluids directly affect the state of your cellular health. The pH scale ranges between one and fourteen. Seven is neutral. Anything below seven is considered acidic, while anything above seven is considered alkaline. Any deviation above or below 7.30 and 7.40 pH range can signal potentially serious symptoms of disease.Too much acidification not only decreases enzyme activity for proper digestion of foods and assimilation of nutrients; but also depletes alkaline minerals, leading to bone loss and joint inflammation. Some of the common sources of acidification are animal products, cereals, sugars and sodas, alcohol and tobacco.
The Acid Alkaline Balance Diet provides everything you need to know about detoxification and alkalizing your body inside out.
Natural healing takes time, and nature can never be rushed. For more information, visit my website: Self-Healing Self-Help.
Stephen Lau
Copyright© by Stephen Lau
