The Immune System (1/3)

Part 1 - Getting to know the immune cells

Sick of being sick? What if I told you that you can improve your immune function simply by exercising? It is possible, especially if the correct stimulus is applied. It is also a topic we very rarely see covered in the fitness world, and I am keen to correct this. If you want to know how your immune system is affected by the exercise you perform, then read on, and I’ll spell it out over the course of this immune system mini-series.

Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash

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Housekeeping

Here are a few quick reminders before we begin:

• You can access my entire archive of Muscle Monday and Workout Wednesday here.

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• You can get 10% off EVERY order, present and future, at Awesome Supplements by using the code ‘EZEP’ at checkout. The electrolyte powder, Hydrate, is a smart idea for those exercising in the Summer months.

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The Immune System

Before we start even discussing the link between exercise and the immune system, we first need to understand exactly what the immune system is. Now, this can be quite complicated, so I will go over the essentials as best I can without compromising the accuracy of the information.

Essentially, our immune system is our 24/7 carer. It has 4 key functions, which can be remembered using the P.R.A.D. acronym.

• Protect us against threats

• Recognise threats

• Attack threats

• Destroy threats

It encompasses everything from the hairy lining inside our nose, which traps nasties and debris and prevents them from entering the respiratory tract, down to our stomach acid, which breaks down bacteria and viruses, and at the cellular level, where our powerful ‘natural killers’ play a role in the destruction of potentially cancerous cells.

We can split the immune cells into two branches:

• On the one hand, we have our innate immune system. This branch includes cells which give generic, non-specific responses to a range of threats.

• On the other hand, we have our adaptive immune system, which has a form of ‘memory’ and ‘remembers’ how to respond and defeat specific threats.

Let’s dive deeper into these branches by looking at the image below. You can see the innate system represented to the left of the diagram, and the adaptive system to the right.

An overview of the immune system. The innate system (left) is the first line of defence. The adaptive system (right) has memory.