Autoimmunity diseases

We are continually being attacked by harmful factors such as: viruses, bacteria, parasites, fungi, etc. The immunological system is able to recognize those harmful factors and tries to neutralize them. First and foremost however, it recognizes damages of healthy tissue even such ones that are caused by ageing. It triggers processes of destroying sick and weak cells, which makes place for new and healthy ones. Those processes are usually connected with minor inflammatory conditions that create proper environment for antibodies (our ‘soldiers’) to work.
Unfortunately, it happens more frequently that the ‘army’ of our immunological system treats healthy tissue as an enemy. Then the process of autoimmunity is started. Why? It is still not clear.

So far scientists have recognized about 80 autoimmune diseases. The thing they have in common is the fact that they usually start before age 30. Although it is still unknown why, autoimmune diseases attack young women more often. The majority of those diseases is incurable or very difficult to treat. Scientists themselves do not fully agree which of those diseases should be unquestionably counted as autoimmune. It has been accepted that they are diseases which have excessive activity of the immunological system at their core. Rheumatic diseases are counted as autoimmune as well as some cases of male infertility because the immunological system produces antibodies that cause sperm to clot. They cannot move, that is why fertilizing is not possible. If the immunological system attacks bone marrow, the thymus, spleen or lymph glands, different types of cancer can develop, for example thymoma, Hodgkin’s disease or chronic lymphocytic leukemia. (Source: “Zdrowie” – monthly magazine, an article by Anna Jarosz)

Despite the fact that knowledge about autoimmune diseases is still incomplete, it is clear for sure that the following factors significantly weaken the effect of the immunological system functioning:

• smoking cigarettes
• alcohol
• wrong diet
• virus and bacterial infections
• deficiencies of vitamins and minerals

The conclusions are obvious: you need to eat properly, stop smoking and drinking, exercise. We have our immunological system inborn only as infants. While our organisms are growing and developing, we gain our acquired immunity. It is worth taking care of its quality.