ImmuRize

Strengthens and broadens the response of the immune system.

Nutravina Scientists: “to develop an immune system supplement with proven clinical efficacy needs a thorough knowledge of the immune system and how it works”

Nearly 3% of U.S. Adults, 9,978,566 individuals, have Weakened Immunity.

What can go wrong with the immune system?

• Sometimes a person may have an immune response even though there is no real threat. This can lead to problems such as allergies, asthma, and autoimmune diseases.
•  If you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake. (Type 2 diabetes Insulin rejection)
• Other immune system problems happen when your immune system does not work correctly. These problems include immunodeficiency diseases. If you have an immunodeficiency disease, you get sick more often. Your infections may last longer and can be more serious and harder to treat. They are often genetic disorders.

• Allergies are a form of hypersensitivity reaction, typically in response to harmless environmental allergens like pollen or food.
• Hypersensitivity reactions are divided into four classes. Class I, II, and III are caused by antibodies, IgE or IgG, which are produced by B cells in response to an allergen. Overproduction of these antibodies activates immune cells like basophils and mast cells, which respond by releasing inflammatory chemicals like histamine.

• Class IV reactions are caused by T cells, which may either directly cause damage themselves or activate macrophages and eosinophils that damage host cells.
• Autoimmune Diseases Autoimmune diseases occur when self-tolerance is broken. Self-tolerance breaks when adaptive immune cells that recognize host cells persist unchecked.
• B cells may produce antibodies targeting host cells, and active T cells may recognize self-antigen. This amplifies when they recruit and activate other immune cells.
• Autoimmunity is either organ-specific or systemic, meaning it affects the whole body. For instance, type I diabetes is organ-specific and caused by immune cells erroneously recognizing insulin-producing pancreatic β cells as foreign.
• Systemic lupus erythematosus, commonly called lupus, can result from antibodies that recognize antigens expressed by nearly all healthy cells.
• Autoimmune diseases have a strong genetic component.
•  Sepsis, Sepsis may refer to an infection of the bloodstream, or it can refer to a systemic inflammatory state caused by the uncontrolled, broad release of cytokines that quickly activate immune cells throughout the body. Sepsis is an extremely serious condition and is typically triggered by an infection. However, the damage itself is caused by cytokines (the adverse response is sometimes referred to as a "cytokine storm").

• The systemic release of cytokines may lead to loss of blood pressure, resulting in septic shock and possible multi-organ failure

Neutrophil (green) ingesting Staphylococcus aureus bacteria purple

1. Cells may be unhealthy because of infection.

2. Cells may be unhealthy because of cellular damage caused by non-infectious agents like sunburn or cancer.

3. Infectious microbes such as viruses and bacteria release another set of signals recognized by the immune system called pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs).

4. When the immune system first recognizes these signals, it responds to address the problem.

5. If an immune response cannot be activated when there is sufficient need, problems arise, like infection.

6. On the other hand, when an immune response is activated without a real threat or is not turned off once the danger passes, different problems arise, such as allergic reactions and autoimmune disease, e.g., (type 2 diabetes, arthritis)

1. The innate immune system, which you are born with.

2. The adaptive immune system, which you develop when your body is exposed to microbes or chemicals released by microbes.

3. These two immune systems work together.

The innate immune system is your rapid response system. It patrols your body and is the first to respond when it finds an invader.

• The innate immune system is inherited and is active from the moment you are born.
• When this system recognizes an invader, it goes into action immediately.
• The cells of this immune system surround and engulf the invader.
• The invader is killed inside the immune system cells. These cells are called phagocytes.

The acquired immune system: The acquired immune system, with help from the innate system, produces cells (antibodies) to protect your body from a specific invader.

• These antibodies are developed by cells called B lymphocytes after the body has been exposed to the invader.
• The antibodies stay in your body.
• It can take several days for antibodies to develop.
• But after the first exposure, the immune system will recognize the invader and defend against it.
• The acquired immune system changes throughout your life.
• Immunizations train your immune system to make antibodies to protect from harmful diseases.
• All immune cells come from precursors in the bone marrow and develop into mature cells through a series of changes that can occur in different parts of the body.

• Adenoids. Two glands located at the back of the nasal passage.
• Bone marrow. The soft, spongy tissue found in bone cavities.
• Lymph nodes. Small organs shaped like beans, which are located throughout the body and connect via the lymphatic vessels.
• Lymphatic vessels. A network of channels throughout the body that carries lymphocytes to the lymphoid organs and bloodstream.
• Peyer's patches. Lymphoid tissue in the small intestine.
• Spleen. A fist-sized organ located in the abdominal cavity.
• Thymus. Two lobes that join in front of the trachea behind the breastbone.
• Tonsils. Two oval masses in the back of the throat.

When your immune system is running smoothly, you don’t notice that it’s there. But if it stops working properly – because it’s weak or can't fight particularly aggressive germs – you get ill. Germs that your body has never encountered before are also likely to make you ill. Some germs will only make you ill the first time you encounter them. These include childhood diseases like chickenpox.

The tasks of the immune system

Without an immune system, we would have no way to fight harmful things that enter our body from the outside or harmful changes that occur inside our body. The main tasks of the body’s immune system are

1. to fight disease-causing germs (pathogens) like bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi, and to remove them from the body,

2. to recognize and neutralize harmful substances from the environment, and

3. to fight disease-causing changes in the body, such as cancer cells.

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How is the immune system activated?

The immune system can be activated by a lot of different things that the body doesn’t recognize as its own. These are called antigens. Examples of antigens include the proteins on the surfaces of bacteria, fungi, and viruses. When these antigens attach to special receptors on the immune cells (immune system cells), a whole series of processes are triggered in the body. Once the body has met a disease-causing germ for the first time, it usually stores information about the germ and how to fight it. Then, if it meets the germ again, it recognizes the germ straight away and can start fighting it faster.

• The immune system keeps a record of every germ (microbe) it has ever defeated so it can recognize and destroy the microbe quickly if it enters the body again.
• Abnormalities of the immune system can lead to allergic diseases, immunodeficiencies and autoimmune disorders.

Some infections, like the flu and the common cold, have to be fought many times because so many different viruses or strains of the same type of virus can cause these illnesses. Catching a cold or flu from one virus does not give you immunity against the others.

White blood cells are the key players in your immune system. They are made in your bone marrow and are part of the lymphatic system. White blood cells move through blood and tissue throughout your body, looking for foreign invaders (microbes) such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. When they find them, they launch an immune attack. White blood cells include lymphocytes (such as B-cells, T-cells and natural killer cells), and many other types of immune cells.

Antibodies help the body to fight microbes or the toxins (poisons) they produce. They do this by recognizing substances called antigens on the surface of the microbe, or in the chemicals they produce, which mark the microbe or toxin as being foreign. The antibodies then mark these antigens for destruction. There are many cells, proteins and chemicals involved in this attack.

The lymphatic system is a network of delicate tubes throughout the body. The main roles of the lymphatic system are to:

• manage the fluid levels in the body
• react to bacteria
• deal with cancer cells
• deal with cell products that otherwise would result in disease or disorders
• absorb some of the fats in our diet from the intestine.

The lymphatic system is made up of:

• lymph nodes (also called lymph glands) -- which trap microbes
• lymph vessels -- tubes that carry lymph, the colourless fluid that bathes your body's tissues and contains infection-fighting white blood cells
• white blood cells (lymphocytes).

Spleen

The spleen is a blood-filtering organ that removes microbes and destroys old or damaged red blood cells. It also makes disease-fighting components of the immune system (including antibodies and lymphocytes).

Bone marrow is the spongy tissue found inside your bones. It produces the red blood cells our bodies need to carry oxygen, the white blood cells we use to fight infection, and the platelets we need to help our blood clot.

Thymus: The thymus filters and monitors your blood content. It produces the white blood cells called T-lymphocytes.

Nutravina scientists look at the immune system as — a system, not a single entity. To function well, it requires balance and harmony.

Immune system and age and the need for Immurize by Nutravina

As we age, our immune response capability becomes reduced, which in turn contributes to more infections. As life expectancy in developed countries has increased, so too has the incidence of age-related conditions. While some people age healthily, the conclusion of many studies is that, compared with younger people, the elderly are more likely to contract infectious diseases, i.e., respiratory infections, including, influenza, the COVID-19 virus and particularly pneumonia.

Immurize by Nutravina addresses the mind/body relationship* as interfering with a balanced immune system. Immurize include anti-anxiety-anti-stress elements in the formula

*The closely linked relationship of mind and body. A wide variety of maladies, including stomach upset, hives, and even heart disease, are linked to the effects of emotional stress (both chronic and acute) and the relationship between stress and negative immune function.