Stress and the immune system – Part 2
In part 1, I gave an overview of the immune system works. In this post, I want to explore the impact of short-term stress on the immune system.
The immune system is actually very flexible and naturally responds to challenges in your life which means stress modifies our immune system.
When we consider the impact of stress on the immune system, we need to consider the duration and course of the stress i.e. how long it will be present and whether or its continuous or not.
1. Acute Stressors – last only minutes e.g. public speak – can cause adaptive up regulation of natural immunity and down regulation of specific immunity. This means you have an increased ability to fight infection but reduced specific response.
2. Brief Naturalistic Stressors – for example taking exams, present a short-term challenge – this means you specific immunity is preserved but less ability to fight infections.
In summary in some circumstances, acute short-term stress is part of everyday life, and under some circumstances it can enhance your immunity.
Reference
Related Posts
Do you know the benefits of drinking tea?
I have to admit that I don't drink tea. I like my herbal teas but lets face it, they don't actually contain any tea. In a morning I like my decaf americano. But having done the research on tea, I may need to change my habits. Prof Feng and his team in collaboration with Essex University and Cambridge have been researching the impact of long term tea drinking habits. They concluded that individuals that drank either green tea,oolong tea or black tea at least four times a week for about 25 years had better brain health than people who don't drink tea. So what are the other benefits of tea?
- Daily consumption of tea reduced the risk of cognitive decline by 50% in older people.
- Improves mood.
- Protects agains cardiovascular disease.
What is magnesium effective for?
In part 1, I introduced what magnesium is used for the body and what foods its found in. But with magnesium supplements being "trendy" right now, what are they effective for:
- Constipation. Taking magnesium by mouth is helpful as a laxative for constipation and to prepare the bowel for medical procedures.
- Indigestion. Taking magnesium by mouth as an antacid reduces symptoms of heartburn. Various magnesium compounds can be used, but magnesium hydroxide seems to work the fastest.
- Magnesium deficiency. Taking magnesium is helpful for treating and preventing magnesium deficiency. Magnesium deficiency usually occurs when people have liver disorders, heart failure, vomiting or diarrhea, kidney dysfunction, and other conditions.
- High blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia). Administering magnesium intravenously (by IV) or as a shot is considered the treatment of choice for reducing high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia) and for treating eclampsia, which includes the development of seizures. Research suggests that administering magnesium reduces the risk of seizures.
