IMMUNE SYSTEM

BONE MARROW, THYMUS, SPLEEN

The immune system is the body’s defense against foreign invaders. It also protects us from damage created by an out-of-balance inner environment—to some extent. The immune system is supposed to distinguish between what is “us” and worthy of protection and support and what is “foreign” and should be destroyed immediately.

DISEASES AND SYMPTOMS

AIDS, allergies, candida, Epstein Barr, gastritis, lupus (more than 50 medications list lupus as a possible side effect!), depression, lack of energy, blood, bone and every other type of cancer (Really, everything that goes wrong in the body that is not structural is probably immune related.)

STRESSORS

Drugs that weaken: vaccinations (all vaccinations come with built-in immune suppressants), antibiotics, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, hypertension medications

Pesticides, heavy metals, toxins, chlorine, stress, refined oils, caffeine, Dioxin (a widely used chlorine bleach used by industry to whiten toilet paper, paper towels, milk cartons, tea bags, and paper plates.)

VITAMINS / MINERALS / FOODS

L-arginine, L-lysine, vitamin C, B-Complex, bioflavonoids, magnesium, calcium, zinc, amino acids from fresh foods and fruit juices, acidophilus

HERBS / SUPPLEMENTS

Astragalus, bayberry, blessed thistle, calendula, cinnamon, cloves, echinacea, eleuthero, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, goldenseal, ginseng, hawthorn, hyssop, kelp, lemon balm, licorice root, lobelia, myrrh, stinging nettle, Oregon grape root, plantain, poke root, pleurisy root, red clover, rosemary, St. Johns wort, thyme, and yarrow, IB herb combination tincture is a good all around formula. It is helpful to supplement vitamin A and C.

EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS

All parts of the immune system are adversely affected by emotions such as grief and loneliness. Anything which damages one’s sense of self, feelings of self-worth, or causes one to doubt or lose confidence in the core beliefs by which they have lived their lives thus far will also have a negative impact on the immune system. When the immune system is at a low ebb, a person may find themselves unusually susceptible to the opinions or manipulations of others.

AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS: Disorders in which the immune system turns on the body as though it were the enemy have become increasingly common. The key question with any such disorder, from allergies through lupus and AIDS, is why we have become enemies to ourselves. These are not easy questions. They require honest evaluation of past behaviors and current thought patterns.

If there is nothing in the past which is burdening us with guilt, blame, or shame, we should probably analyze our feelings of worthiness to have our needs met and even ask ourselves if we feel that we are of sufficient value to be allowed to have needs at all. We might find some clues in our behavior. How do we spend our time? Do we spend our time helping others but refuse to spend any time on ourselves? Service is a good thing, no doubt about that. In fact, it is a very good thing for heart energy and, therefore, the immune system. There must, however, be a balance and many of us, especially if we are female, tend to lose sight of this balance.

Other questions to ask ourselves might include considering whether or not there is someone or something in our lives that is wearing away our self respect or chipping away at our self-esteem. Have we lost the ability to see clearly, living our own beliefs, or are we letting someone else influence too deeply what we think and feel and how we act.

INFLAMMATION: When the immune system is actively fighting off an invasion of some kind, there is often inflammation somewhere in the body tissues. There is a war being waged between our immune systems and the non-self invaders. Perhaps there is an emotional war going on within ourselves as well as we try to determine what beliefs are our own and which ones are being imposed on us by the need to please others. It may be necessary to acknowledge that we have acted against our own beliefs. We may need to make amends or make apologies.

Thymus

GENERAL COMMENTS

The thymus is the key gland in our body’s system of defense. It is interesting to note that the thymus in an infant takes up as much room in the chest as the heart. The thymus (weighing about 15 grams at birth in an average newborn) continues to grow with the child until puberty, when it starts to atrophy. Scientists speculate that the hormones of puberty are responsible for this atrophy in some unexplained manner. I personally speculate that it is not the normal hormones of puberty that cause this shrinking, but something else. I wonder about this because in less developed parts of the world, the thymus remains relatively large into old age. Did these people not go through the normal stages of hormonal development? Perhaps the something else is the immune suppressants added to vaccinations and required by law in more sophisticated and developed nations. Or maybe it has to do with pesticides, fertilizers, toxins, and pollutants.

There is another interesting anomaly involving the immune systems and thymus glands of infants compared with those of adults. There is a type of white blood cell, called a macrophage, which is found in the lymph nodes and connective tissues of adults. Infants, however, do not have any macrophages at birth. It is believed that it takes most children several years to develop a sufficient macrophages.

Infants get macrophage-type protection from their mother’s milk. Non-breast fed infants are statistically more susceptible to infections than breast fed infants. Further, it is known that in an infant with a damaged or nonexistent thymus, the immune response collapses entirely and the baby dies. An adult, however, will live because other parts of the immune system, including macrophages, pick up the slack. The thymus is important to adults because it is here that T-cells mature.

EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS

It has become obvious that the emotional state of the heart impacts the health and well-being of the thymus, either energizing or depleting this key gland. The thymus, because it is the “school of the blood” where messages are composed for interpretation by other organs, glands, tissues, and cells, has a profound effect on the stability and vitality of the immune system.

Heart energy is about the capacity to love and be loved. Having a system of loving and supportive people in your life, and loving and serving them in return, are the best things that you can do for your thymus and for your overall immune response.

Spleen

GENERAL COMMENTS

The spleen filters the blood with several tasks in mind. The first task is to remove anything foreign such as bacteria, viruses, or cancer cells from the blood. The second role of the spleen is to take old or damaged cells and cellular debris out of circulation, making room for brand new replacement cells as they are manufactured. The spleen is filled with a variety of cells essential to proper immune response. People whose spleens have been removed are more susceptible to illness that they were previously.

EMOTIONAL CONNECTIONS

Difficulties in the spleen sometimes indicate that, emotionally, instead of filtering out and throwing away the trash, we are harboring old, stagnant, or destructive thoughts and feelings. Doing so inevitably creates irritability and indigestion. A strong and healthy spleen, as it cleanses the blood of impurities, encourages feelings of compassion, sympathy, and patience.

The immune system is comprised of the lymph glands, nodes, the thymus gland, tonsils, spleen and even the white blood cells. Our immune system was designed to protect the body – to be a first line of defense against attack. A properly functioning immune system should be able to fight off germs, bacteria and viruses in order to keep them from proliferating within the body to detrimentally high levels. The immune system is adversely affected by emotional extremes such as stress, grief, depression, loneliness and even repressed feelings. When evaluating how well your immune system is functioning, it may be advantageous to find where you are repressing some of your negative feelings and find ways to release them.

There is always room for improvement where the immune system is concerned. We should be very vigilant in regards to our immune system, always striving to cleanse and improve its function. Autoimmune disorders are on the rise. If you have an autoimmune disorder some of the questions you may need to investigate are “How have you become an enemy to yourself? To what extent do you allow others to influence you in denial of your own thoughts and feelings?” Complete, honest answers to these questions will be integral in developing a plan for overall improvement of the immune system.

Oils which have an affinity for the immune system include: Ageless, Angel, Bountiful, Breezey, Cherish, CinnamonBear, Deliverance, EndoRelief, Grateful Heart, Housewarming, Journey, LifeForce, LiteN, QuietEssence, Reflections, Revitalize, SpiceC, Sunburst, Synopsis, UnDone, Vitality, cistus, hinoki, ledum, mountain savory, orange sweet, oregano, patchouli, saro

Herbs which have an affinity for the immune system include: CF, IB, IF, KNA, LT, MIN, NS, NT, NV, NVC, RC, RC-L, Super C, astragalus, bayberry, blessed thistle, calendula, cinnamon, cloves, Echinacea, eleurhero, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, goldenseal, ginseng, hawthorn, hyssop, kelp, lemon balm, licorice root, lobelia, myrrh, stinging nettle, Oregon grape root, plantain, poke root, pleurisy root, red clover, St. John’s wort, thyme, yarrow, and poke root. Vitamin A and C intakes should be supplemented as needed.

Also look for all the oils and herbs regarding the emotional drivers such as depression, stress and grief.