How our body fights to keep us healthy

And how we can help it!

How the body becomes ill

The body can become ill because of –

a. Bacteriab. Viruses

What can bacteria cause if they get into the body?

• Stomach ache

• Tooth decay

• Spots

• Infected cuts

• Food poisoning

• Cholera

What can viruses cause if they get into the body?

• Chicken pox

• Colds

• Measles

• Mumps

• Whooping cough

Common cold virus

What happens when microbes gets past the first line of defence

• The body constantly makes defence cells to fight microbes. It keeps a store of them

• It makes many different kinds of defence cells to cope with all the different kinds of microbes and the different ways they can attack the body - some can be very sneaky!*

Let’s look at three of the defence cells

• Neutrophils – found in the blood stream. They are on the look out for microbes. When they find them they release chemicals that kill the germs but they die also – not to worry as the body makes about 5 thousand million every hour!!

Different kinds of defence cells

• Macrophages – they capture and eat the microbes, they also clean up any dust and dirt that gets into our body through breathing. Therefore there are lots of them to be found in the lungs.

Macrophage

• Some defender cells make antibodies* that sticks to microbes and which Neutrophils and Macrophages are now able to remove.

Different kinds of defence cells

The Immune System

• All the defender cells are part of our Immune System.

• Sometimes though, the immune system needs help and that is when the doctor may prescribe an antibiotic. Antibiotics can only kill bacteria they cannot kill viruses.

Video on the Immune System

• www.kidshealth.org/PageManager.jsp?lic=1&article_set=59296&cat_id=20607

• www.kidshealth.org/kid/htbw/htbw_main_page.html

click on the immune cells

What we can do to prevent getting infected by bacteria and viruses

• Hygiene - Wash hands, use a tissue etc• Eat healthy food to keep defender cells fighting

fit and help good bacteria in body• Eat good bacteria• Exercise to help remove waste from body and

keep lymph flowing• Vaccinations

Vaccinations

• Scientist* found a way to protect us against some of the diseases that can make us ill

• It all began with a doctor called Edward Jenner….

• The vaccinations have a weak form of the virus.• When injected into our body it makes our white blood

cells react as if the virus is still dangerous and makes antibodies

• The virus is too weak to make us ill but now we have antibodies ready so if the original measles virus gets into our body we already have the weapon to attack it straight away and so we do not get ill or only feel mildly unwell

Good bacteria

Not all bacteria hurt us some help us, some live in our intestines they help by;

• Making a waste product that we need and can use e.g. vitamins – Biotin, Folic Acid, Vit B12

• Making Vitamin K which helps the blood to clot

• Strengthening our immune system to fight the bad germs – or even directly attacking and digesting some of the bad germs in the gut

Where do the good bacteria come from?

They are all around us

• Raw foods e.g. on skins of grapes

• In live Probiotic yoghurts and yoghurt drinks like Yakhult

• Passed from mum to baby

What we can do to increase the good bacteria?

• Eat them – through live yoghurts etc• Dried form in capsules• Feed them by eating - - Whole oats and other whole grains - Fresh vegetables e.g.wheatgrass to chicory,

cabbage, onions, leeks and asparagus - Pumpkin, sunflower and other seeds; - Lignans in liquids like olive oil and aloe vera. - Fresh and dried fruits like bananas and apricots.

Allergies

Sometimes the defender cells get it wrong

• When this happens it can trigger hay fever or asthma - difficulty breathing properly, sneezing, itchy eyes, etc.

Why this happens

• When pollen, dust, cats and dogs skin cells are breathed in some people’s defender cells think these are harmful and make antibodies that stick onto defender cells called Basophils.

• When next time any of these things are breathed in by a person whose Basophils contain an antibody specific for one of them then the Basophils explode as they meets the pollen grains and release cell-destroying chemicals that make you have the symptoms of hay fever.