To keep track of your immune health, keep track of how many illnesses you get each year
Vicky Turner
As you lie in bed sniffling with your third cold of the year, you might be wondering if your immune system is working properly. Whether your immune system is healthy is a question we all want to know the answer to, and now the burgeoning field of immunology is trying to answer just that with tests that “grade” your immune system, with the goal of preventing problems before they occur and inspiring you to make lifestyle changes that will keep your health at an all-time high.
To understand how healthy your immune system actually is, let alone improve it, it helps to first understand what it actually does. Think of the immune system as an army within your body, with different units working together to eliminate enemy invaders while avoiding collateral damage to your own tissues and constantly adapting to new challenges.
Just like in a real army, the immune system can also go haywire, causing some units to malfunction and others to go berserk – this can lead to serious illnesses.
So how do you know if your army is doing its best? Let’s start by considering its various components. The first line of defense are innate immune cells such as macrophages, which engulf bacteria and release chemicals that cause inflammation, making cells inhospitable to pathogens.
Once a threat is identified, a second line of defense called the adaptive immune system kicks in with more specialized tools: B cells, for example, form antibodies that bind to and neutralize unwanted newcomers, while T cells include killer cells…
