Your body is made up of billions of different types of cells, such as brain cells, blood cells, bone cells, heart cells, kidney cells, liver cells, muscle cells, nerve cells, skin cells, and spleen cells, among many others, which constitute your body organs and systems. These cells repeatedly die and replace themselves throughout your lifespan. For example, your red blood cells die and replace themselves every ninety days or so, while your bone cells may survive many years before they are replaced.

Your Creator has given you an immune system which protects your body cells from degeneration and disease. The B-cells in your immune system play a pivotal role in maintaining your body's optimum immune response by releasing antibodies into your bloodstream to fight against any foreign invaders that may damage cellular functions. In addition, the T-cells in your immune system play a critical role in distinguishing normal cells from abnormal ones for the B-cells to target. In this way, your immune system prolongs you younger and healthier for longer.

However, your immune system, just like you, ages too. Anti-aging is no more than keeping your immune system as young and as healthy for long as possible. The reason is that a weakened immune system leads to the development of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses - which all form the groundwork of degeneration and disease.

There are many reasons why your immune system may weaken as you continue to age, such as the shrinking of your thymus, the decline in the production of T-cells, and the attack by free radicals, which are extremely reactive compounds that damage cell membranes and other cell components, leading to degenerative diseases and aging.

Therefore, to protect your immune system, you need to eat right in order to get all the nutrients to support your immunity and strengthen your thymus gland.

Your immune system needs beta-carotene obtainable from broccoli, carrots, lettuce, and spinach., vitamins A, B12 , C, D, and E, antioxidants and minerals, including iron, magnesium, selenium and zinc.

In addition, you need to exercise to increase circulation of anti-bodies in your blood to protect your organs and systems, as well as to prevent bacteria from entering into your lungs.

Furthermore, you need to smother stress to prevent the release of steroids by your adrenal glands, which may impair your immune system. Getting adequate sleep to repair your immune system and exercising regularly are ways to cope with stress.

Apart from protecting your immune system, you need to maintain it in the optimum conditions. This can be achieved only by keeping your cells in a healthy environment. Your body cells have multi functions: breathing in oxygen to bring in nutrients, removing toxic waste products, and synthesizing hormones and neurotransmitters in your body. But the most important functions of cells is to balance the acid and alkaline (pH) level of your body - which is the healthiest environment for your immune system. A balanced pH level is conducive to a healthy immune system for anti-aging. If your body is healthy, it should always be slightly alkaline.

To maintain a balanced acid-alkaline body, you need to consume more alkaline-forming foods, such as green vegetables. In addition, you need to detoxify your body through regular fasting and exercise. You may also use herbs, such as milk thistle, psyllium husk, and red clover, to detoxify your body. If your body is cleansed of its toxins and the acid-alkaline ratio is balanced, then your immune system will be in its optimum condition, and you will be forever young.

In summary, immune system health keeps you not only healthier but also younger for longer.

Copyright (c) 2008 Stephen Lau