W WELLBEING
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OPTIMISED FOR IMMUNITY!
Unprecedented! If I had a pound, for every time I’ve heard this word used
over the past month, I’d be rivalling the amazing efforts of Captain Tom
Moore. But they are unprecedented times! Working and family life has
been turned on its head and the stark reality of the fragility of our existence
exposed. With so many touched by this invisible enemy it makes us value
the herculean efforts being put in by our loved ones as key workers and
appropriately raising them up and acknowledging their contributions, that
perhaps we have taken for granted for so long.
Lockdown for me, has been an eye opener for the things that are important and
that I truly have control over. Routine, exercise, diet, tech exposure and stress
to name a few. But during a viral pandemic it’s difficult not to consider health
and well-being and indeed these things can be strained and challenged with the
restrictions of lockdown. Making a choice to improve your mental and physical
health is something that everyone can do and this could be vitally important
to our resilience, with the expected profile of the Coronavirus as winter 2020
approaches.
In the current phase of the pandemic, efforts are aimed at protecting the most
vulnerable in society and not overwhelming the NHS – so that care is available
when people need it. As things progress and the promise of a vaccine remains
a distant panacea, herd immunity will need to bridge the gap. This means there
has never been a better time to improve your own immune system so it’s in tip-
top condition to respond appropriately to a viral assault.
The immune system is broadly broken up into two interacting sides; innate
and acquired:
•
Innate immunity is the first line of defence. It is immediate and
nonspecific and is made up of various barriers to infection, including
physical barriers (e.g. the skin and gut lining), chemical barriers (e.g.
stomach acid) and biological barriers (e.g. gut microbiome). If these
barriers are breached the macrophages step in to swallow and break
down bugs but are not very precise. Macrophages also report to cleverer
lymphocytes in the adaptive immune system.
•
Adaptive immunity (also called acquired immunity), the second line
of defence, takes several days or weeks to fully develop. It is much
more complex than innate immunity because it is much more specific.
Exposure to a pathogen stimulates the production of immune cells that
target the invader and this invader is then remembered so that if there is
a second exposure, the response can be faster and stronger.
So how can you improve your immunity? Well – plenty of sleep, regular
moderate exercise, mindfulness and sensible eating are all evidence-based
approaches to aid immunity. But have you considered the role light can play
in your health and well-being and as a result your immune system? There
is a whole ton of research and evidence relating circadian rhythm to health
and immunity. It regulates our hormone levels, our gut activity and energy
levels. Light plays many crucial roles in all of this and can be considered in the
following ways:
Vitamin D is produced in the skin from cholesterol and needs to be sulphated
by sunlight in the form of UVB, which is only present in the middle part of the
day. Vitamin D is crucial for innate immunity and plays an important role in
reducing viral spread. Vitamin D levels in the UK are usually low, especially
this time of year and are closely linked to all-cause mortality. One good way
to track this is with the “D Minder” app which tells you when UVB is present.
Melatonin is known as the hormone of darkness promoting sleep and
managing cellular repair and regeneration (apoptosis and autophagy) in the
mitochondria. Melatonin is made in the pineal gland and some specific organs
(like the eye). This happens during daylight – especially morning sunlight.
68 wirrallife.com
Melatonin plays an important role in the immune system as an antioxidant
but also specifically for COVID-19, downregulates the expression of the ACE2
receptors (the binding sites the virus uses to gain access to us). So low levels of
melatonin may make you more susceptible.
Artificial light or manmade light uses parts of the visible light spectrum in
combination or isolation. In natural sunlight different parts of the spectrum
balance each other out for example red balances the blue and this is how they
are found at sunrise and sunset. Evidence now supports the role of artificial
blue light and its impact on destroying melatonin with its subsequent effect
on sleep and immunity. A good way to reduce this is the use of blue-blocking
glasses to view screens and after the sun sets.
Getting outside with skin exposed is a great way to improve your Vitamin D and
Melatonin levels whilst protecting yourself from the blue skewed environment
indoor living provides. But we live in the UK and it may not be practical with
work or just the weather to get outside. Then when we get out our skin is
unprepared for the summer suns intensity. This is where photobiomodulation
(PBM) can help to optimise things. Red and near infra-red light used in our
MitoGen Light Pod works on many levels and has relevant effects on the skin
and hormone production:
1. It prepares your skin to use and accept UV to produce over 1000 biochemicals,
so that you can effectively produce vitamin D, whilst lowering the risks
associated with UV exposure. This is termed building your solar callus with the
red light preparing and altering the structure of the skin (collagen and filligrin).
2. PBM is proven to increase melatonin levels within the body without
supplements. This promotes and supports sleep and the myriad of benefits of
melatonin on the immune system naturally.
3. Using red and near infra-red light helps to naturally balance the blue light we
are exposed to indoors and through our use of technology.
PBM (red and near infra-red light) is a natural and safe way to optimise your
immunity and health. It has many evidence-based effects due its action on the
mitochondria (the energy centres) which are present in almost every cell of the
body including our immune cells. This sets off a chain reaction and creates an
abundance of benefits in the body:
•
More energy for you and your cells – mitochondria convert food and
light into energy in the form of ATP. Red and near infra-red light boosts
this performance, allowing cells to function more optimally and fight
infections.
•
Increase creation of new capillaries – improving blood flow and supply
more nutrients to tissues.
•
Reduces cell death (apoptosis) – more cells are available to educate your
immune cells in the thymus and bone marrow (lymphocytes).
•
Improvement in thyroid health – Thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) modulate
the immune response. Thyroid issues adversely affect the immune cells
but restoring thyroid function will positively affect this.
•
Improvement in liver regeneration – red light stimulates liver regeneration
enabling the liver to better sort nutrients and toxins and either eliminate
or absorb them.
•
Stimulation of the lymphatic system – which is critical to a strong immune
system.
•
Activation of stem cells – which can be mobilised to become active in the
immune response.
•
Decreased inflammation – the leading cause of autoimmune disease and a
recognised marker of how you would cope with a viral infection.
We hope to be up and running at the Underground Training Station (UTS)
in Hoylake, once the restrictions are lifted, to help you and your family get
optimised! Follow us on Facebook or get more information at:
www.lumepbm.co.uk.