Issue #79: How You Fight a Virus
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, December 6th. I'm terrified of needles (it's almost as irrational as my fear of snakes). But thanks to the inspiration from my dad, I made it to the Big Red Bus yesterday. Someone needs blood every 2 secs and your donation could save 3 lives. Plus, giving blood actually reduces C-reactive protein (inflammation), increases antioxidants, and lowers risk of heart disease.
So don't worry about the needle and find a place to donate: Red Cross and One Blood (FL)
“The best and most efficient pharmacy is within your own system.”
From the Lab: Immune System 101
Take Action: The Basics - Good Food & Exercise
Speed Read: Benefits of Krill Oil
Tuesday QR: Grain-Free Granola
Bucket List: The Rock of Gibraltar
The number of viruses from just a single virus after 2 days of multiplying and taking over your cells.
From the Lab
So those symptoms when we’re sick are actually our immune response to fighting off the virus or bacteria (Issue #78).
Let’s dig a little deeper to see how this all works.*
Your immune system really has two functions:
Determine what is you and what is not (foreign object)
If an invader is deemed harmful - take it down
Sounds simple enough - but remember, if a single cell (like an immune cell) was the size of your body, then your body would be the size of 20 Mt Everests stacked on top of each other. That’s a lot of ground to cover across billions of new entrants. Plus, that little immune cell doesn’t have a brain, eyes, or ears.
So go back to the flu symptoms from yesterday. First, our Innate Immune System recognizes a foreigner has entered. It starts the first line of defense to slow down the virus multiplying and taking over more cells.
It takes out some of the viruses, contracts up blood vessels (inflammation) to speed up the expressway for reinforcements, and figures out who is the real enemy.
These early immune fighters break up the virus into tiny protein pieces called antigens. (You’ve probably heard this term referring to the antigen test - are these antigens present in your body for COVID).
Dendritic Cells (don’t worry about remembering the name) carry these antigens back to the Adaptive Immune System. This is where we have cells that are designed to take down a specific bacteria or virus. Unfortunately, this takes 3-5 days - which is why the flu typically lasts a week.
This might be the craziest thing I’ve ever read - all of us have cells in our body today that can take down any antigen from any invader in the known universe. Think about that for a minute. Amazing! Proteins fit together like a puzzle and you have a protein to fit that antigen - it’s called an antibody.
Once it’s been called up for duty, our B cells can fire off 2,000 antibodies a second at the virus. Your body has killed billions of foreign invaders and will kill billions more in your lifetime.
Oh and if you go back to the size analogy of us being 20 mountains if the cell is our body - well then an antibody is a grain of quinoa.
B cells aren’t the only cells out there - there are many different types that get involved to take down an intruder, but that’s another entire story itself.
So why doesn’t this work all the time?
Bacteria and viruses have also evolved to evade our defenses. Plus, it takes a ton of energy to create these new immune cells and go to battle. If our body isn’t functioning properly or has too much inflammation it can be a real challenge to win the war.
*The art and complexity of the immune system is crazy - we aren’t trying to pass the MCAT here, just getting a thoughtful understanding about how we fight off invaders to stay healthy.
Take Action
Boosting your immune system is pretty damn similar to boosting your overall health (not a coincidence). Yesterday, we talked about Vitamin D and we’ll cover more supplements/tactics for prevention or when you feel symptoms, but at the end of the day the basic rules apply:
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Speed Read
Health & Longevity in the News
Just Krillin’: Fish oil gets all the hype, but krill oil may have the last laugh. A recent study showed krill oil protected neurons from age-related degeneration and improved cognition. Krill oil and fish oil both contain EPA and DHA, but pretreated krill oil can increase both in brain levels by 5-70x. You don’t have to be the blue whale and eat 4 tons per day, just check out Issue #22 and consider a krill oil supplement. (Read more)
Exercise More as You Age: There’s a common belief that it’s normal, nay inevitable, for adults to be less physically active as they age. On the contrary, working out in older age may be more important than exercising earlier in life. It maintains motor function, increases bone mass, and drastically boosts "healthspan." Adults over age 60 should be lifting weights two to four times per week. (Big Think)
What’s That Smell?: A recent study targeted how exposure to different odors impact mice at different fasting durations. The results suggested an increase in the release of oleic fatty acids, which are beneficial to preventing type 2 diabetes, from the mice exposed to a familiar food odor. This study could be a precursor to odor-based strategies to combat metabolic disorders. (Read more)
Tuesday QR (Quick Recipe)
This Grain-Free Granola skips the oats and sugary sweetener in typical granola recipes and goes straight to the seeds and nuts. It's full of antioxidants, healthy fats, fiber and protein. Mess around with your favorite spices like cardamom, ginger or cacao powder for different flavor profiles.
Bucket List
The Rock of Gibraltar
The Rock of Gibraltar. With the 4th ever Gibraltar Derby (Spain vs. Morocco) today in the World Cup, we thought we’d venture to the end of the world. In Greek Mythology, the Rock of Gibraltar is the northern Pillar of Hercules with the southern pillar located either at Monte Hacho in Ceuta, Spain or Jebel Musa in Morocco. These natural landmarks marked both sides of the Strait of Gibraltar and the end of the world with the warning ne plus ultra, “nothing further beyond.”
Today, the rock is in the British Territory of Gibraltar. You can hike up to the 1,398 ft peak through a nature reserve - spotting native macaques and many species of migrating birds, to see the northern tip of Africa from the only place in Europe!
Thanks for joining us today!
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We’re 40-something dads that felt our bodies and minds start to slow down and we’re not ready for that. We found too much information on every subject. So we started Thrive25 to transform what we’ve learned into something useful for the rest of us to spend just 3-5 min a day to optimize our health & longevity.
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The information in this newsletter is for informational purposes only and may not be appropriate or applicable based on your individual circumstances. Thrive25 Labs LLC does not provide medical, professional, or licensed advice. Please connect with your healthcare professional for medical advice specific to your health needs.