The Connection Between Viruses, Inflammation and Illnesses
If you’ve already heard of inflammation and think it’s “bad” for your body then you are right – and wrong! The reality is that acute inflammation is a normal and healthy response of our body’s immune system and a good thing. It is an immune response to a harmful condition; it can be the repair response to a broken bone, or the response to a foreign invader like a pathogen or virus. That is the way our immune system responds. When the immune system is properly regulated you always have a “low grade” of inflammation that helps you heal, clean up toxins, fight off invaders or regulate hormones.
But chronic inflammation is a dangerous, out-of-control immunological reaction which can damage healthy cells. It happens when your immune system becomes dysregulated or runs amok. This is the moment when your body’s defense mechanisms can break down and you are at risk of developing a wide range of illnesses and negative symptoms.
How Do Viruses Cause Inflammation in Your Body?
We are constantly surrounded by millions of microorganisms both in our outer and inner environment and viruses are no exception. Some viruses come and go and they might manifest as a cold, flu or warts (human papilloma virus). These are usually cleared up by the immune system. However, some viruses cause acute infection which soon subsides, but the virus never truly leaves the body; it remains in a dormant or “hibernating” state via active suppression by the immune system. When the immune system is suppressed by stress, age, drugs, toxins, or an excess of inflammation from another cause or a different infection or illness, the dormant viruses can be re-awoken and become active again.
The inflammatory immune response damages tissue, causes more inflammation and a bigger response from the immune system. During a chronic infection, antigen and inflammation persist, which can influence T-cell function. As antigen or viral load increases, T-cells become less functional, losing effector functions in a hierarchical manner. (Effector cells are activated cells that defend the body in an immune response.)
If the severity or duration of the infection is high or prolonged, virus-specific T-cells can be completely eliminated, leading to the loss of virus-specific T-cell responses. T-cell dysfunction can become progressively worse even during the same infection as the viral load and/or inhibitory signals increase. In addition, virus-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cells often exhibit various stages of exhaustion.
Viruses have evolved a number of strategies for evading the immune system to establish a chronic infection. Some viruses encode specific genes that target infected cells or the immune system. Some viruses persist in certain cell types, where they are hidden from the immune system, and some limit their replication, thus limiting the antigen available to alert the immune system.
Neurotropic viruses (like influenza viruses, herpes viruses and rotaviruses) have developed mechanisms to escape host immune surveillance and gain access to the central nervous system.
The Connection Between Types of Viruses and Diseases.
Inflammation associated with chronic virus infections has been found in many serious conditions and chronic symptoms including autoimmune illnesses, cancer, allergies, neurodegeneration, Parkinsons, Alzheimers, poor wound healing, excessive fatigue, brain fog, and more.
Most common viruses associated with these conditions are the ones in the herpes family, including herpes simplex 1 and 2 (HSV1/HSV2, the “fever blister/cold sore” virus), cytomegalovirus (CMV), parvovirus B19, Coxsackie A & B (the “Hand-Foot & Mouth” virus) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV, “Mono”, or Infectious Mononucleosis).
In their dormant state, the viruses are provoking adverse metabolic and inflammatory effects, but in a way that is clinically invisible until and unless specific laboratory tests are performed and/or long-term clinical consequences are analyzed. An example would include the promotion of Alzheimer’s dementia by herpes simplex virus type-1 and also the reduced cognitive functioning associated with the algal virus infection. Many autoimmune and rheumatic diseases—especially SLE/lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome, and scleroderma—have viral contributions, such as from CMV, EBV, and parvovirus B19.
Viruses can induce brain dysfunction by either direct cytolytic effects (when a cell bursts due to an osmotic imbalance that has caused excess water to diffuse into the cell) or bystander inflammatory reactions. The latter happens when your immune cells accidentally injure some of the body’s own tissue in the attempt to kill the virus, creating inflammation in the process.
The systemic and local inflammatory responses to viruses are potential key contributors to neuronal damage, even in the absence of overt cell death. Viruses elicit central nervous system inflammation either by entering the brain through a damaged blood-brain barrier or along the peripheral nerves, or by activating the innate and adaptive host immune system in the periphery.
A study in the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology found that the higher the level of HHV-6 and CMV that was found, the higher the severity of inflammatory bowel disorders such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
How Can You Prevent Inflammation and Chronic Viral Infections?
Diet
No healing program will fully work if you don’t follow the right diet for your metabolism, according to your unique genetic and biochemical needs. There is no one-size-fits-all. Once you know your metabolic type, you can incorporate healthy, whole foods in your diet.
Fermented vegetables help “reseed” your gut with beneficial bacteria (examples include raw kefir, kimchi, miso, pickles, and sauerkraut).
Grass fed beef is high in vitamins A and E, omega-3 fatty acids, beta-carotene, zinc (an important antiviral), and CLA (conjugated linoleic acid, a fatty acid.)
Dark leafy greens such as kale, spinach, collard greens, and Swiss chard contain powerful antioxidants, flavonoids, carotenoids, and vitamin C — all of which help protect against infections.
Saturated fats found in butter and coconut oil, which contain myristic and lauric acid play key roles in immune health. Without saturated fatty acids, the white blood cells fail to recognize and destroy foreign invaders, such as pathogens. Delicious coconut oil contains lauric acid that your body converts into monolaurin, with potent antiviral actions.
Four-carbon butyric acid found mostly in butterfat from cows, and six-carbon capric acid, found mostly in butterfat from goats, have antimicrobial properties, protecting us from viruses, yeasts and pathogenic bacteria in the gut.
Supplements
Among the most potent nutrients you can use to prevent viral infections and keep your immune system working well are: monolaurin, medicinal mushrooms, colostrum, cannabis oil, and also propolis, olive leaf extract, oregano oil and specific probiotics.
Lymph Circulation
The lymphatic system is also an essential part of the immune system that maintains fluid levels, fights infection and produces disease fighting white blood cells. But the lymphatic system needs your help to move the fluid through the body, because it doesn’t have an automatic pump like the heart, which moves the blood in the circulatory system.
The best actions you can take to help your lymphatic system are: proper breathing, hydration, alternate hot and cold showers, exercise, especially rebounding, lymphatic massage.
Bedtime
A late bedtime can affect immunity in a significant way. Your adrenals are at risk of being exhausted if you don’t get good quality sleep between 10 PM – 2 AM. Once you try to get an earlier bedtime you’ll feel surprised by the huge impact this change has on your mood, as well as on immunity. The truth is, when your immunity is low, even a sleepless night is enough to make you vulnerable to illness.
Exercise
Physical exercise is needed to get your immunity up. But when you suffer from various imbalances and illnesses, strenuous cardio exercises could actually be detrimental. Choose the right exercise for your body and don’t push yourself too hard, otherwise you’ll end up doing more harm than good. Good functioning adrenals and a steady blood sugar level are some of the things you need to focus on, before you can go running for long stretches or do intense aerobics.
Highly beneficial physical activities include brisk walking in the park, gardening, swimming, doing yoga or tai chi in nature.
Reduce stress
You probably already know about the huge impact stress can have on your body. The strategies mentioned above will help you keep stressors from inflammation, infection, wrong diet and lack of exercise in check. But don’t forget about mental stress and emotional wellbeing! Some of the actions you can take to reduce mental and emotional stress are: using Havening Techniques to calm your nervous system and build resiliency, meditation, breathing techniques, massage, good company, muscle relaxation exercises, “thought-stopping” techniques to help you halt negative, repetitive thoughts.
There is really no “magic” nutrient, pill or technique which will “solve” your immunity and inflammation problems, at least not long term. But a complete healing program can offer you all the necessary tools to bring your body where it needs to be in terms of health.
Finding the missing puzzles to your optimal health means detecting all the underlying causes for your negative symptoms and following your own recipe for healing.
Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3982831/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21879802
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867409007831
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4019841/
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/algal-virus-infects-affects-humans
