DEFENSIVE TRAINING FOR LIFE IN COMPANIES

17 Nov DEFENSIVE TRAINING FOR LIFE IN COMPANIES

Cold weather use to find us distracted and it´s then when we remember that we have an immune system. The body becomes more vulnerable to viruses and colds and the number of absences from work increases.

Protecting ourselves from threats has always been, at all scales, a constant scenario in the history and survival of our species, so the border barrier of health that we call the immune system should not only be attended to when the enemy is already at the gates. As General Sun Tzu said in his work “The Art of War”: “it is best to dominate enemy troops without facing them on the battlefield”, which would undoubtedly put us on the precious path of preventive medicine.

When we refer to the immune system, we are talking about a set of organs and cells in our body whose purpose is to defend us from micro-organisms, cells and substances that cause disease or other disorders.

These organs include the intestine, spleen, thymus, bone marrow, lymph tissue or lymph nodes and blood, as well as the skin and mucous membranes. We can say that it is a complex system that allows us to relate to the outside world and thus manages to keep us healthy.

The main cells in charge of our defences are white blood cells, or leukocytes, which travel in the blood to every corner of our body.

When our immune system is working well, it can recognise a number of signals that alert it that something strange is going on, for example, by detecting viruses and bacteria in our body that cause infections and deploying a whole defensive strategy to eliminate them.

But when the immune system is weakened, our defence cells do not protect us properly and symptoms such as inflammation, chronic fatigue, hair loss, numerous colds, shingles, dizziness, nosebleeds, and if these are sustained, infections with fever and symptoms typical of major infections can occur.

Let’s remember that the immune system always has the same enemies, we know them well, even if we sit down to eat at the same table. Starting with the lack of certain nutrients in the diet, the abuse of foods rich in fats, sugars, histamines and chemical additives; nervous system imbalances such as anxiety, stress and depression; lack of rest, sedentary lifestyles and the abuse of medication.

That is why a good defensive barrier is not something that can be forged from one day to the next, neither with a shot of temporary vitamin supplements nor with seasonal vaccination campaigns, reinforcements that at a given moment can make up for a military casualty, but which cannot be maintained for long. Like any good army, it requires constant training, based on knowledge and strategies, starting with locating the base camp: no less than 80% of the immune system is housed in our gut, so the quality of our microbiota has a lot to say about the quality of our defences.

The focus should be on promoting the lifestyle habits that keep us fit all year round, habits on which 75 per cent of our defences depend, according to recent research from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, USA. These habits are:

• A natural and balanced diet, with a predominance of vegetables with pre- and probiotic effects and fermented foods such as kefir or kombucha, as well as foods rich in glutamine, antioxidant vitamins, zinc and magnesium, essential fatty acids Omegas 3 and 6 and good hydration. Not forgetting that breastfeeding is the essential source of natural defences in our first years of life.
• We can also make use of certain roots and natural plants with medicinal properties such as garlic, onions, mushrooms, ginger, lemon, turmeric, cinnamon, echinacea and propolis for the benefit of the immune system.
• Get active, move freely, connect with nature, and breathe clean air.
• Restorative rest. Numerous studies have shown that people who do not get enough sleep decrease the production of A and T lymphocytes.
• Laughter raises immunoglobulin A, an immune agent found in the skin and mucous membranes.
• Manage stress and think positive. Sadness and anxiety have negative effects on the immune system. Being upbeat does not cure, but it helps in a positive way when the body needs extra energy.

“The most important thing in war is to attack the enemy’s strategy; the second is to break his alliances by diplomacy; the third is to attack his army”. Sun Tzu