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Increasing Your Immunity No single factor magically boosts immunity. To make living longer worth the effort, U.K.-based immunologist Jenna Macciochi concentrates on enhancing “health span” as well as “lifespan.” Her book, Immunity: The Science of Staying Well is scheduled for U.S. release in the near future. Curated insights from an advance copy are excerpted here. BY J E N N A M ACC I O C H I
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e have an obsession with looking healthy and being well, and yet we are sicker and unhappier than ever before. That’s because our delicately balanced immunity is compromised by our ever-accelerating pace of life, with its relentless stress, pollution, overconsuming and under-moving. Today, we’re more likely to die from a lifestyle-related disease than any other cause, and many of these would be preventable if we took better care of our health. Play the long game to health by having a long-term plan and longterm goals. It’s about doing little things now, and every day, that set you up for the long term. Numbers to know Germs are no longer the enemy. In
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fact, 99% of those that surround us (and they are everywhere, all the time) do not cause disease. Because vaccines don’t replicate the natural course of an infection 100%, they don’t all provide the same degree of immunological memory. Research shows 85%–95% are effective for most infections. A sneeze produces 40,000 droplets, and you can get infected by inhaling just one. Genetic predisposition accounts for roughly 30% of all autoimmune diseases, and the remaining 70% result of from toxic chemicals, diet, infections, digestive issues, stress and other lifestyle factors. The long game Preschoolers normally have up to eight illnesses per year. The figure may be even higher for children in
day care or those who have older siblings. From 1985 to 2001, the prevalence of asthma rose 100%. About 300 million people worldwide have asthma, 255,000 die from it annually and deaths could increase by 20% over the next 10 years. A startling 74% of children who were given antibiotics before the age of two were, on average, nearly twice as likely to have developed asthma by the time they were eight. Ageing’s not a programmed process. It’s a question of genes (about 25%), with the rest due to experiences, emotions and environment across the lifespan. Disease As much as we fear germs, the bugs comprising our microbiota are actually our biggest health allies. Our lifelong task of trying to balance our immunity means relying heavily on certain exposures to good germs for proper calibration. Every one of us is home to 38,000,000,000,000 (that’s 38 trillion) microbes—our microbiota— accounting for half of each of us (by cell count). High dietary fiber consumption brings a 30% decrease in death from all causes, particularly some of the top killers, including heart disease and Type 2 diabetes. Eating a fiberrich diet is linked to reduced risk of colon cancer and can reduce inflammation associated with joint pain and arthritis. Sleep We neglect arguably the most important pillar of health—the foundation upon which all the others sit: sleep. Some good signs of getting enough sleep would be waking up without an alarm clock, not needing caffeine to keep you going and being alert throughout the day. The definition of good-quality sleep is being asleep for more than 85% of the time you’re in bed, waking up no more than once per
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