There are mainly six defense mechanisms in our body. Let us list them and know a few things about each.
External System
- Hair – Each minute the top most portion of our body which is the hair is bombarded by the external pollutants like smoke, dust and smog. Scalp and hair grows constantly shedding the old layers.
- Skin – Any part of the skin which is exposed to the sun and external elements, just like hair gets sufficient damage. Skin is replaced by new layers from inside.
- Mouth, nose & throat – Mucus is the primary mechanism at work here. There is a constant mucus generating machine inside your body which clears any dust particle which comes inside the air passage. The mouth also hold saliva which performs multiple functions.
- Tears – Though a very tiny part of the defense system, the tears in the eyes are still important as a filtering mechanism. Too much of pollution in the air as gasses will cause burning of eyes which are soothed only by tears.
Internal System
- White Blood Cells – With a life span of 10 days, WBCs help fight all kinds of germs and infection within our body and outside it.
- Liver – The primary toxic cleaning system in our body. It works slow but it neutralizes all kinds of chemicals and pollutants which enter inside the body. WBCs take care of the more severe infections immediately.
Different ways the toxins and pollutants enter our body
All external pollutants come by the way of dust and smog in the air. The most polluting are the unregulated small and large transporters whom the traffic cops always ignore and allow them to run amok in the city while always targeting the mostly compliant cars. There is a total lack of check on any kind of polluting vehicles.
Add to this all the others like factories and workshop or even the thousands of tandoors burning in the restaurants in the cities. We have not yet warmed to the idea of electric or gas operated tandoor instead of the traditional wood one.
Tap water which we so easily use for cooking, cleaning, bathing and washing is full of chemicals which are used to treat the water before it is distributed.
Street food contains a large amount of toxins and chemicals because of the way it is prepared and the really lowest quality of raw materials used. To increase profit margins, the restaurant owners use any means to cut down expenditure on ingredients.
Most of the toxins are present on the ground in cities. This is the dust which rises and settles daily on the roads and streets.
What you should pay attention to
Apart from the obvious here are some important points you should not miss.
Curb the excitement and keep your mouth shut
Breathing through the nose means that your cleaning and filtering mechanism is at work. But no such system exists in the mouth. Too much of excitement means you will start breathing from your mouth too. That is bad news for your body because it allows pollutants to enter your body via the mouth. Same goes for those habitual of keeping their mouth open. It is also a good idea to start believing the phrase – Action speaks louder than words.
Cover your hair and neck when outside
If you are a city person, it is now time to cover the two most sensitive parts of your body where pollution hits hard.
Wash clothes frequently
All types of pollutants stick to the clothes which you wear outside. Do not keep these clothes for a long time and wash them as often.
Processed food and drinks
These food items are all categized as safe, but as a matter of fact, the liver takes days to clear the various types of chemicals present in this food.
All kinds of alcohol
We often hear folks say that high quality alcohol is OK to drink. This is total nonsense. The active ingredient in alcohol is ethanol which is processed by the liver in a two step process which sometimes might take days.
Also unless you are in France at the 1300 year old winery, Château de Goulaine, you are basically drinking a type of alcohol which also contains lots of chemicals and pollutants taken in from the ground water.
The most important part to take care of
The body defense mechanisms which we covered in the beginning of the article are just like machines who need fuel to work. In case of our body, the fuel is food, but not just any type of food. Each meal you eat must have good quality and nutritious food. This will help to provide all the essential vitamins and nutrients to keep the machines running. These six mechanisms are part of the immune system of the body and any reduction in resources, the body will reduce the priority to the immune system first.