Immune System 3 - MT3 - Part 2 Flashcards
What are 2 things drugs should be?
- Poly-pharmacy
- complex - Pure as possible and defined
What can active ingredients vary according to? (4)
- Dont know how much of the active ingredient there is
- Hard to isolate
- Amounts can carry
- Stress on plants can effect the kind of molecules
What are 2 cautions in immune boosting herbs?
- Is that there can be wide variation in different preparations from the same plant species at different times and places
- Is that manufacturing quality and honesty can vary
- DNA barcode study of herbal medicine
What are 4 examples of herbs that are used as immune boosters or disease fighters?
- Aloe vera
- Echinacea
- Garlic
- Ginseng
Aloe vera
Good for minor cuts and burns
- but thats it
Echinacea
Studies have failed to find good evidence of an effect on the likelihood or duration of colds
Garlic
Epidemiological studies have shown a link between garlic and onion consumption, lowering rates of some cancers
Ginseng
No large, high quality studies exist to support the claims for ginseng as an immune system stimulant
What is there accumulating evidence of?
Interaction between our immune system and the hundred of species of beneficial bacteria your body hosts (your microbiome)
- varies on your health, where you are living
Probiotics
Are commercial products that consist of bacteria already present in you digestive tract
- they are substances alleged to nourish and multiply your good bacteria
What are 2 examples of probiotics?
- Lactobacillus
2. Bifidobacterium
What do many animal studies show regarding stress?
They show negative effects of stress on various immune system indicators
What are 4 different types of stress?
- Physical
- Social
- Acute
- Chronic
What happened in the experiment when both a physical and social stress was applied?
It resulted in higher mortality when the mice were subsequently exposed to a bacterial toxin
- the stress of mice would be more effected by this toxin
What have they related human studies and chronic stress to?
Depressed immune system indicators
What did they discover for caregivers of relatives who had Alzheimers disease?
They have higher levels of cortisol, lower antibody response to flu virus infection and T cell function
- especially if they are socially isolated
What is cortisol?
A stress related hormone
What do people who were the worst affected by after a natural disaster show?
Several markers of reduced immune system activity
Is there strong evidence for placebos having an effect on your immune system?
Yes
Placebo effect
A beneficial effect, produced by a placebo drug or treatment, that cant be attributed to the properties of the placebo itself and must therefore be due to the patients beliefs in that treatment
What does the placebo effect highlight?
The role of the brain in the immune function
- there is a strong connection between your brain and your immune system
What is the truism among athletes?
The moderate exercise carries health benefits, but intense exercise leaves a person more prone to infection
Truism
Is a statement that is obviously true and says nothing new or interesting
What have the studies of the effect of exercise on the immune system components tell us?
That it is still inconclusive
