Thymus: Forgotten yet most crucial 🙌

by drjurisharma, posted in life

Hello everyone ! Have a wonderful and safe day 🙋🏻

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This Coronavirus Pandemic has created havoc within us in these couple of weeks. Thousands of people are affected and already killed by the virus. In today’s world, it has created an atmosphere of panic, fearfulness which has greatly affected our mental health. We were never prepared for such Pandemic. It’s also true, that we can never avoid such naturally acquired disaster. But, we can at least armed our bodies better by start building up a strong, powerful immune system.

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Therefore, to take proper care for our body, we need to be more aware and more informative about how our body’s natural defence system function. Concerning our immunity and the immune system, Thymus is an important gland that plays a vital role. This lymphoid gland seems to be an underrated gland that is hardly discussed. People know or give very little importance about this gland. But this gland plays the most significant role in building immunity in our body by supporting the immune system. This is a small gland which lies behind the sternum (the chest bone). It usually atrophies as ageing progresses. But its function remains intact lifelong. Its main function is that it supplies the defence cells of the White blood cells army of Immune system which are responsible to fight against viruses and cancers cells.

img_0746Certain type of precursor cells originate from the stem cells in the bone marrow of bones and go through the bloodstream to the thymus gland where they mature and are trained to perform their specific functions of defence. Thymus secretes hormones like Thymosine which helps in the development and maturation of these cells. Not all cells produced mature and make through a very specific selection and training process. Many of them die within the thymus. Only 1-2 % of the cells become ready to perform their function of defending against harmful pathogens and cancer cells. Therefore, these matured and trained cells are released in the lymphatic system to perform their specific functions. The different cells released from the thymus are categorised as T (thymus) cells and B (bone marrow) cells. The T-cells mainly fight against antigens and cancer cells.

T-cell types :
#Natural killer T-cells fight against viral infections. They release certain chemicals like Cytokines which can kill the viruses or other pathogens along with the affected cells.
#Helper T-cells not necessarily kill the viruses but tagged them as ‘harmful’ so that the natural killer cells can eliminate these antigens. So, the helper T- cells help in coordinating the immune system.
#Regulatory T- cells mainly control and regulate the immune system. it naturally keeps the balance. If this is not done, then T-cells will attack the body’s own tissues leading to autoimmune conditions. The body may suffer from different autoimmune conditions like various inflammations and allergies. So, the function of this regulatory cell is very important to balance the immune defence system.

B-cells mainly produced antibodies. There are a variety of antibodies. The antibodies do not kill the pathogens but instead, they tag and segregate them as harmful viruses, bacteria, fungi or parasites. So, the natural killer cells can destroy them. Our body can produce as many as millions of antibodies which can identify different specific pathogens and tagged them accordingly.

Fortunately, it is amazing to know that our body has been naturally equipped with such a powerful strong immune system with Thymus playing an important role. We are gifted with a very sophisticated defence immune system. But, as we age, the thymus gland slowly atrophied, become smaller and smaller in size. So the release of matured and trained T-cells and B-cells from the Thymus is slowly reduced too. Therefore, our immune system gets weaker and weaker and we become susceptible to diseases and infections.

So, how do we maintain and keep our immune system function intact and powerful? To support the thymus gland and the immune system from functioning at their optimal potential, we need to adopt a healthy lifestyle: Healthy eating, low-stress level and meditation, exercise.

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1 Vitamin D: This particular vitamin is anti-inflammatory and is very useful in the development and maturation of Helper and Regulatory T cells which are integral in the immunity defence army of cells. Dietary sources are best and supplements only given under clinical recommendation. Not to forget, sunlight is an important source of vitamin D. So, being in the sun for at least 15 mins a day can be very beneficial.

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2. Iodine is important because it helps in the process and maturation of Natural Killer cells.

3. Zinc: Another important mineral which greatly supports the immune system and defends us from the invasion of pathogens. Food chart is given in my previous post on Zinc: https://wordpress.com/post/healthhappinesshealing.org/3137

Stress Management mind map
Stress Management mind map, business concept background

4. Stress: Enough has been talked and written about stress which may harm our body and the immune system. Therefore, we need to control our stress level every day by adopting different stress-relieving tips and keep ourselves calm.

Thanks for reading.

Blessings and much love to all 💐

43 thoughts on “Thymus: Forgotten yet most crucial 🙌”

  1. So amazing this article keep to the basics and you reign supreme over this global lockdown healthy tummies healthy bodies equals healthy minds adjust all this x

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  3. Nothing better than being aware of our body and knowing how to feed it. healthy eating recommendations are essential in these times of quarantine. And if we have bodily health, the mental will be the best. The photos help to better visualize the article. Thank you for your generosity in helping us to have quality of life within this confinement. A big hug
    Manuel

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    1. I understand, sometimes it is difficult to meditate. You can take time for relaxation by listening to music, through prayers and through Nature walk.
      Anyway, thank you so much for your kind response. Take care.

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  9. Wow Juri,
    What a wonderful, informative & empowering post.
    I love the pictorial accompaniments as an aide memoir & i generally love mind maps.
    Not over keen on taking vitamin supplements but have been doing so recently.
    Thanks for visiting my blog.
    Keep well ❤️👍

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      1. Welcome. And welcome to my blog as well. Do feel free to comment about what you want to read about. I am willing to find some cool inspiration. Thanks

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  11. I find your post very helpful. Just this morning, I was thinking about how to supplement for vitamin D since the major source is sunlight and we’re not having enough of it due to lockdown. I find the food sources interesting. Thanks for this post.

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  12. Love this article especially the iodine food chart to a holistic approach to the fundamentals of life to lead healthily 🧚‍♀️💫🤩🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

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  15. So the thymus is almost like the secret agent school of the immune system! I had heard the name, but I didn’t realize its true function. Thank you for all this useful information! 😊

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  17. I have enjoyed your blogs – and thank you for writing about health and nutrition – we need more of this – take care and stay safe during these times.
    Tom

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