WEBVTT - Lab 047: All (Immune) Systems Go 0:00:00.520 --> 0:00:02.440 If you've been tuning into our New Year series, you 0:00:02.520 --> 0:00:05.320 know we're talking about making the best version of you. 0:00:05.720 --> 0:00:08.760 And in our sleep episode last week, we talked about 0:00:08.760 --> 0:00:11.640 how important sleep was for immunity. Yes, we did. 0:00:11.760 --> 0:00:14.800 Sleep is so important to so many aspects of our 0:00:14.920 --> 0:00:17.439 overall health, but one of the things that stood out 0:00:17.440 --> 0:00:20.480 the most to me was how it impacts our immune system, 0:00:20.560 --> 0:00:21.280 which is wild. 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:24.000 Yes, And you know, over the past couple of years, 0:00:24.079 --> 0:00:28.800 I feel like the iword immunity has been everywhere. Yes, 0:00:28.920 --> 0:00:34.120 but do we really know what it is? No, we don't. 0:00:34.200 --> 0:00:34.800 It's clear. 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:36.120 I've seen the tweets. 0:00:36.159 --> 0:00:39.560 Okay, we're feeling that word around as if it means 0:00:39.600 --> 0:00:41.720 a thousand different things, but I know that it means 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:42.840 something very specific. 0:00:43.040 --> 0:00:45.479 Well, you're in luck. That's what we're talking about all 0:00:45.520 --> 0:00:48.199 this left, let's get into it. I'm t T and 0:00:48.240 --> 0:00:50.080 I'm Zakiyah and from Spotify. 0:00:50.240 --> 0:01:10.920 This is Dope Labs. 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:20.120 Welcome to Dope Labs, a weekly podcast that mixes hardcore science, 0:01:20.240 --> 0:01:23.080 pop culture, and a healthy dost of friendship. This week, 0:01:23.160 --> 0:01:27.120 we're talking all about the immune system. Specifically, we really 0:01:27.120 --> 0:01:29.959 wanted to know more about how it works and what 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:31.240 we can do to make it stronger. 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:34.160 Yes, it's peak cold and flu season. And I've seen 0:01:34.160 --> 0:01:37.280 a lot of you sharing elderberry syrup, ginger lemon emergency, 0:01:37.720 --> 0:01:39.880 all of that on your IG stories. You're telling us 0:01:39.880 --> 0:01:41.920 all about your immune system hacks and boosters. So this 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:44.080 lab is really for you. We're going to get into 0:01:44.120 --> 0:01:46.640 what the immune system is and how it works. So 0:01:46.720 --> 0:01:47.880 let's get into the recipation. 0:01:57.560 --> 0:01:59.680 So before we say what do we know? What I 0:01:59.720 --> 0:02:06.080 know what Tekia knows. It's two very different things. To 0:02:06.120 --> 0:02:09.480 be clear, I feel like I know next to nothing 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:12.760 about the immune system and how it works. I feel 0:02:12.760 --> 0:02:16.080 like I know very very basic things that I think 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:19.360 most people know, like your immune system is important and 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:22.880 having a good immune system will help you. But that's 0:02:22.919 --> 0:02:23.920 kind of where it stops for me. 0:02:25.360 --> 0:02:27.440 Well that's okay, because I'm going to help you ask 0:02:27.639 --> 0:02:31.200 some other questions like where exactly is immune system in 0:02:31.240 --> 0:02:33.440 the body, how does it work, what happens if it's 0:02:33.480 --> 0:02:37.200 not working or if it's overworking, what's going on there? 0:02:37.520 --> 0:02:39.720 And then I think the question we both have TT 0:02:40.280 --> 0:02:43.760 is about all the hacks we see about strengthening and 0:02:43.800 --> 0:02:46.480 boosting and enhancing the immune system. 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:49.840 Yes, some of it just seems like made up stuff 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:51.560 like I'm just like, who told you that? 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:52.600 Who told you that? 0:02:53.120 --> 0:02:56.160 Like, oh, chew on your big toenail for three minutes 0:02:56.200 --> 0:02:58.480 and then spit it out and spin round like I 0:02:58.639 --> 0:02:59.240 don't know. 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:01.560 Yeah, I wouldn' chew on it, but if you do, 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:04.240 happy that you want it, definitely spit it out all right. 0:03:06.120 --> 0:03:08.640 That makes me feel like we are ready for the dissection. 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:10.240 You're ready, CC, I'm ready. 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:20.639 Hold my hand. Friend. 0:03:22.639 --> 0:03:24.960 Our guest for today's lab is doctor Piel Gupta. 0:03:25.120 --> 0:03:28.119 My name is doctor Pyle Gupta. I am an adult 0:03:28.240 --> 0:03:32.320 and pediatric allergy and asthma specialists and also a nominologist. 0:03:32.639 --> 0:03:35.160 And I live and work in New York City. 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:39.200 Okay, for me, let's start with the basics. What is 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:40.320 the immune system? 0:03:40.440 --> 0:03:44.480 Our immune system is our body's way of protecting us 0:03:44.520 --> 0:03:47.760 from foreign invaders. And what I mean by foreign invaders 0:03:47.760 --> 0:03:53.240 are things like viruses, like bacteria, like fungi and even cancers. 0:03:53.440 --> 0:03:56.520 Okay, so these are all the things we definitely don't 0:03:56.560 --> 0:03:57.520 want in our bodies. 0:03:57.760 --> 0:03:59.960 So if we zoom out, we can think about the body. 0:04:00.040 --> 0:04:03.000 It's this single tube from the mouth to the booty basically, 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.000 and your skin is wrapping all of that and keeping 0:04:06.040 --> 0:04:08.640 everything in a closed system. So your skin is like 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.880 your protective barrier, right, Our skin is a physical barrier 0:04:12.240 --> 0:04:14.400 to those foreign invaders and particles. 0:04:14.480 --> 0:04:16.640 You know, you gotta stay moisturized. You gotta put lotion 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:20.520 on those elbows. Yes, moisturized skin is soft and supple 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:25.279 and plump. But not moisturized skin or dry skin cracks 0:04:25.320 --> 0:04:27.360 and bleeds and things like that. 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:30.400 All right, we have our protective barrier of skin protecting 0:04:30.440 --> 0:04:35.159 everything inside. If anything penetrates that barrier, it's then facing 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:38.000 our immune system. And the immune system can be split 0:04:38.040 --> 0:04:41.760 into two parts, the innate immune system and the adaptive 0:04:42.000 --> 0:04:43.520 or acquired immune system. 0:04:43.800 --> 0:04:47.839 So innate being the immune system that you are born with. 0:04:48.080 --> 0:04:50.680 Yes, and that's not unique to us. So if we 0:04:50.720 --> 0:04:53.080 look at it, all animals have an innate immune system, 0:04:53.160 --> 0:04:54.120 and so do plants. 0:04:54.320 --> 0:04:55.520 Ooh, I didn't know that. 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:58.279 Yeah, I need to treat my snake plant better. There 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:01.640 it's currently three leaves sitting on the floor. 0:05:02.760 --> 0:05:03.080 Okay. 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:06.520 So there's our skin, which provides a physical barrier. Then 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:10.160 there's the innate and acquired immune systems. So let's talk 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:12.200 about the innate immune system first. 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:15.480 And so then innate immune systems are first line of deference, 0:05:15.920 --> 0:05:19.599 and this line of defense or this army reacts to 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:21.039 fight infection quickly. 0:05:21.200 --> 0:05:25.159 The innate immune system is non specific, so it just says, invader, 0:05:25.560 --> 0:05:29.000 respond right. It doesn't know who you are. It just 0:05:29.040 --> 0:05:30.240 knows that it is not right. 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:33.039 That's like your house security system when you come in 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:33.440 the door. 0:05:33.640 --> 0:05:35.640 It's like, hey, I don't know who you are. 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:36.160 Bepep. 0:05:36.240 --> 0:05:38.240 You may be the owner, you might not be. Yes, 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:40.280 but you better put it in the security code or 0:05:40.320 --> 0:05:41.000 there's gonna. 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:41.560 Be some problems. 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:44.680 Yes, you know. So let's say that system is not 0:05:44.839 --> 0:05:48.400 very specific. It's just a strong first response. Our second 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:51.000 line of defense is the acquired immune system. So if 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:53.239 we were to compare these things, the innate immune system 0:05:53.320 --> 0:05:56.920 is not specific. Acquired is specific. The innate immune system 0:05:56.960 --> 0:06:00.160 is permanent and the response is immediate. For the fired 0:06:00.160 --> 0:06:02.719 immune system is transient. It's not always permanent, and the 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:05.520 response is not immediate, but it is specific and is 0:06:05.600 --> 0:06:07.760 coming right for you, is right on time. 0:06:07.920 --> 0:06:10.839 So the acquired immune system is something that your body 0:06:10.839 --> 0:06:17.919 builds over time, and that's based off of socio physical factors. 0:06:18.160 --> 0:06:21.960 That's a really good question. You begin building your acquired 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:27.200 immune system from being a fetus right across the placenta. 0:06:27.680 --> 0:06:31.200 The mom is giving you some immunity right there, thanks mommy. 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:35.719 When a baby is first born, they're not ready to 0:06:35.960 --> 0:06:39.160 fight every infection. They are fragile, and our immune systems 0:06:39.200 --> 0:06:41.359 when we're born aren't where we want them to be. 0:06:41.760 --> 0:06:44.760 Then, even thinking about what happens. As soon as you're born, 0:06:45.040 --> 0:06:47.520 you have been inside this other closed system, so you 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:49.120 don't have any bacteria. You know, how we talk about 0:06:49.160 --> 0:06:51.680 the microbiome on the skin and how we talk about 0:06:51.720 --> 0:06:55.120 the bacteria that's part of our personal environment. You acquire 0:06:55.200 --> 0:06:58.040 that as you pass through the birth and canal, or 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:00.320 if you are delivered by c section, you acquire that 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:03.320 from that delivery process, and then you know that skin 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:06.360 to skin contact with mom. At that point, you are 0:07:06.720 --> 0:07:11.160 being colonized with bacteria and other microorganisms right then, and 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.960 those things are all over your skin, colonizing the body. 0:07:14.080 --> 0:07:17.200 So that's what's helping you specifically t t when you're 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:20.600 eating all that crazy food and helping you not get sick. 0:07:21.960 --> 0:07:25.640 Those bacteria in your gut, you acquire that stuff from birth. 0:07:25.800 --> 0:07:28.840 So your adaptive immune system starts developing from the jump 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:31.920 through the birth canal, skin to skin all those germs 0:07:31.920 --> 0:07:34.600 getting into your tiny baby body are what your body 0:07:34.680 --> 0:07:36.680 needs to adapt to the outside world. 0:07:36.840 --> 0:07:39.880 And so when you think about when a baby t 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:42.520 t is always sick, you know, like you've seen your 0:07:42.560 --> 0:07:45.840 nieces and nephew with those running noses, Yes, that is 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:49.480 them being exposed to these foreign particles and pathogens, and 0:07:49.480 --> 0:07:53.360 their immune systems are beginning to recognize these things and 0:07:53.400 --> 0:07:56.120 getting smarter. So that's why kids get so sick when 0:07:56.120 --> 0:07:58.880 they first go to like preschool or todaycare, because their 0:07:58.920 --> 0:08:02.800 bodies are being injured, used to new bacteria that they've 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:06.720 never seen before, bacteria, viruses, all of that, and that 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:10.120 is how you develop that learned or acquired immunity. So 0:08:10.160 --> 0:08:12.600 then when you get to a big age like our age, 0:08:12.680 --> 0:08:14.760 we've seen a lot of the things that were in 0:08:14.800 --> 0:08:17.800 the nursery already, so our bodies are better equipped to 0:08:17.920 --> 0:08:19.960 fight it. Yes, and you may be able to clear 0:08:20.000 --> 0:08:22.640 those things really quickly. So a cold that may have 0:08:23.160 --> 0:08:26.600 your little toddler cousin with a running nose for a week, 0:08:26.960 --> 0:08:28.720 you may have the sniffles for like one day, and 0:08:28.760 --> 0:08:30.840 you're good. You're ready to bounce back and keep it moving. 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:33.880 And then as we get older, we get exposed to 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:37.760 the environment, which also exposes our body to foreign particles, 0:08:37.800 --> 0:08:40.760 foreign substances, and our body starts to recognize what is 0:08:40.840 --> 0:08:44.120 normal what is abnormal, and then the immune system slowly 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:44.920 starts to grow. 0:08:45.200 --> 0:08:48.840 So our immune system generally peaks between puberty and young 0:08:48.880 --> 0:08:52.360 adulthood and starts to decline around the age of sixty. 0:08:52.640 --> 0:08:55.760 That's why older individuals we have to be extra careful, 0:08:55.880 --> 0:08:58.840 just like we are with babies, because they are more 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:00.000 susceptible to. 0:09:00.720 --> 0:09:02.719 We talked about this in our Protect Your Net episode. 0:09:02.840 --> 0:09:06.319 Really young babies in infants, so under six or seven months, 0:09:06.559 --> 0:09:09.360 can't get a flu shot, so everybody around them gets 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:11.800 a flu shot to kind of cocoon them and to 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:15.200 keep themselves from passing something on to the baby. Similarly, 0:09:15.440 --> 0:09:17.800 older adults, so over sixty five, they also have a 0:09:17.800 --> 0:09:20.080 week immune system, but their immune system can handle a 0:09:20.080 --> 0:09:22.800 little bit more than an infant can. So what we 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:24.880 find is that if you think about a flu shot, 0:09:25.120 --> 0:09:28.480 if you were under five years old, we can say 0:09:28.559 --> 0:09:31.400 just have like one dose, compared to if you're an 0:09:31.400 --> 0:09:35.839 adult of great health and you're not compromised in any way, 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:38.720 you would have what we considered maybe two times the dose. 0:09:38.960 --> 0:09:41.080 But for people who are over sixty five, the amount 0:09:41.240 --> 0:09:44.280 of flu vaccine they're receiving is considered three times the 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:47.000 dose of what a kid would get, right, because a 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:50.640 kid needs much less prompting. Their immune systems are so robust. 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:52.480 It's like, got it, Like if you were trying to 0:09:52.520 --> 0:09:54.160 do a TikTok, I'm gonna need a little bit more 0:09:54.200 --> 0:09:58.560 time to get my TikTok together than somebody who's twelve. Right, 0:09:58.600 --> 0:10:00.560 They're native to that system. They know what to do. 0:10:00.960 --> 0:10:03.360 It's just like a learning curve for your immune system 0:10:03.400 --> 0:10:04.120 as you get older. 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:12.760 So now we know what the immune system is. We 0:10:12.800 --> 0:10:15.520 know that there's some that is innate, so that stuff 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:18.000 that you're born with, and then we know that there's 0:10:18.040 --> 0:10:20.800 some aspects of our immune system that we acquire over 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:25.120 time based on exposure. But where is all of this happening? 0:10:25.280 --> 0:10:27.360 Is there like an immune system Oregon? 0:10:27.679 --> 0:10:30.440 Is it near? My pancreas was just. 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:33.080 One of the one of the only organs I remember 0:10:33.080 --> 0:10:35.880 from biology, like creas kid. 0:10:35.840 --> 0:10:41.680 Me, you're doing good, You're doing good. Stomach, Well, basically 0:10:41.880 --> 0:10:45.160 it's all over. It's not in any one place, so 0:10:45.559 --> 0:10:48.319 in your bones. And I'm not just talking about one bone, 0:10:48.440 --> 0:10:50.960 all your bones. Inside there's bone marrow, which is this 0:10:51.080 --> 0:10:54.120 like spongy kind of stuff. That is the place where 0:10:54.200 --> 0:10:58.200 lymphocytes are made. Lymphocytes are also maturing in the thymus, 0:10:58.240 --> 0:11:00.600 which is if you think about like where your neck 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:03.439 is that butterfly organ over your neck, that's your thyroid 0:11:03.600 --> 0:11:06.960 comes straight down between your lungs and your chest. That's 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:09.800 the thymus, and cells that are part of the immune 0:11:09.800 --> 0:11:12.160 system are maturing right in there. You also have like 0:11:12.200 --> 0:11:13.960 your lymph nods, which are kind of like under your 0:11:14.000 --> 0:11:16.080 arms if you've ever gotten sick and felt like sore 0:11:16.200 --> 0:11:18.679 under your arms or right there under your jawline a 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:21.520 little bit. Yeah, there's even lymphnose right in the groin 0:11:21.640 --> 0:11:24.760 area too. Other areas are like the spleen and even 0:11:24.760 --> 0:11:27.000 your tonsils. I just think of that as like the 0:11:27.040 --> 0:11:28.560 battleground for our immune system. 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:31.760 Really, our tonsils are spleen. What was the other one, 0:11:31.960 --> 0:11:34.920 the lymph nodes, lymph nodes spleen. 0:11:35.360 --> 0:11:36.400 Okay, you're getting it. 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:39.000 I'm following. I'm following. 0:11:39.720 --> 0:11:43.160 Some of the fighters in this army are things like macrifages, 0:11:43.600 --> 0:11:46.960 basa phylls, dendritic cells, or neutrophils, so these are all 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:50.520 fancy names for cells in our body that do different 0:11:50.520 --> 0:11:53.400 things to get rid of the bacteria or viruses or 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:57.679 other foreign invaders. Macrifages are kind of like these big 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:01.280 cells that kind of engulf what i've foreign particle. They 0:12:01.280 --> 0:12:04.040 see the chemicals inside of the macrophage just eat up 0:12:04.120 --> 0:12:06.680 whatever they see, and so that's kind of what a 0:12:06.720 --> 0:12:10.480 macrifage does. Neutrophills are kind of in a similar way 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:11.520 doing that same thing. 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:15.560 Those cell types and neutrophills, basofyls, mass cells, dendritic cells, 0:12:15.840 --> 0:12:18.360 those are all part of our innate immune system, and 0:12:18.440 --> 0:12:20.800 so tt like you mentioned, if things slip past our 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.520 innate immune system, they move on to our second line 0:12:23.520 --> 0:12:25.920 of defense, which is our acquired immune system. 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:30.319 The acquired immune system uses lymphocytes, so those are cells 0:12:30.360 --> 0:12:32.400 that circulate in the blood and are made up of 0:12:32.520 --> 0:12:35.679 T cells and B cells to target specific pathogens. 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:40.400 These cells take longer to develop because their behaviors evolve 0:12:40.920 --> 0:12:44.240 from learned experiences, but they tend to live longer than 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:49.160 innate cells, and the adaptive immune cells remember foreign invaders 0:12:49.320 --> 0:12:52.680 after their first encounter and then fight them off the 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:56.240 next time more easily. So this is really the fundamental 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:58.960 concept and premise for how vaccines work. 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:02.800 For example, yes, remember in the HIV episodes with doctor 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.720 Christine Daniels, we talked about creating that mugshot, and so 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:07.440 your immune system is like I already know who you 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:08.440 are and I know what to do. 0:13:08.520 --> 0:13:08.960 Uh huh. 0:13:09.160 --> 0:13:11.920 That's basically what we're doing when we expose our bodies 0:13:11.920 --> 0:13:14.479 to vaccines, speeding up that learning process. 0:13:14.600 --> 0:13:17.079 So, now that we understand how the immune system works, 0:13:17.440 --> 0:13:19.600 what are some signs we can look for to know 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:20.960 that it's working. 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:23.680 One of the most common misconceptions is that if you 0:13:23.760 --> 0:13:26.840 get quote unquote sick, so like if your nose is running, 0:13:26.920 --> 0:13:29.079 or if you are achey, or if you have a fever, 0:13:29.400 --> 0:13:32.320 that your immune system isn't working. But that's actually a 0:13:32.360 --> 0:13:35.160 sign that it is. Let's take lymph nodes for example. 0:13:35.440 --> 0:13:38.400 Lymph Nodes are tissues that are found all over our bodies, 0:13:38.679 --> 0:13:41.559 and lymph nodes produce white blood cells, and white blood 0:13:41.600 --> 0:13:43.000 cells help fight off infection. 0:13:43.240 --> 0:13:46.160 Lymph Nodes can be found underneath our neck, under our arms, 0:13:46.200 --> 0:13:48.679 near our grain, and literally all over. 0:13:48.960 --> 0:13:51.640 When we actually get sick, then our lymph nodes go 0:13:51.679 --> 0:13:54.880 into action, and that's when they get inflamed, and that's 0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:57.840 when they get bigger. That's evidence that your body is 0:13:57.920 --> 0:13:59.679 doing something to fight off. 0:13:59.720 --> 0:14:03.040 And so when we think about people's response to the 0:14:03.080 --> 0:14:07.079 COVID vaccine and boosters, or even the flu shot, sore arms, fatigue, 0:14:07.440 --> 0:14:09.720 all of that is just a sign that your immune 0:14:09.760 --> 0:14:10.680 system is working. 0:14:10.760 --> 0:14:13.920 You know that the flu shot makes me hurl every 0:14:13.960 --> 0:14:16.960 time I get it. I didn't know that, girl, it 0:14:17.040 --> 0:14:19.280 happened at your house in North Carolina. 0:14:19.920 --> 0:14:20.720 Oh the flu. 0:14:20.560 --> 0:14:22.920 Shot did that to you, haven't. You just had a 0:14:22.960 --> 0:14:24.000 different kind of responding. 0:14:24.080 --> 0:14:26.640 Paint the picture for you. Okay. I was as a 0:14:26.680 --> 0:14:27.480 kid's parents' house. 0:14:27.480 --> 0:14:28.640 Oh, at my parents' house. 0:14:28.960 --> 0:14:29.240 Yes. 0:14:30.000 --> 0:14:32.160 We were hitting golf balls with her dad, and I 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:34.680 had just gotten a flu shot like two days before. 0:14:35.000 --> 0:14:36.760 It was my very first flu shot, so I didn't 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:38.920 know nothing was gonna happen to me. He put lamb 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:42.400 on the grill. We was eating good, okay, hitting golf balls. 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:45.560 Her dad is launching those golf balls into the stratosphere. 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:49.040 And then all of a sudden, I'm like, something is 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:53.200 not right. I start to feel lightheaded, and then I 0:14:53.280 --> 0:14:54.800 say I'm about to throw up. 0:14:54.840 --> 0:14:58.760 I run to the bathroom. I felt awful. 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:00.040 Because we had so much good food that i'll I 0:15:00.120 --> 0:15:01.480 was like, I really hope he doesn't think it was 0:15:01.560 --> 0:15:02.840 his food, because I know it's not his food. 0:15:02.840 --> 0:15:03.840 I don't know what's wrong with me. 0:15:04.120 --> 0:15:06.160 But then I was like, I have to go home, 0:15:06.280 --> 0:15:09.440 and so I drove back to Dorn and then proceeded 0:15:09.520 --> 0:15:12.080 to vomit my life away for the next two days. 0:15:12.160 --> 0:15:13.960 And does this happen every time you get a flu shot? 0:15:14.120 --> 0:15:15.000 Not that extreme. 0:15:15.440 --> 0:15:17.280 So that was my very first flu shot, So it 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:20.040 makes sense based on what you and doctor Gupta have 0:15:20.080 --> 0:15:22.680 been saying about the immune system. My first experience with 0:15:22.720 --> 0:15:26.120 the flu shot, I had a really strong reaction because 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:28.160 my body's like, okay, is how do we get rid 0:15:28.200 --> 0:15:28.400 of this? 0:15:28.600 --> 0:15:29.280 What is this? 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:31.760 This is something new that we've never seen before. But 0:15:31.880 --> 0:15:34.160 now every time I get the flu shot since then, 0:15:34.440 --> 0:15:37.280 I'll get supernaxous. Sometimes I'll throw up. But the last 0:15:37.320 --> 0:15:39.360 time I got it, I just felt a little queasy. 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:42.160 And so mm hmm, I'm guessing this immune system is 0:15:42.160 --> 0:15:43.080 doing what it's supposed to do. 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:44.320 It's given what it's supposed to give. 0:15:44.680 --> 0:15:47.000 Yeah, and if you don't have those symptoms, if you 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:49.720 don't have that ak meester or you didn't really get sick. 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:52.440 It doesn't mean their immune system wasn't working. It just 0:15:52.480 --> 0:15:55.720 means that you can feel your immune system working more 0:15:55.760 --> 0:15:56.720 than maybe somebody else. 0:15:57.080 --> 0:16:00.880 Another example of the immune system working, Baby, you've seen 0:16:00.920 --> 0:16:05.320 me suffer from this is allergies. That's our immune system overreacting. 0:16:05.520 --> 0:16:08.560 Listen, I have allergies, but I have never seen someone 0:16:08.840 --> 0:16:10.800 suffer like my friend. 0:16:10.960 --> 0:16:14.000 Okay, you don't want to be outside with me without 0:16:14.000 --> 0:16:17.520 a Xytec and a flow Naze spray in nostril. 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:21.240 I've got to get my friend inside. She is perishing. 0:16:21.520 --> 0:16:22.440 Every time our. 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:25.120 Immune system all of a sudden looks at a dog 0:16:25.160 --> 0:16:28.480 protein or a cat protein, or you know, dust mighte 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:31.000 and all of a sudden thinks that this is something 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:33.240 that I need to react against, when in fact, it's 0:16:33.280 --> 0:16:36.080 not something that you need to react against. So it 0:16:36.120 --> 0:16:39.160 isn't like the tree because tree protein is actually good. 0:16:39.200 --> 0:16:41.080 It's good for our environment. We need more of it. 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:44.440 But it's that when our body sees it, it's reacting 0:16:44.840 --> 0:16:48.520 in an abnormal way and causing a ripple effect of 0:16:48.560 --> 0:16:52.480 all these chemicals being released, and those chemicals are what 0:16:52.760 --> 0:16:56.440 caused the damage and the inflammation and all the symptoms 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:57.240 that we experience. 0:16:57.400 --> 0:17:00.560 So when we think about how people are treating their allergies, 0:17:00.600 --> 0:17:03.320 a lot of people are taking antihistamines and things like this, 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.320 and what they're doing is actually dampening their immune system. 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:09.280 They're turning that reaction down so that they're not getting 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:13.040 so much of the running nose and the inflammation. Histamines 0:17:13.040 --> 0:17:16.639 are chemicals involved in our immune system, and if you 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:20.440 take benadrill or something like that for allergies, you'll see 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:24.439 the term antihistamine. And what that's doing is you can 0:17:24.480 --> 0:17:26.960 think of it as kind of sequestering those histamines away 0:17:27.040 --> 0:17:29.440 so you don't get those responses like the running nose 0:17:29.480 --> 0:17:33.040 and the itchy eyes and the inflammation that's associated with 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:37.080 our immune systems overreacting to these allergens. Right, So you're 0:17:37.119 --> 0:17:40.439 basically saying, hey, take it easy, all right, it's. 0:17:40.280 --> 0:17:41.679 Holding your immune system back home. 0:17:41.760 --> 0:17:44.560 Me back. Yeah, Yes, that's exactly what it's like. And 0:17:44.600 --> 0:17:47.320 the nice thing is that it's specific to the allergens, 0:17:47.320 --> 0:17:50.120 so it doesn't mean that your immune system is impaired 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:52.640 from protecting you against other things. So that's really nice 0:17:52.640 --> 0:17:55.119 to have that kind of specific targeting for allergies. 0:17:55.560 --> 0:17:58.080 Okay, so let's take a break and when we come back, 0:17:58.119 --> 0:18:00.679 we'll talk all about what happened is when the immune 0:18:00.680 --> 0:18:03.800 system doesn't work and what we can do to strengthen 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:24.359 our immune system. 0:18:24.840 --> 0:18:27.119 We're back and we're talking about the immune system with 0:18:27.160 --> 0:18:29.840 doctor Piel Gupta. Now that we have a better understanding 0:18:29.840 --> 0:18:31.639 of what the immune system does and how it works, 0:18:32.400 --> 0:18:35.840 what happens if it's not working. So what we've learned 0:18:35.880 --> 0:18:38.440 is that there are some immune system disorders and they 0:18:38.480 --> 0:18:41.200 mostly have to do with the immune system operating out 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:45.800 of balance, either underreacting or overreacting to a foreign invader. 0:18:46.119 --> 0:18:50.040 When the immune system is underreacting, it's called an immune deficiency. 0:18:50.480 --> 0:18:53.639 So an immune deficiency is when our body isn't reacting 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:58.560 to viruses, bacteria, fungi, And it can be from the cells, 0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:00.560 you know, all of these different cells, from a part 0:19:00.560 --> 0:19:04.119 of those cells not working properly, or that there aren't 0:19:04.280 --> 0:19:07.399 enough of those cells to help fight infection. So it 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:10.320 can be either the function or it can be the amount. 0:19:10.600 --> 0:19:13.240 And immune deficiency can be primary which means it was 0:19:13.240 --> 0:19:15.800 inherited at birth, or secondary which means it's not an 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:19.120 innate disorder but something that is secondary to another condition 0:19:19.280 --> 0:19:22.360 such as cancer or AIDS, which stands for acquired immune 0:19:22.359 --> 0:19:26.080 deficiency syndrome, and those immune deficiencies can range in severity 0:19:26.200 --> 0:19:26.840 and treatment. 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:31.439 So in those situations, you know, those patients need extra boosters, 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:35.840 they need more antibiotics, they need stronger antibiotics than other people. 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:38.800 If it's a severe immune deficiency, we sometimes have to 0:19:38.840 --> 0:19:42.040 actually replace the bone marrow and that the more severe 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:45.160 ones will show up at birth, and so we actually 0:19:45.240 --> 0:19:48.040 have a screening system to kind of find those immune 0:19:48.080 --> 0:19:51.600 deficiencies very quickly when a baby is born so that 0:19:51.640 --> 0:19:54.080 we can help protect them and take care of them 0:19:54.440 --> 0:19:56.800 and make sure that they don't get that first infection 0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:00.000 that could lead to unfortunate circumstances. 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:02.359 So then what about the other side of the coin 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:06.040