We are talking about hyperglycaemia. It has a huge effect on suppressing your immune system.
Hyperglycemia, an excess of glucose in the bloodstream, often associated with diabetes, is one of the big factors involved in the COVID situation, massively increasing your risk for mortality.
How does high sugar affect your immune system?
Firstly, because high blood sugar inhibits chemotaxis, which is the movement of white blood cells through the body towards where they need to do their work like an infection or a part of the body that’s damaged. It is the movement of white blood cells that is triggered by certain chemicals in the body.
Secondly, we have impaired phagocytosis. Phagocytosis is the mechanism where certain white blood cells will engulf and eat and kill pathogens: viruses, bacteria, fungus and mold. There are two main phagocytes. The neutrophils, which make up 90% of all the pus in your body after an infection. They’re very short-lived. With high sugar you have less neutrophils.
The other phagocytes are the macrophages. They are the big phagocytes they are there to guard to protect you. They will engulf pathogens and eating them up and put them in these little vesicles and dumping acid in there hydrogen peroxide, the main ingredient in Bleach, and that’s how they kill these microbes.
You have less neutrophils, less macrophages and you have less of their weapons. You take down a big part of the body’s army when you have high blood sugar or when you consume a lot of sugar.
Third, you have inhibited complement cascade. Complement cascade is a series of events that occur that will cause the bacterial membrane to burst. Basically it’s a mechanism to help kill bacteria.
Fourth, when you have high levels of sugar in the blood, you develop acidosis. The body’s pH starts to go down making, it is more acidic and that by itself inhibits immunity.
Fifth, it slows the white blood cells moving through the tissues. These white blood cells have the ability to actually go right through your tissues, right through the lymphatic system, through organs, through blood vessels. All that movement is inhibited. It is like having your own army and they had to walk through a huge muddy field and they were getting stuck and they couldn’t move that well. That’s what happens to your immune system.
Sixth, One of the big effects of having high blood sugar is the destruction of the vascular system, especially to the nerves to other parts of the body. With high sugar you’re going to have less oxygen through the body and with that you’re going to have an increase microbes that can live in that environment. They’re called anaerobes. They are pathogens that live in areas that don’t require oxygen such as fungus and candida. This is going to increase the risk for infection, fungal infections, Candida infections, and many other types of pathogens.
Lastly, you’re going to have less of an innate immunity and that’s part of the immune system that is the wall – your the skin and the inner skin and hyperglycemia destroys those barriers so now we don’t have that protection like we did when we were healthy.
If you personally have hyperglycemia and you’re diabetic check out this video Dr. Berg’s Healthy Ketogenic Diet Basics https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMZfyEy_jpI
This post has been condensed from Dr. Berg’s video How sugar, specifically high blood sugar, affects your immune System. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqd-MdtES4s
For more information check out Drs. Stephen Phinney and Jeff Volek on the Basic Science of Ketosis and Keto-Adaptation https://2healthyhabits.wordpress.com/2019/03/15/drs-stephen-phinney-and-jeff-volek-on-the-basic-science-of-ketosis-and-keto-adaptation/
Disclaimer: The content of this email or Post is not intended for the treatment or prevention of disease, nor as a substitute for medical treatment, nor as an alternative to medical advice. Use of recommendations is at the choice and risk of the reader.
I invite you to Follow my Blog, Facebook or be added to my email distribution list. My focus is to maximize my physical performance and mental clarity, body composition, and most importantly overall health with a wholesome diet and exercise.
I will bring you compelling articles on Ketogenic and GAPS diets, the Super Slow High-Intensity Exercise Program and supplements.
To follow my Blog, please click the Follow button to receive an email when the next posting is available. Hint: You may have to click the Accept and Close button before follow is available.
Please let me know you are interested in the Post by clicking Like, Commenting or sending me a message or email about the Post.
If you wish to contact me by Email, please email lpolstra@bell.net using this form.
May you Live Long Healthy.
Yours truly,
Lydia Polstra
2HealthyHabits 