Picture Frenchman, Charles Blondin, crossing the Niagara Falls for the first time in 1859. Above the powerful surging water, he crossed with nothing but his own two feet walking on a 3-inch hemp cord. It is estimated that Blondin made over 300 crossings. And each time, he did something additionally daring, like doing it blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow, walking on stilts, riding a bicycle, and standing on a chair with only one of its legs balanced on the rope—just because he could.
Philippe Petit also possessed incredible balance. In 1974, he walked a one-inch-thick cable between the newly erected Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. He prepared and planned for this venture for nearly six years. During that time he had to learn everything he could about the buildings, their construction, and how to accommodate such issues as the swaying of the high towers due to wind (which was part of their design). How do these balance geniuses do it? In the book, The Man Who Walked Between the Towers, the author explained, “Petit looked not at the towers, but at the space between them.”
The space between. That intrigues me and I want to apply it to our immune system. While it may not have as immediate life or death effects as walking a tight rope, balance of the immune system is so critical to health. And just like the tight rope, it doesn’t matter which way we fall—they’re all bad.
Now remember, our immune system is like our body’s military. It defends and protects us from self-generated enemies, or those that invade. Like the military, our immune system is highly armed and highly organized. It has different branches with unique responsibilities.
When our immune system is balanced, we flourish. When it becomes imbalanced, we start seeing disease and conditions. Imbalanced immune function can lead to numerous autoimmune conditions such as multiple sclerosis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, type-1 diabetes, Hashimoto’s and Grave’s disease, etc. That’s imbalance. Imbalance is also manifest in other directions, though, and can appear as allergies, Crohn’s disease, psoriasis, or cancer. Our immune system is intimately connected to every facet of who we are.
We want to blame many of our health conditions on a bad guy out there that has invaded and hurt us, but so often, it is our own immune system that turns against us, either over-reacting, shooting “friendly fire,” or sleeping on the job. A diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis or Lupus often leads to the question, What medicine can I take to treat these conditions? However, another question I think is worth our focus is, How can I promote a balanced immune response from a healthy, balanced immune system?
Our immune system has multiple roles, though a very important responsibility it bears is to recognize danger and then accurately extinguish it. A healthy immune system distinguishes self from enemy, and takes care of threats. We want a discerning defense system that adapts itself to fit our needs at every stage of life.
The immune system consists of a lot of moving parts. I find it so complicated. But the key is for these moving parts to work in synchrony, each performing its part well. The immune system is constantly receiving information about the internal and external environment and responding to it. There’s never a dull moment. Like any well-ordered military unit, it must go through rigorous training throughout its tenure. And guess where the largest military academy resides? In the gut! In fact, over 70% of the immune system is said to reside in the gut. Here it obtains the essential training to be able to decipher friend from foe. Communication with the gut provides a lot of engaged crosstalk that is “capable of shaping the systemic immune response of the individual.”1
We will pick it up from here, next month.
