The immune system is amazing and keeping a healthy immune system is absolutely vital as it deals with millions of bacteria and viruses every day to keep us feeling good.  Our immune system has many different parts that work together to keep out harmful bacteria and viruses (germs), and attack and destroy any which manage to get inside your body.

As our body comes into contact with millions of substances each and every day - some good and some bad, it is our immune system that determines which of these items are harmless and which substances pose a threat. However, if our immune system is not acting appropriately, it may attack your own body as if it were the enemy, resulting in a number of symptoms that can lead to illness.

As an example, allergies are caused by the immune system over-reacting to something that is not really a threat, such as eggs or strawberries.  As a result, your body reacts by activating its natural defense mechanism in the form of symptoms such as itching, coughing, wheezing, asthma or other irritations.

Another example of an unhealthy immune system is an under-reaction, or non-reaction when the immune system fails to detect threatening substances altogether and no defense system is activated at all. When the immune system is damaged in this way your body may be subjected to many infections and serious illnesses.  Your body cannot recognize the infection or abnormal cells and the immune system does not destroy them as well as a healthy immune system would.