There is no Immune "System", pt 2

I've heard a few people who read my original blog post about this idea have said it's "crazy".

The original post (with credit to Doug Graham):
https://davewavehealthway.blogspot.com/2020/01/there-is-no-such-thing-as-immune-system.html

I can certainly understand why people will think that, but they may not be getting the point. No immune system does not mean there is no immune function, because there definitely is immune function...we can't last long without it. The point is there is no separate and distinct anatomical immune "system" in the way all the other anatomical "systems" are seen and identified. The respiratory system, yep it's the lungs primarily. The nervous system, yep the vast network of nerves and brain. The digestive system, the mouth, stomach and colon. And so on.

There is no separate immune "system" because pretty much any function of the body one can think of contributes to "immune function" in some way. The only immune system is the whole body. So, no separate "system". "System", as in the separate anatomical sense, is a misnomer in this case. My guess is it was a name given before it was well understood, and the name stuck. The proper name, if there is ever going to be one, IMHO would be "immune function".

And immune function would be very similar to the concept of "biologic age" (as opposed to chronologic age). There would be countless ways to estimate biological age. We see 60 year olds that look like 80 year olds, and 80 year olds that look like 60, so that simple measure is a reasonable start. And there are  more precise measures, length of telomeres for example.

There are some common sense ways to stay younger for longer: don't become an acute alcoholic that smokes like a chimney. Eat food, mostly plants, not too much. Get adequate sleep, reduce stress where possible, and remain physically active.

Once length of telomeres were identified as a correlate to biologic age science has begun slicing and dicing potential measures for biologic health in a zillion ways as they approach better understandings of biologic mechanisms (which are exceedingly complex).

But you don't have to wait, it could take decades of research. Even then, the idea we will be able to take a drug that will confer improved biologic age?

What is a drug anyway? It's a laboratory substance so concentrated it can fit into to a pill...with side effects.

Why do all drugs have side effects? Because we did not evolve over millions of years into the super strong species we are by taking drugs.

Why do some drugs "intoxicate", and make us feel better in the short term? Because they are (in) "toxic", ie some level of poison that induces an "altered state".

Are altered states good for us? Maybe, depending on which altered state we're talking about. Sleep is an altered state, but it de-intoxicates us. Meditation is an altered state, but it also "de-intoxicates" us.

The body is a highly complex "de-intoxication machine", a universe onto itself. De-intoxication is what it does 24/7/365. It is our "immune system", always vectoring toward health, in a process that continues until we take our last breath.

The "big secret" to good health? Don't fight immune function, support it in every way you already know how to do, and keep learning how to do it better.