Recent research shows that the brain, the endocrine glands and the immune system cooperate and share functions. Moreover, the borders that science had delineated between these systems start to blur, bringing opportunities for new understandings of the body’s functioning. Candace Pert insisted in the use of the informatics’ term net to describe these systems, because it encompasses incessant exchange, processing and storage of information. Most substances in charge of transmitting the information are peptides, and recent research has shown they are multifunctional; they accomplish different functions for different systems. For example, the brain produces neuropeptides that are antibacterial precursors; the immune system has perceptual functions, and the endocrine system produces substances that work as neurotransmitters. Initially deemed as exclusive to the nervous system, the neurotransmitters have also been found in the bone marrow, where the immune system cells are produced. The three systems are thus, multifunctional. They form a network that exchanges, stores and passes on information, using peptide molecules as messengers. But, also, our physiology is modulated by emotions. Popular wisdom, which results from observations transmitted from generation to generation, has always correlated emotional stress with vulnerability to illness, and science has proven that our thoughts, mood and emotions influence the functioning of the nervous, endocrine and immune systems. In a nutshell, science is telling us that we can regulate the production and efficiency of our inner messengers (peptides) by adopting healthy lifestyles. It’s telling us to eat healthy, have fun and step up.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:24:47 +0000
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