October 2025

Immune Resilience

• Ecological Immunity
• Snot – Your Immune System Superpower
• Rethinking Fever Beyond Suppresants
• Immune Resilience – Practical Tips

Between the fall equinox and winter solstice, we see a rapid increase in colds, flu, and COVID cases. However, not everybody get sick, some people with a resilent immune system never “catch” a cold even if everybody around them is sick. What is their secret?

Ecological Immunity

Immune resilience also means that the immune system recognises when an infection is resolved and can reverse the inflammatory response. An overactive immune system will feed an underlying inflammatory fire that will drain the body’s resources and damage tissue.

Lastly, immune resilience also means that the intensity of response equals the intensity of threat. You don’t want your immune system launching a full system inflammatory response to a small thorn on the tip of your finger.

Your body is an ecology.

I like to think of the body as being like the planet Earth. Some organs or systems are damp and hot like the rain forest, while others are cold and dry like the North Pole. Different weather patterns mean different flora and fauna. The white bears of the North are very different from the snakes and scorpions that survive in the desert.

In the body, the different qualities of the various ecologies manifest in temperature, humidity, and PH. These variations happen even between different organs of the same system. For example, in the digestive system, the stomach is hot, wet, and has a very low PH 1.5-3.5, which means that most bacteria can’t survive there. The small intestines are still hot and damp, but the PH is slightly more welcoming to bacteria, especially as you get closer to the colon. The colon is much drier as much of the fluids mixed with your food are absorbed back into the body. The PH in the colon is 5.5-7.5, much more friendly to bacteria.

The body naturally creates these different environments if it gets the necessary nutrients. My perception of nutrients is much broader than that of most people.

Nutrient dense diet

A nutrient-dense diet provides the body with what it needs to produce energy in its cells + the nutrients it needs to make all enzymes, hormones, and messengers needed for smooth functioning.

Sleep

High quality sleep and rest are crucial for preventing inflammation. You will need 7-8 hours of sleep at night. Insomnia promotes low simmering inflammation that messes with your immune system.

Stress management

Stress shifts your body from the parasympathetic nervous system to the sympathetic nervous system. Your immune system is part of the parasympathetic nervous system, which means that when you are stressed, it gets fewer nutrients.

Movement

Movement is crucial to creating a healthy ecology since movement moves the lymphatic fluids, your police and garbage truck. A clean environment is a healthy one. Blood and lymph flow are stimulated when you move, carrying more nutrients and oxygen to cells and removing more waste.

The blood and lymph also host all your immune cells. An efficient flow means a functional immune system.

The immune system’s tiny helpers

The various ecological environments in the body mean that different types of critters live in each of these ecologies. The most well-known critters are the gut microbiome, but your body is covered with bacteria, viruses, and fungi, top to bottom and in and out.

Your little helpers support your immune system:

• They bought all the real estate in your body and are not willing to share with squatters. They prevent pathogens from binding to your tissue and causing harm.
• Your friendly biome competes with invaders for food, leaving them to starve.
• They produce short-chain fatty acids that are vital in regulating the immune system.
• These critters love to munch on mucus. They trigger the body to produce fresh mucus constantly. (More on the superpower of mucus next post)
• They even release these toxins that kill invaders and directly protect you from disease.

By being foreigners in the land, they keep your immune system suspicious and ready to attack.

The old friend theory

Our relationship with the old friends, the critters that live in and on our bodies, is as old as our bodies. They came up from the primordial swamp with us; we have lived together in mutual understanding since then. We provide food and a welcoming environment while they provide their services.

Studies found that when we neglect to engage with our old friends, our immune system loses functionality. People who are not exposed to microorganisms tend to develop immune dysregulation. Their immune system is much more reactive, and their risk of autoimmune disease is much higher.  

How to support your old friends?

To support your old friends, you want to increase your exposure to microorganisms, feed them, and stop fighting them.

Increasing your exposure.

My teacher, Thomas Easley, likes to tell this story about a magical land that used to be, but not anymore. The backyard where children used to play and dig their hands in the soil.

• Spending time in nature
• Gardening
• Caring for plants and pets

These activities will expose you to microorganisms and improve the resilience of your immune system.

Feed your critters.

You are not eating just for one being but for billions. I don’t mean increase your caloric intake, but think beyond nutrients for yourself.

Microorganisms love fiber, both soluble and insoluble. Fiber is found in vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts, and whole grains.

Stop fighting them.

The germ theory assumes that since germs are present in diseases, they must be the cause of the disease. An alternative theory developed around the same time, but didn’t get the same PR, is the terrain theory.

According to the terrain theory, changes in the body’s ecology lead to changes in the critters that live in it. When your terrain is off, so are its inhibitors, leading to a disease.

A good example is a swamp infested with mosquitoes. It wasn’t the mosquitoes who created the swamp, but rather the swamp that “invited” the mosquitoes.

Microorganisms are not our enemies. There is a place for antibiotic but we mostly use it much more than we need too. And don’t start me writing about hand sanitizer because that could be a whole post.

The immune system is what makes us an ecology within the wider ecology. Our inner ecology health is as good as the health of the environment where we live.

If it sounds daunting, it is because it is.