How Does the Body Fight Germs and Viruses?

How do your cells respond when they are presented with a germ, virus or other microscopic organism?

When one of these bad guys enters the body, it sends up a red flag causing certain cells in the body to wage war against the intruder. The first soldiers that are sent out are neutrophils or specialized white blood cells. They basically eat up the enemy. But if these neutrophils aren't saturated with Vitamin C, they have a difficult time maneuvering in the body and doing their job. If they are saturated with Vitamin C it increases their mobility and allows them to attack the intruding germs with more ease and at a greater speed.

Lymphocytes are another special kind of white blood cell important in the body's immune system and having plenty of Vitamin C also steps up their production levels adding more fighting power to the body's defense system.

But how do these soldiers know where to go to fight the enemy? The body produces a chemical distress signal, and much like a trained police dog tracks the scent of a bad guy, these neutrophils and lymphocytes follow the scent of the distress signal.

One thing that hinders their ability to do their job is that once they receive this distress signal, they may not receive it a second time if another attack is made on the body. They kind of become deactivated. The good news is, if the cells are saturated with Vitamin C, they are able to "hear" the second distress signal and will move on it. But cells that are Vitamin C deficient will not respond to a second call to action. This is often the reason that our bodies just don't fight off germs and invasions the way they should. Our little soldiers don't have the necessary equipment or ability to attack and win the battle.

We know it's important to take plenty of Vitamin C during cold and flu season, or during stressful times to keep our defense system up, but we need to keep the cells full of Vitamin C at all times so they can go to work any time a foreign invader attacks the system.

Vitamin C is the most unique nutrient the body requires because it affects every single cell in the body and plays some part in the role of every bodily function. It's not only important to the immune system, but for the production of collagen which keeps our skin healthy, it's important for digestion, wound healing and fighting stress related effects on the body. No other vitamin is as important to every function in the body as Vitamin C.

You can see why getting plenty of this nutrient is important year round.