Immune Matters

Over thousands of years, our immune systems evolved to protect us from the danger posed by viruses and bacteria. But modern stressors—think environmental pollutants, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and chronic stress—can scramble the body’s finely tuned defences. The result? An immune system in overdrive or one that can potentially misfire, setting the stage for inflammation and autoimmune disease. Carefully supporting our immune health can help mitigate these risks and keep us in balance.

All about the immune system

There is no single organ of the immune system. Rather, it comprises multiple components, including the brain, blood, skin, and lymph and digestive systems, all of which work to keep your body healthy and free of infections and disease.

Some of these systems form part of what is called the innate immune system, which consists of elements such as skin and mucosal tissues that everybody is born with. Other components—including certain white blood cells and the antibodies they help produce—are part of what is called the adaptive immune system, which develops over time in response to exposure and vaccines.

“Think of the immune system like your body’s security and sanitation team,” says Laura Nicholas, ND, owner of Luna Health Clinic in Vancouver, BC. A healthy immune system works to detect pathogens, differentiate benign and genuine threats, clear infections, prevent overreactions to food and allergens, and survey for abnormal or cancerous cells.

An evolutionary mismatch

Our modern lifestyles pose new challenges to our immune system. Humans evolved in rural environments with diverse microbes, minimal chemicals, and less acute stressors.

In today’s largely urban and highly sanitary environments, we encounter far fewer dangerous pathogens, thanks in part to vaccinations against some of the riskiest ones. With fewer serious threats to manage, our immune system can start to react to harmless triggers. This misguided redirection can result in allergies and autoimmune diseases, conditions that occur when the immune system overreacts to external substances or mistakenly attacks the body’s own tissues.

Increased exposure to chronic stress also shifts our immune cell function, potentially leading to the development or exacerbation of autoimmune diseases in individuals who are already genetically predisposed. Viruses, including COVID-19, can also trigger the development of autoimmune diseases in susceptible populations, as can exposure to air pollution and toxic chemicals—many of which lurk in everyday products.

The risks of dysregulation

A range of cascading effects can occur when our immune system is thrown off. In addition to autoimmune diseases (such as Type 1 diabetes and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) and allergies, immune dysregulation can impair fertility, increase cancer risk, and drive chronic inflammation.

And some populations are more vulnerable to immune dysfunction than others. Briana Takeshita, ND, a pediatric specialist at Luna Health Clinic, says that children are uniquely sensitive to environmental toxins that drive immune disorders, given their undeveloped immune pathways and relatively smaller size. “The impacts of these exposures can persist across a lifetime,” she says. “Minimizing them is essential for supporting healthy immune function and long-term resilience.”

Women, too, are at higher risk: they have a fourfold greater risk of autoimmune disease compared to men, potentially due to a molecule made by X chromosomes in female cells.

Restoring harmony

While it’s impossible to fully eliminate the chances of developing allergies or autoimmune diseases, there are practical steps you can take to reduce your exposure to toxins and keep your immune system balanced.

Nicholas advises to start with products that go in and on our bodies. Wherever possible, choose organic foods, filtered water, and organic tampons. Indoor air quality can be improved by using a HEPA filter. Then, upgrade your cosmetic and cleaning products to reduce exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

And finally, Nicholas recommends getting back to the basics. Reducing stress, getting enough sleep, and eating a colourful, veggie-filled Mediterranean-style diet are all time-tested ways to keep the immune system in balance for years to come.

This article was originally published in the April 2026 issue of alive magazine.