Your Body Was Designed to Heal
“My immune system must be down. That’s why I have a cold.” How often do we say something like this without knowing what the immune system really is? Health educator Barbara O’Neill believes the question matters, because it is important to know something about the house we live in. She calls knowledge of the human body the most important and most neglected form of education.
Her goal, she says, is to help people understand how the body works so they can treat it wisely. Here is her tour of the immune system, from the skin to the blood, along with the simple habits she says help it work at its best. We’d love to invite you to join us for church this Sabbath, where we celebrate health, faith, and fellowship.
Your Body’s Built-In Defences
Barbara explains that the immune system does not begin with white blood cells. It begins with protective barriers.
The Skin
The skin is the first shield. When it breaks, flesh and blood are exposed to microbes in the air and dirt. Her advice is practical: wash a wound, clean it, and bind it until it seals.
Ears, Eyes, and Nose
She points out how well each opening is guarded:
- Ears: Tiny hairs and the eardrum block invaders.
- Eyes: Bones, lashes, and the blink reflex protect the eye. If a bug gets in, a mucus layer carries it to the corner, where it can be flicked away.
- Nose: Hairs and little cavities trap dust. Clean air glides to the lungs, while dusty air ricochets around the nose and drops its dust first.
Barbara stresses that we should breathe through the nose, because the mouth has no hairs to filter air. If someone’s nose is always blocked, she says, the person likely has an allergy. The body makes extra mucus to protect its membranes from a chemical, a mould, or a food. She names the three most common food allergens as today’s hybridized wheat, dairy, and refined sugar.
The Mouth and Stomach
The mouth contains bacteria and mucus that trap pathogens. Farther down, the stomach holds what Barbara calls a major part of the immune system: hydrochloric acid, which can wipe out harmful microbes. She warns that if stomach acid and gut bacteria are both low, pathogens can slip into the blood.
Your Internal Army: The White Blood Cells
Once something reaches the blood, white blood cells take over. Barbara describes them as an internal army. There is about one white blood cell for every 10,000 red blood cells, in five types:
- Neutrophils (about 62%)
- Monocytes (about 18%)
- Lymphocytes (about 16%)
- Basophils (about 2%)
- Eosinophils (about 2%)
Lymphocytes are the scouts. They spot trouble and call in the neutrophils and monocytes, which surround invaders and destroy them with hydrogen peroxide. The white blood cells die in the process.
The Lymphatic System: Your Body’s Vacuum Cleaner
The lymphatic system sweeps waste from the tissues and carries it to the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, and groin, where lymphocytes help deal with it. Unlike blood, it has no pump. Barbara pictures little canals with gates along the way. In the morning the gates are shut. Barbara loves to jump on a rebounder (a small trampoline), which causes the gates to open at the top of each jump and close on landing, creating a pumping action.
You don’t need a rebounder to do that. Start the morning with a minute or two of gentle bouncing, marching in place, or calf raises, and keep the habit going through the day with brisk walks, short movement breaks when you sit for long periods, and a few deep breaths. Swimming, cycling, and stretching all help too, because any movement that works your muscles pushes lymph along. Drinking plenty of water and finishing your shower with a short cold rinse add to the effect.
A Fresh Look at Pus, Coughs, and Colds
Barbara asks readers to rethink common signs of illness:
- Pus is dead white blood cells that gave their lives fighting microbes.
- Green or yellow phlegm in a smoker may not be an infection. It may be the body cleaning up years of damage.
- A cold is not a sign of a weak immune system. It is a “house clean.” Your white blood cell count can almost triple, and every time you blow your nose, you are blowing out waste.
This, she says, is why there will never be a cure for the common cold.
Why Blood Is the Healer
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood." (Leviticus 17:11)
If the body heals itself, Barbara says, the sensible goal is to boost the white blood cells and the blood that carries them. Red blood cells deliver oxygen, nutrients, and water to every cell and carry waste away. That is why blood is called “the life of the flesh.” To keep it in good shape, she recommends:
- Drinking plenty of water
- Aim for a plant-centred diet rich in vegetables, greens, fruits, nuts, grains, and legumes; consider meat a side rather than the main focus.
- Adding green foods such as green barley, spirulina, and wheatgrass
She notes that human blood and plant chlorophyll have a nearly identical structure. The centre of human blood is iron, while the centre of chlorophyll is magnesium. Chlorophyll has a strong cleansing effect on the blood and tissues. Green barley is hard to swallow, but it goes down easier in lemon or grapefruit juice.
The Power of Hot and Cold
Barbara’s favourite way to boost the white blood cells is to raise blood flow by alternating hot and cold water. Her reasoning is simple: blood carries the nutrients, oxygen, and white blood cells your body needs for healing, so anything that gets blood moving gives healing a lift.
Barbara explains that hot water is stimulating at first. After about three minutes, though, blood flow slows and the body relaxes, which anyone who has dozed off in a hot bath will recognize. Cold water also stimulates, but the effect fades faster, after about 30 seconds. The key is to switch before the body settles into that slowed state. The hotter the hot and the colder the cold, the stronger the reaction.
The Whole-Body Method
If you have a shower, bath, or steam sauna, this is the full version:
- Spend about three minutes in hot water, as hot as you can comfortably handle.
- Switch to cold water for about 30 seconds. Make it as cold as you can manage.
- Return to the hot water for three minutes.
- Repeat for about three rounds, roughly 12 minutes in total.
At Misty Mountain Health Retreat, guests use a steam sauna and then dive into a cold creek or take a cold shower for 10 to 15 seconds. They keep the head cool with a wet cloth, since the brain is the part of the body that dislikes heat. For a quicker daily version, Barbara recommends simply ending every hot shower with a short cold rinse.
Adapting the Method to Your Situation
You do not need a bathtub or a mountain stream to benefit from the principle. Barbara says to work with the person’s comfort level, and these options follow the same idea:
- Contrast foot bath: Fill one bucket with hot water and another with ice-cold water. Put your feet in the hot bucket for three minutes, then the cold for 30 seconds, and repeat for three rounds. Keep a kettle nearby to top up the hot bucket as it cools.
- Hands or forearms: Use two basins or large mugs the same way. This works well for a sore hand or finger.
- Shower only: Alternate hot and cold water on your body, or just on your legs, arms, or the sore area.
- Washcloths: Alternate a hot cloth and a cold cloth on a single area, such as a sore shoulder or knee.
- Easing in: Start with warm instead of very hot and cool instead of ice-cold, and build up over days. Test the water on a healthy area first.
- Shorten the times: If three minutes and 30 seconds feels like too much, use shorter rounds and keep the same hot-to-cold pattern.
- Keep the head cool: If you are using a full-body sauna or hot bath, keep a cool cloth on your forehead.
Barbara’s Extra Touch: The Potato Poultice
After hot and cold treatments on a sore or inflamed area, Barbara sometimes applies a grated-potato poultice, which she says reduces inflammation and draws out waste. She recommends repeating the treatment several times a day, and she notes that it works best when you are also well hydrated and eating nourishing food.
Simple Daily Habits for a Stronger Immune System
Barbara says you do not need a retreat to get started:
- End every hot shower with a short cold one. You will get used to it, and it will not make you cold.
- Jumping jacks, bounce, or march each morning to start the lymphatic system.
- Exercise daily. Barbara runs up a hill near the retreat, then jumps into a cold creek for a few seconds.
- Drink plenty of water and eat a plant-based diet.
- Keep your body clock steady. Light and dark signals set your circadian rhythm. She says the hormones for rest, healing, and “house cleaning” are released between about 9:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m., and that blue light from phones at night is especially unhelpful.
Allergies, Eosinophils, and Gluten
Barbara takes a special interest in eosinophils, white blood cells that rise with allergies. At the retreat, she examines a drop of blood under a dark-field microscope, where eosinophils light up “like a little light on a Christmas tree.” A normal drop shows about two. In her experience, five or six suggest gluten sensitivity, about ten suggest intolerance, and 16 to 18 suggest celiac disease.
Her suggestion for anyone who suspects a problem is to stop all wheat for two months and see how you feel. A slice of bread leaves the body in 24 hours, but its effects can last nearly two months. She advises stocking the kitchen first, with gluten-free pasta, rice noodles, or spelt sourdough. After two months, try a slice of bread and watch for a reaction. She says the most common symptoms are brain fog and bloating, which many people blame on age.
The Flu Bomb
For colds and flu, Barbara shares a recipe she calls the flu bomb. She says that taken three times a day, it will shorten a cold.
Ingredients
- Garlic: 1 crushed or minced garlic clove (or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon grated)
- Ginger: 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- Cayenne Pepper: 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Lemon: Juice of 1 fresh lemon (or 1/2 lemon)
- Honey: 1 teaspoon raw, unfiltered honey (or maple syrup)
- Essential Oil (Optional): 1 drop of food-grade eucalyptus, oregano, or tea tree oil
Preparation & Dosage
- Mix: Combine the crushed garlic, grated ginger, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, honey, and optional food-grade essential oil in a small jar or mug.
- Add Water: Pour in about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of hot or warm water and stir well.
- Dosage: Drink this mixture three times a day for roughly 2 to 3 days.
The Big Idea
Barbara’s message is hopeful. Give the body water, movement, good food, rest, and a little hot and cold, she says, and it will do the work it was designed to do.
Source Attribution: This article is a written adaptation of a video presentation by Alternative Health Practitioner and Health Educator Barbara O'Neill, titled "Empowering the Immune System."
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