| Description |
xiv, 317 pages : illustrations ; 22 cm |
| Contents |
1. A System Out of Balance -- 2. Basic Immunology -- 3. Checks and Balances -- 4. The Heart of Darkness: Why Did the Immune System Evolve? -- 5. Emergence of an Autonomous Immune System -- 6. Autoimmunity: The Curse of Immunological Intolerance -- 7. Immunity under Stress -- 8. Mind, Brain, and Body -- 9. Chemicals that Poison Immunity -- 10. Cancer and the Immune System -- 11. Motherhood and Immunity -- 12. Ultraviolet Light and Skin Immunity -- 13. HIV: The Scourge of Immunity -- 14. Unanticipated Features -- 15. Building on Natural Immunity: The Vaccine Story -- 16. The Tao of the Immune System |
| Summary |
Cancer, heart disease, AIDS, arthritis, diabetes, Epstein-Barr virus, asthma, hepatitis, lupus, meningitis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatic fever, allergies, and reactions to implants and organ transplants are just some of the life-threatening and debilitating diseases and reactions that Dr. Lappe covers in his encompassing new theory. He moreover shows a link between impaired immunity and the ultraviolet radiation and chemicals invading our environment, as well as to the stresses that make up modern life |
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Dr. Marc Lappe crafts a radical new theory of immunity that stresses the concept of balance, and is remarkable for accommodating both Eastern and Western thought. Embracing the sense of harmony found in the Tao Te Ching, he asserts that the best possible immune system is neither hyperaggressive nor hypervigilant, since that type of system's overreactions can ravage healthy organs and cells along with the weak. He laments that scientists' Western bias of seeing the immune system solely as a destroyer and an attacker has led to the prevailing Maginot Line mentality that prevents us from dealing more knowledgeably and effectively with a wide range of devastating disease. The most desirable type of immune system is not highly reactive, but moderate and balanced |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 277-295) and index |
| Subject |
Immune system.
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Immunology -- Philosophy.
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Autoimmunity.
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Immune System.
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Immunity.
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| LC no. |
97009707 |
| ISBN |
0306456265 |
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