The liver’s ‘all-points bulletin’ to the immune system
The liver is a ‘‘solid organ’’ that lives just under our rib cage. Through it is a labyrinth of blood vessels, akin to tunnels whose walls have numerous ‘‘windows’’ called fenestrae (from the French for window) through which special microscopic cells, borne by the blood, send messages to nearby liver cells.
These special cells carry critical information of threats to the workings of the mammalian human body. These threats may be toxins, bacterial or viral products, and depending upon which they happen to be, can cause sundry serious diseases, such as cancers and degenerative changes of the brain.
We believe, that in the case of bacteria and viruses, the liver cells are somehow provoked to send an ‘‘all-points bulletin’’ to the body’s immune system, resulting in antibodies that do battle with the specific invader.
It is particularly important to note that specific toxins, notably the products of contaminated water, can close down these important fenestrae, which also tend to reduce in size and number with age.
We suggest that this is precisely why older humans are more susceptible to sundry diseases, some of which can prove fatal. Covid-19 is probably one.
Exhaustive research has established how these windows work and what their function means to us. But, there’s much more work to be done, not least finding a reliable drug or lifestyle that will ‘‘open’’ the fenestrae to the correct size. Too small leads to high cholesterol and cardiovascular disease.
That our drinking water is polluted by nitrates has been widely publicised. That’s bad enough, but noteworthy is the established fact that a metabolite of nitrites (a byproduct) is a sinister chemical called dimethylnitrosamine (DMNA, NDMA) which ‘‘slams the windows shut’’. It does not take much imagination to realise the consequences.
Currently, we are trying to encourage the appropriate agency to test our aquifers for the levels of this noxious toxin. The World Health Organisation has recently published a guideline on the maximum allowable level in drinking water.
The Drinking Water Standard New Zealand is outdated and is to be rewritten.
This is precisely why older humans are more susceptible to sundry diseases. Covid-19 is probably one.