Immune responses can be depressed by various external influences including emotional stress, physical stressors such as inadequate sleep or athletic over training, environmental and occupational chemical exposure, UV and other types of radiation, common viral or bacterial infections, certain drug therapies, blood transfusions and surgery. Dietary habits also have an impact on immune response. Excessive fat, alcohol or refined sugar consumption or inadequate protein, calorie, vitamin, mineral or water intake fosters decreased immune performance as well. In addition, the biological state of aging counteracts immune function, particularly after age of 40. Chiropractic simply realigns vertebral segments in the spine that may be putting pressure on spinal nerves. It is these nerves, the spinal cord and the brain that help control the immune system.

In 1986 Ronald Pero, Ph.D., chief of cancer prevention research at New York’s Preventive Medical Institute and Professor of Medicine in Environmental Health at New York University, began measuring 107 individuals who had received long term chiropractic care. All chiropractic patients were `genetically normal, " that is, they had no obvious genetic reasons for increased resistance or susceptibility to disease. Any difference, therefore, had to be accounted for by environmental or therapeutic factors. The chiropractic patients also had 200% greater immunocompetence than those who had not received chiropractic care, and 400% greater immunocompetence than those with cancer or other serious diseases. Despite a wide range of ages in this study, immunocompetence did not show any decline with age; it was uniform for the entire group.

Pero concluded that "chiropractic may optimize whatever genetic abilities you have" so that you can fully resist serious disease.

Source: East West Health Magazine, November, 1989.