Aflevering 13: Guess What? Tattoos May Actually Be Good For Your Health.

According to new research, your body benefits from getting tattooed but only when you get more than one. Scientists from the University of Alabama followed people who got tattooed. According to Science Alert the strengthening of your immune system works in the same way as strength training for your muscles. Compare it to sports, initially you 'break down' your muscles, after which they recover and become stronger. The more you exercise, the stronger your muscles will eventually get. This also applies to getting a tattoo (a stressful situation with elevated cortisol levels) and your immune system. They measured the content of immunoglobulin A in their blood, which protects the body from invading organisms, and cortisol, which is secreted when the body wants to defend itself. Measurements showed the content immunoglobulin A to have significantly decreased in people who where tattooed for the first time, while their cortisol levels increased. The body then began to defend and took on the fight against the foreign ink invading the classic immune system. In people who already had tattoos, the fall and rise were significantly less - so the classic immune system, took on a larger share of the fight. When getting multiple tattoos, the body gets used to the outside influences, but then returns to its former state. According to researchers, this is why the immune system will strengthen when you decide to get multiple tattoos, but unfortunately this theory does not hold up when you're just getting one.