Boost Your Immune System - Your Gut Microbiome
Your immune system is weaponized for war. Even scientists recognize its power, naming some ‘Natural Killer (NK)’ cells'. Your immune system isn’t static. It’s always changing - responding to invaders like bacteria and viruses by developing antibioties and responding to the foods we eat, stress and exposure to pollution. Scientists have proven that your immune system isn’t fixed. You can beef up your immune system!
Let’s start with the not-so-obvious - your gut microbiome. It sounds strange, but new research on the importance of the organisms in your intestines, what scientists call your gut microbiome, is all the rage right now. There are more good bacteria in your gut than cells in your body. Conceptually, scientists are viewing these microbes as a newly discovered organ. There are some organs we can live without like our spleen, gall bladder, tonsils and appendix, but we won’t survive long without our gut microbes. And what we are learning about the importance of your good bacteria is amazing. Your good bacteria in your gut produce chemicals that enhance your immune system, send chemicals that destroy toxins, and can fight in hand-to-hand combat some bad guy bacteria and viruses. Replenishing good bacteria through probiotics and nourishing your gut microbiome with foods they love (not like chips and more like flax seeds) is essential to your immunity. No two people have the same diverse community of gut microbes - we are all unique. (Maybe not cool enough to share at a party, but still super interesting.) According to research, the richer and more diverse the community of gut microbes are, the lower your risk of disease and allergies. This has been shown in animal tests and also in human studies comparing the microbes of people with and without particular diseases. Examples from recent work at King’s College London include studies of diabetes, obesity, allergy and inflammatory diseases like colitis and arthritis. So think of your gut microbiome as a terrarium - the more diverse, the more robust it is.
Essentials to Boost Your Gut Microbiome
Eat foods rich in fiber. Try for 40g per day. Whole grains like chia seeds, flax seeds, beans are great sources that bacteria love to chew on. Our Boosts are loaded with fiber-density for this reason.
Eat lots of fruits and veggies. Each species of bacteria like to eat different types of foods so the variety of fruits and veggies may be just as important as the quantity. Go for foods with deep, different colors - blueberries, beets, oranges, melons, apples, spinach, broccoli and spices like basil, parsley, oregano.
Choose food and drinks with high levels of polyphenols. Polyphenols are antioxidants that act as fuel for microbes. Examples are nuts, seeds, berries, olive oil, coffee and tea – especially spices. Most spices have the highest concentration of polyphenols per gram compared to other foods. And they are nutrient dense meaning they have a vast amount of nutrition per calorie.
Avoid snacking / Fasting. Digesting food is hard, exhausting work for your gut microbiome, so give your gut a rest. Increase intervals between meals to give your microbes a rest. Occasionally skip meals or extend the time from your evening meal to the morning. I’ve been doing a 14-16 hour fast (last meal at 6p and eat again at 8-10a) and I feel much, much better.
Eat plenty of fermented foods containing live microbes. Okay, it might seem weird, but you need to eat live microbes. If you are taking a probiotic, eating yogurt, then you are doing it anyhow. But try others like kefir, kimchi, raw sauerkraut, kombucha, miso.
Avoid artificial stuff. Okay, so there are some things that your microbiome. doesn’t like - artificial sweeteners, colors, and other non-natural things that it simply doesn’t know what to do with or worse is harmful. Vitamin supplements aren’t necessarily harmful, but studies show that your microbiome doesn’t entirely absorb all of the synthetic vitamins and minerals. Full disclosure - I take a supplement as an insurance policy =for my immune system, but it’s a whole food (contains crushed fruits and veggies for the most part) and focus mostly on eating the foods to boost my immune system.