The surprising link between gut health and immunity

Gut HealthAutoimmune disease and inflammation

3 Jan

Did you know that 70% of your immune system is contained in your gut wall?

And that a healthy gut microbiome actually trains your immune cells - affecting your future risk of allergy, autoimmune disease and even how much 'immunity' you have to infections?!

Gut associated lymphoid tissue (or GALT) is a vital part of the immune system that lines our intestines, we actually have more immune cells there (70%) than anywhere else in our body!!

And our immune system is constantly in a fine balance balance between fighting off infections, but not reacting to other 'foreign' molecules ie food - going too much either way is not good:

✔️If our immune system is over active, we develop allergy and autoimmune disease

✔️If its underactive, we get sick easily

Our gut microbiome (the bacteria that live in our gut) actually help to 'teach' our immune system how to behave - they program immune cells to develop, identify invaders, send immune cells to the right place, and even improve their ability to work well!!

They also help decide whether foods and other allergens are harmful (ie make us allergic to them) or not

Scientists have been able to predict a babies chance of developing asthma, at just a month old, purely from looking at their gut microbiome 😳 Certain gut microbes present in the gut at a month of age, were found to triple the risk of a baby developing allergies by age 2, and asthma by age 4.

Fun fact - studies where scientists transplanted poo from children with asthma into the gut it mice (a faecal transplant), made previously healthy mice become asthmatic, purely from altering their gut microbiome!!!

A healthy gut, means a healthy immune system, that defends us from threats and prevents cancer, but does not attack our own body, ie an immune system that's ‘in balance ‘

And research looking at the gut microbiome in Covid-19, has linked 'dysbiosis' (an imbalance of good and bad bacteria) with a higher risk of long covid, and more severe covid infection.

Fortunately, science also clearly shows that improving the health of our gut microbiome, revolves mostly around some simple strategies, as follows:

✔️Eat whole foods, mostly plants

✔️Maximise both the amount of fibre you eat, as well as the diversity of fibre (aiming for 30+ different plant foods per week is a great guide)

✔️Limit red and processed meat, foods high in saturated fat and added sugar, and dietary emulsifiers (all known to negatively affect the gut microbiome)

✔️Aim to eat a variety of different coloured plant foods (these contain compounds called polyphenols, which help our gut microbiome)

✔️Include fermented foods and prebiotic foods on a daily basis if possible

✔️Try eat within a 10-12 hour window each day (this gives the gut a chance to rest and repair and improves gut microbiome diversity)

✔️Limit alcohol and avoid tobacco

✔️Avoid unnecessary antibiotics and household /personal disinfectant products

✔️Move your body daily in a way you enjoy (exercise helps improve our gut microbiome)

✔️Try find ways to manage and reduce stress (chronic uncontrolled stress negatively impacts gut microbiome)

✔️Aim to get 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night

All the things that help overall health and happiness too!

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2016/09/404071/newborn-gut-microbiome-predicts-later-allergy-and-asthma-study-finds

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5555614/

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-017-02573-2