Immunity & the Gut
Kombucha is a naturally fermented beverage
Experts in the field of immunity/ autoimmunity are now suggesting that every chronic, degenerative disease has an autoimmune component and the body's immune system is primarily located in the gut.
This shouldn’t surprise us considering that our gut is exposed to the vast majority of bacteria, viruses, toxins or allergens that enter our body. Our gut walls contain the largest network of lymph nodes which produce white-blood cells in response to foreign invaders. Our gut also contains most of the 100 trillion microbes found in and on our bodies (10x more than the number of cells making up our entire body). These microbes can be good or bad. They can help break our food down into essential nutrients that nourish the gut lining and thereby our entire body; or they can break our food down into toxins which erode the gut lining and inhibit proper nutrient absorption.
The key is maintaining a healthy balance of more than 85% good microbes, which is dependent on 2 primary strategies:
Need help putting these strategies into action? Schedule a nutrition appointment with our doctors today
This shouldn’t surprise us considering that our gut is exposed to the vast majority of bacteria, viruses, toxins or allergens that enter our body. Our gut walls contain the largest network of lymph nodes which produce white-blood cells in response to foreign invaders. Our gut also contains most of the 100 trillion microbes found in and on our bodies (10x more than the number of cells making up our entire body). These microbes can be good or bad. They can help break our food down into essential nutrients that nourish the gut lining and thereby our entire body; or they can break our food down into toxins which erode the gut lining and inhibit proper nutrient absorption.
The key is maintaining a healthy balance of more than 85% good microbes, which is dependent on 2 primary strategies:
- Eat foods that are more likely to feed the good bacteria (veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, meats & eggs) while reducing consumption of foods that are more likely to feed the bad bacteria (grains, sugars, and industrial oils - i.e. breads, crackers, cookies, chips, cereals, cakes, sodas, sugary desserts, granola, corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, "vegetable oil" and margarine).
- Eat high-quality, raw, fermented foods that contain large amounts of good bacteria (probiotics) such as sour kraut, other fermented veggies, yogurt, kefir, kimchi, natto and miso. These are just a few of the readily-available options, but virtually anything can be fermented and foods can contain a potent 1-10 trillion probiotics per 1/2 cup serving.
Need help putting these strategies into action? Schedule a nutrition appointment with our doctors today
