The Connection between Our Immune System and The Gut
It is becoming common knowledge in scientific circles that our gut, our "second brain," has a symbiotic relationship with almost every other system in our body.
“All Disease Begins in the Gut”
How right he was about 2500 years ago! The evidence is strong that many chronic diseases and the health of our immune system connect to the health of our gut.
Welcome to the strong relationship between our microbiome in our gut and other body systems, especially our immune system.
The living microbiota within your gut has a direct effect on your Immune System. There are many communications between the gut and other body tissues, including those in the brain. When digestion is impaired, it impacts all the systems in your body, not only the digestive system.
Your gut bacteria and the integrity of your gut lining strongly affect your health. (1)
You may eat a nutritionally dense diet, exercise daily, keep stress under control, and get enough sleep, but if your gut is out of balance, you're not going to feel or be your best self.
Scientists are finding that our gut microbiome is key to our body's immune system response. The data shows that gut microbes work together to let the body know when immune system defenses are needed. (2)
A healthy gut is a key to overall health and wellness.
The organs of the digestive system (stomach, liver, pancreas, gallbladder, small and large intestine), along with your gut flora, perform a beautiful symphony with nerves, hormones, bacteria, and blood to keep you healthy, balance hormones, and keep you feeling your best.
Why so much talk about the microbiome?
Photo Credit: Genetic Literacy Project - Gut Microbes
Gut flora is essential bacteria that live in your Gastrointestinal tract (GI) and are vital for everything from metabolism to how your body absorbs nutrients. Your body is home to about 100 trillion bacteria and other microbes, collectively known as your microbiome. The microbiome helps digest and absorb the food you eat correctly. It helps regulate hormones, eliminate toxins, utilize vitamins and other nutrients to keep your gut and body healthy and happy. This fantastic ecosystem of friendly bacteria needs to be in balance to perform their critically vital work.
The Immune System Gut Connection
The digestive system is responsible for breaking down all the food you eat into its smallest molecules to deliver vitamins, minerals, fats, amino acids, and glucose to the bloodstream to nourish and fuel your body and brain. If not, these undigested particles may damage the mucosal layer of the intestinal wall, making it difficult to absorb the nutrients you need, leading to nutrient deficiencies.
A healthy microbiome living within the cell lining should protect the integrity of the tight junctions within the small intestine. These tight junctions safeguard your immune system and other body cells from pathogens and antigens. If the tight junctions are not intact, it can lead to nutritional deficiencies and malabsorption, leading to an overactive immune system, triggering inflammation and becoming systemic. When improperly broken down, food particles break through this gut lining, creating intestinal permeability (known as a leaky gut syndrome) and enter the bloodstream; it weakens the immune system and overall health. (3)
Pathogens and Antigens that survive digestion in the stomach then enter mucosal lining in the gut where 70%- 80% of the cells of the entire immune system live. Our immune system is brilliant at looking for these pathogens, antigens, and allergens and mounting an attack.
White Blood Cells work with a healthy immune system to get rid of the Pathogen or Antigen. Therefore protecting the integrity of our gut is critical to a healthy immune system.
A breakdown in our intestinal lining not only makes it challenging to digest nutrients from your food —it can cause significant food sensitivities, worsen allergies, skin conditions, and lead to autoimmune disease.
Gut microbiota alterations due to unhealthy lifestyle factors and dietary triggers may contribute to inflammation, intestinal permeability, immune system dysfunction, and the pathogens that contribute to a broad spectrum of chronic diseases. Healthy lifestyle factors, including a diversified diet, limited consumption of processed and refined foods, elimination of hydrogenated oils, added sugars, and consumption of adequate dietary fiber, may all promote a healthy microbiome. (4)
Other contributors to Intestinal Permeability are:
Antibiotic use
High Alcohol Consumption
Imbalance in the digestive system
Chronic Stress
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)
Lack of breast-feeding during infancy (5)
When the gut is inflamed, it does not secrete digestive enzymes to digest foods or absorb nutrients and foods properly. You can aid in your healing process by supplementing with digestive enzymes that will help break down proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. Digestive Enzymes help break down these foods into essential compounds to help prevent inflammation and an inflammatory immune reaction—supplements like Digestive Enzymes, Bile Salts, and Hydrochloric Acid.
Best Ways to Support your Gut and Immune System Daily
Get Quality and Adequate Sleep (sleep deprivation will deplete healthy bacteria populations in the gut.)
Eat various nutrient-dense foods at each meal, including - Protein from meat, fish, eggs, green leafy vegetables, and healthy fats like Olive Oil, Avocado, Avocado oil, Fatty Fish, Olives, and even real butter.
Avoid all processed foods, high-glucose spiking carbohydrates like- bread, pasta, and sweet treats.
Avoid Inflammatory Oils - Canola, Soybean, Safflower, Sunflower, Cottonseed, Vegetable, Rice Bran, and Corn - the body sees these as foreign invaders and triggers an immediate inflammatory response.
Get plenty of Vitamin D, which is necessary for various immune responses, and a deficiency is associated with increased autoimmunity and increased susceptibility to infection. (6)
Get outside and exercise - it strengthens the immune system and is likely to help reduce the risk of respiratory infections. (7)
Take a Breath - Stress makes it virtually impossible to digest and absorb the nutrients from your food properly. Reduce stress by taking deep, controlled breaths in and out through your nose to support your immunity.
Thriving Immune System and Health Begins in the Gut
A healthy, balanced gut begins with giving the body the nutrients it needs to perform at optimal levels. It is called being healthy and vibrant by design. It all begins with intention and direction. A healthy microbiome and immune system need and want to be fed a diverse array of nutrients.
REFERENCES
(1)- Guinane, C. M., & Cotter, P. D. (2013). Role of the gut microbiota in health and chronic gastrointestinal disease: understanding a hidden metabolic organ. Therapeutic advances in gastroenterology, 6(4), 295–308. https://doi.org/10.1177/1756283X13482996
(2) Wu, H. J., & Wu, E. (2012). The role of gut microbiota in immune homeostasis and autoimmunity. Gut microbes, 3(1), 4–14. https://doi.org/10.4161/gmic.19320
(3) Nutritional Therapy Association. (2021). Immune Dysfunction Video. Retrieved from: https://www.ntabrightspace.com/immune
(4) Nutritional Therapy Association. (2021). Immune Guide [PDF document]. Retrieved from: https://www.ntabrightspace.com/immune
(5) Aranow C. (2011). Vitamin D and the immune system. Journal of investigative medicine: the official publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research, 59(6), 881–886. https://doi.org/10.2310/JIM.0b013e31821b8755
(6) Nieman, D. C., Henson, D. A., Austin, M. D., & Sha, W. (2011). Upper respiratory tract infection is reduced in physically fit and active adults. British journal of sports medicine, 45(12), 987–992. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsm.2010.077875