Did you know that up to 80% of your immune system is found in your gut?

There is great news out there and with a few lifestyle changes, you can help support your gut bacteria and your immune system. This complex system of trillions of bacteria has huge positive benefits to health and so the link between the gut biome, your immunity and health are essential.

Cells linked to your immune system are contained within the gut lining and it is the breakdown of foods that promotes a healthy gut and allows optimal function and support of this bacteria. The same reasoning applies when we have an imbalance of bacteria, the gut does not produce the compounds that will support overall health.

Therefore, eating a wholesome nutritious diet encourages a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut (gut flora) and helps fight inflammation. This inflammation is part of the body’s defence mechanism and plays a key role in the healing process. There are two types of inflammation that you need to be aware of and how both affect our health.

Kinds of Inflammation You Need to be Aware Of

Acute inflammation (short term) is where the body responds to an injury or illness and can last anything from a few days to 6 weeks. The body is detecting the damage, and the immune system triggers a reaction to start the repair process such as a cut to the skin or the release of white blood cells to kill an infection. Often an immediate response by the body as a survival mode.

Chronic inflammation (long term) is where the process lasts for a lot longer anything from a few months to many years and is counterproductive to your health. This chronic inflammation has links to such issues as diabetes, cardiovascular heart disease, arthritis, and some forms of cancer.

There are many factors that can increase inflammations ranging from age, smoking, stress, and obesity to poor diet rich in unhealthy fats and high in sugar. Having good bacteria within the gut leaves the immune system with the ability to deal with and handle the many complexities of everyday life such as stress and a poor diet.

So, how do we help the gut? A diet rich in plenty of nutritional foods such as fruit, vegetables and fibre can help improve the bacteria balance. On the other side of the coin, high sugar foods as well as those that are processed can have the opposite effect and reduce the working ability of the bacteria.

The trick is to optimise your lifestyle for a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut, giving your immune system the maximum support, it needs.

Top tip = Try eating mindfully and slowly, sitting down at the table and taking the time to be present with your food as you help improve the digestion process working towards essential gut health.

5 ways to support gut health and keep your bacteria happy

1. Eat fermented foods such as yoghurt, Kefir, Sauerkraut and Kombucha as these are sources of healthy bacteria.
2. Get enough prebiotic fibre – these foods essential feed the good bacteria and encourage them to grow. Gut friend prebiotics includes fruit and vegetables especially artichokes, asparagus, onions and garlic tomatoes, whole grains, and legumes. Such as black or kidney beans and chickpeas.
3. Choose vegetables from a range of different colours – as they contain antioxidants called polyphenols which help reduce chronic inflammation. Also rich in insoluble fibre, foods that your body cannot breakdown and so helps to feed the bacteria while aiding the removal of waste from the gut.
4. Exercise – a daily run or walk is essential to the health of your gut, as well as the physical and mental wellbeing returns which are also achieved. Strenuous exercise increases blood flow aided by the physical movement that helps the passage of food in the gut.
5. Limit refined carbohydrates – processed, fried and high sugar foods can lead to an imbalance of good bacteria within the gut and so reducing the support to the immune system.

Gut Health and Weight Loss

Gut health can also play a large role in weight loss and the subsequent maintenance of calories thereafter and the stabilising of body weight. The initial improvements can continuously aid weight loss as the diet rich nutrients feed the system. Often when bacteria count is low within the gut the body starts to extract more calories from your food. This is often at such times when poorer quality foods are consumed, and the nutritional value is not serving as well as they should. Poor bacteria levels are also linked to an increased feeling of hunger.

Antibiotics also weaken the good bacteria within the gut, and so it is important for our diet to promote and preserve the healthy bacteria that we essentially need.

Better Mental Health

With improved gut health many people experience better mood levels while reducing mood swings and other feelings such as anxiety, fear, nervousness, anger, and depression.

Why is this? – the gut is so often dubbed the ‘second brain’ with over 100 million neurons working in connection with the gut-brain axis. The brain weighs around 2-3% of your body weight but consumes between 20-30% of your daily calories. Hence the importance of good nutrition for good brain health. We all know that mood can impact your gut, such as having that ‘gut feeling’, experiencing butterflies when you are nervous show the strong link between the brain, our thoughts, and emotions. If the bacteria balance in the gut is out of sync, then our mood and thinking can be affected.

So, put foods back into your diet to help boost that friendly bacteria and allow those messages to be sent to your immune system and say the body is ready to face whatever is thrown at it