Protect yourself naturally by improving GUT flora

This is the first of two posts on boosting immunity naturally.

Did you know that between 70-80% of our immunity resides in our gut? This means that having a robust immune system is very dependent upon gut health.

As we enter “flu season” you may be considering obtaining a flu vaccine. Before you make your decision I hope you will consider that you have another option, and that option is to improve your existing immunity through improved digestive health.

So how does our immune system get compromised in the first place?

• Over processing of foods strips food of important nutrients and fiber. Americans currently eat on average only 12 grams of fiber a day while our need for fiber is three times that amount. Fiber is critical to help our bodies manufacture short chained fatty acids which protect us against diseases of the colon. Commercial food processing techniques destroy nutrients and kills enzymes.
• Healthy fats have been replaced with less healthy oils including the creation by the food industry of hydrogenated oils.
• Omega -3 fatty acids found in seafood, grain, nuts and seeds are lacking in most Americans SAD diets. These essential fatty acids are needed for growth, healing, reduction of pain and inflammation, healthy skin, reproduction, nervous system functioning and overall well being.
• Commercial farming techniques rob soil of micro nutrients. Commercial farming relies on synthetic fertilizer which in effect kills the soil. Prior to chemical fertilizers being used in farming crops were rotated which helped encourage microorganisms. Commercial farming and over use of fertilizers depletes antioxidants such as vitamin C and E, Selenium nitric oxide, glutathione and carotenoids.
• Organic produce has consistently been proven to contain higher nutrients that commercially processed foods. Pesticides used in commercial farming also create numerous health hazards due to the neurotoxic effects on our nervous systems.
• Long distance transportation of food necessitates picking produce before it’s ripe. Long distance transport of our food means that many nutrients are lost during transit time, not to mention the taste of food is less vibrant. Another drawback to long distance transportation of food is that most Americans have no idea how to eat seasonally since out of season produce is readily available all year long. Consider that asparagus – which is normally an early spring crop, is available year long no matter where you live. This is just one example.

The SAD (Standard American Diet) consists of predominantly processed and over cooked food devoid of living enzymes. Most American still do not eat naturally fermented foods such as yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, tamari and tempe on a regular daily basis. Pasteurization of many dairy foods removes any beneficial bacteria.
Most vinegars sold on the market today contain sulfates, a preservative so even if you can your own pickles and make your own sauerkraut, unless you are using a preservative free vinegar you are not getting the benefit of live enzymes and probiotics in food.

Did you now that antibiotics can kill a significant percentage of beneficial bacteria in the intestines?

The amount killed is largely dependent upon whether they are narrow-spectrum or wide-spectrum antibiotics and how long they are used for. If you are forced to use antibiotics, use narrow-spectrum antibiotics for as short a time as possible and subsequently take probiotic supplements.

Our modern diets are built around consuming primarily cooked foods vs. raw, fresh foods n their natural state. Moving toward a diet that is based on fresh fruits, vegetables, sprouted nuts, seeds and whole grains helps restore the proper balance of good to bad bacteria.

Current research advocates eating as much as 70 -80% raw foods with the remaining 20-30% in cooked form. Most Americans are far from this. All of this sets us up for an imbalance in our intestinal flora.

We each have 400 to 500 types of bacteria living in our intestinal tract. Some of these are good bacteria and some of these are bad bacteria. When we eat properly the ratio of good to bad bacteria remains around 85% good to 15% bad. However, most of us actually have many more bad bacteria living in our gut than 15%. This imbalance manifests itself in many common health conditions, such as;

Diarrhea
Urinary tract infections
Vaginal infections
Lactose intolerance
Hypertension
Cancer
Allergies
Kidney stones
Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid arthritis
Chronic Fatigue syndrome
Liver disease
Bacterial and fungal infections
Digestive disorders such as -
Leaky gut syndrome
IBS
Candida
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Lactose intolerance

And of course a compromised immune system leaves us more susceptible to catching every virus that goes around.

In my next post I'll lay out just what you an do to avoid this imbalance and improve your odds of staying healthy during flu season and all year long.