In the final part of our interview series with Lauren Jane, we explore the crucial link between gut health and immunity. Lauren, a naturopath known for her balanced approach, explains why maintaining a happy gut is essential for a robust immune system.
She shares insights on the signs of poor gut health, dietary changes to improve your microbiome, and how lifestyle factors play a significant role in gut and immune health. From embracing a diverse diet to finding stress-relieving activities, Lauren offers practical tips to help you enhance your gut health and boost your immunity.
Lauren, there’s a lot of talk about gut health lately. Can you explain why having a happy gut is so crucial for our immune system?
Absolutely. It’s because 70% of our immune system can be found nestled within our intestinal wall and because our digestive ‘microbiome’ – the trillions of microorganisms residing there, interact with these immune cells to form the body’s first line of immune defence. The microbiome actually educates our immune cells to identify harmful invaders from both friendly matter and from our body’s own cells!
What are some signs that our gut health might not be in the best shape, and how can that affect our immunity?
Digestive issues like bloating, gas, urgency, constipation, diarrhoea, reflux, and nausea indicate an imbalance in our digestive system. This imbalance, most commonly caused by inflammation and an overgrowth of bad bacteria, weakens our immune cells.
In a healthy gut, the immune system responds to invaders like the flu virus by producing antibodies that neutralise the infection. Unfortunately, an unhealthy digestive system compromises this process.
Can you share some dietary changes or foods that can help improve gut health and, in turn, boost our immune system?
- Limit refined grains & sugars: These drive up inflammation, deplete B vitamins and disrupt the balance of the microbiome.
- Embrace variety: A diverse range of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds in the diet ensures we feed a diverse range of bugs and create a diverse range of certain by-products known as ‘post-biotics’ that protect the gut.
- Harness the power of probiotics: Pot set yogurt, miso, kefir and kimchi inoculate the gut with good bacteria. It’s also worth considering supplementation with specific strains known for their immune-boosting properties: Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus paracasei.
- Include pre-biotics: Try bananas, garlic, beets, carrots, asparagus and berries to feed your microbiome.
How do lifestyle factors, beyond just diet, influence gut health and immunity?
Firstly, regular physical activity promotes healthy digestion by enhancing peristalsis, which are the wave-like muscle contractions that move food through our digestive tract. This encourages daily bowel motions and eradicates unwanted bacteria and toxins which might otherwise negatively affect our immunity.
Exercise also increases blood flow to the gut and supports nutrient absorption. Interestingly movement also increases the diversity and abundance of beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract which is pretty cool!
On the other hand, alcohol, chronic stress, mood disorders and anxiety can all disrupt our gut health and immunity. The invisible connection between our brain and microbiome is called the gut-brain axis. So a stressful job, addiction and even psychiatric medications will have their influence.
For someone looking to strengthen their immune system by focusing on gut health, what are some simple, practical steps they can take?
- Find a stress-relieving activity you enjoy that’s good for your health and implement it daily! It can be singing, dancing, journaling, time in nature or taking a sauna, getting creative and being consistent.
- Give yourself a stomach massage each night. Lay down, use a little cold pressed oil and massage in a clockwise direction deepening pressure to look for areas of tension.
- Eat a colourful, diverse and fibre rich diet. This provides polyphenols which are compounds that enhance both digestion and immunity.
