Unleashing the Power Within.

Exploring the Microbiome's Impact on Immunity and Wellness

Lately I’ve met quite a few people who are struggling with long COVID or simply getting colds and flus as winter approaches here in the southern hemisphere.

What baffles me is that these people are intelligent and know that they need to look after their bodies, particularly when they are ill or recovering. So why am I seeing so many of these same people drinking alcohol, eating processed foods and sugar and basically not helping themselves. Then it struck me, they simply might not know the impact of their consumption decisions on their bodies!

In this blog I’m going to dive into the wonderful world that lives within us and that is critical to our immune function. The world of the microbiome. Think Horton Hears a Who from Dr Seuss where a tiny world, called Whoville, lives on a speck of dust! We have an incredible world of tiny creatures living within us too and they control many aspects of our body. In fact, did you know that this world weighs between 3-4kgs in each one of us!? Pretty big!

The microbiome world, our Whoville: The microbiome refers to the vast collection of microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, and other tiny organisms, that live in and on our bodies. It is like a bustling ecosystem which has it’s main home in our gut. The microbiome plays a crucial role in our overall health and well-being.

Horton Hears a Who - Whoville.

The tiny organisms or microbes (as they are called), that live in the microbiome, interact with our body's cells and contribute to important processes. These include breaking down food, absorbing nutrients, producing vitamins, creating chemical reactions that drive our mind, body and mood and finally also protecting us from harmful germs.

Approximately 70% to 80% of our immune cells, those that help fight against harmful germs, reside in the gut. So in short, how healthy and thriving your microbiome is will influence the health of your immune system too.

Populating your Whoville or microbiome.

Firstly you need to make sure the residents in your microbiome are the good kind. You want your population to be diverse, healthy and thriving. Populating your gut starts from birth, however, we are going to focus on what you can do to populate your microbiome right now. The key is to consume a good amount of probiotics. Every. Single. Day. Probiotics are live microorganisms that are good for us when we eat enough of them. These helpful bacteria, yeasts, or other tiny organisms set up camp in our gut and help keep it balanced and diverse.

Here are a few probiotic ideas to include in all meals: yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi and miso. You can also take a good quality probiotic pill as well.

How to look after your tiny residents.

Like most creatures in life, these microorganisms need to be well fed and live in an environment that supports them. Again, this is where you come in. Eating certain foods that the good microorganisms thrive off, ensures they grow stronger and thrive which in turns makes you thrive. This is where prebiotics comes in. Prebiotics are special fibers found in certain foods that the good bacteria in our gut really love to eat. These fibers are tough and don't get broken down in our stomach or small intestine. Instead, they make their way to the large intestine, where our gut bacteria have a big feast on them. So think of prebiotics as delicious meals that make the good bacteria in our gut really happy and strong.

Some examples of prebiotics include: Garlic, chicory root, onions, leeks, asparagus, bananas, apples, whole grains and legumes (lentils, beans and peas for example).

What can hurt your tiny residents.

Some things can equally be very harmful for our tiny residents and can put the microbiome out of balance and therefore compromise your immunity too. Here are some key foods and factors that can negatively influence your microbiome.

Foods to avoid: Sugar, highly processed foods, alcohol and artificial sweeteners.
Other factors Stress, lack of sleep, environmental toxins and antibiotics.

A final word on antibiotics. Antibiotics are great at killing off the bad microorganisms in your body that are causing an infection. However, they are in-discriminatory. They kill off the bad residents but also the good ones too. This is where you need to focus on repopulating your microbiome and think about consuming more probiotics to get yourself back in balance. See the list above.

Like always, I’m here to help. If you have any questions. You can email me directly here.

 Put the mask on yourself first, ensure your inner Whoville thrives and thrive again!