Diarrhea,
constipation, reflux, bloating after meals—Does this sound familiar?
These and other digestive problems are likely signs that your
immune system may not be functioning at peak performance, and this could lead
to bigger problems.
More than 70% of your immune system is in and around your
intestines. Your immune system is responsible for keeping your body healthy by
identifying and eliminating invading pathogens. It does this by orchestrating a
complex series of chemical messages that dictate when inflammation should
increase or decrease and when and how antibodies are made.
Below are 5 gut problems that can interfere with your Immune
System:
Problem 1: Nutritional Deficiencies of Key Vitamins and Minerals.
The appropriate vitamins and minerals must be available in your
biochemistry for your immune system to function properly. There are many
reasons why someone might be deficient in these nutrients, including use or
abuse of medications/drugs, a compromised ability to digest and assimilate your
food, and most commonly, poor food choices over a long period of time.
Vitamin A, C, D, and E are essential for your immune
function. They help maintain the cell membranes of the GI and respiratory tract
linings, as well as help guide the response of the various white blood cells
and lymphocytes in their fight against pathogens.
Zinc is an essential
mineral used by the immune system for development and function of the immune
complexes.
Problem 2: Not Enough Stomach Acid
It’s important to maintain an acidic environment in your
stomach. The proper breakdown of proteins and the assimilation of important
minerals depend upon having enough stomach acid. In addition, the acid in your
stomach is your first line of defense against the bad bugs trying to get into your
systems through the food you eat. People
who experience heartburn and use acid reducing agents are at particular risk
for imbalances in their gut microbiota (see problem 5 below), as well as experiencing
deficiencies in essential nutrients and minerals.
Problem 3: Slow
Intestinal Motility
The muscles of your digestive tract are responsible for
propelling the food through your intestines so that you can absorb nutrients;
as well as eliminate waste products from your body. If this process gets bogged down and slows to
a crawl, certain waste products such as spent cholesterol, old hormones, and
toxins your body has slated for elimination, can get reabsorbed into your blood
stream and continue to overwhelm your immune function and detoxification
systems. If that isn’t bad enough, the chyme,
which is the technical name for the contents of the digestive tract as it
passes through the system, can start to putrefy and let off gases (endotoxins) that
can damage the delicate mucosal lining that lines the inside of your digestive
tract.
Problem 4: Leaky
Gut or Intestinal Permeability
The mucosal cells that line your digestive tract provide a
barrier against anything getting inside your body. If the lining of the
digestive tract starts to develop holes as a result of poor nutrition or
endotoxicity, food particles, toxic waste products, and microorganisms passing
through your digestive tract can enter your
blood stream. If this happens, your immune system must respond to the invasion of any foreign materials that it
doesn’t recognize as being part of you. This
condition is surprisingly common and can occupy a great deal of your immune system’s
bandwidth, which then leaves you vulnerable to an invasion of organisms trying
to enter through the respiratory system, for example.
Problem 5: Bad Bugs
in Your Digestive System
Your individual microbiota refers to the large collection of
microbes that live in harmony with you and consists of hundreds of species of
bacteria, viruses, and fungi. These
organisms live in your gut and on all the surfaces of your body! Normally, when you have a balance of health-producing
microbes that outnumber the pathogenic organisms, you stay healthy. Your friendly organisms provide protection against pathogenic organism
proliferation, [1]
[2]
provide benefits to digestion,
and manufacture important substances and vitamins that help to protect your
mucosal linings. Today, research is being conducted that
indicates these friendly organisms also play a large role in mediating your
immune responses.
The key to a healthy body begins in the gut! You can take charge of your health by
addressing any imbalances that might be causing digestive disturbances. I can help guide you toward balance. It is especially
important to bolster your immune system before the onset of a
significant illness.
[1]
Wu, H. and Wu, E., “The role of gut microbiota in immune
homeostasis and autoimmunity”, Gut Microbes. 2012 Jan 1; 3(1): 4–14.
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