Beat that head cold with your gut bacteria

It’s that time of year, runny noses and head colds are the norm and you are doing your very best to avoid getting sick. You’re eating well, taking some vitamin C and maybe some echinacea in a bid to avoid getting sick. If you feel like you're doing everything right but are still catching everything that goes around your intestinal flora may hold the answer to why your immune system isn’t protecting you 100%.

More and more research has been coming out in recent years about the impact that our gut bacteria plays in our immune system. The relationship between the 2 are still greatly unknow, but a popular theory is that it comes down to a ‘cross-talk’ between the bacteria and the rest of the body. The microbes in a healthy gut essentially talk to the immune system, directing it as to what needs to be done to protect the body. When the gut microbes are disrupted due to medication, poor diet, stress etc then this communication is broken.

“A cross talk between the mucosal immune system and endogenous microflora favours a mutual growth, survival and inflammatory control of the intestinal ecosystem. Based on these evidences, probiotics can be used as an ecological therapy in the treatment of immune diseases. “

Approximately 70% of your immune system is found in the gut, and this is backed up by the umber of genes that are found in the microbiota genome.

While there are specific strains of probiotics that have been shown to be boost the immune system, the best way to ensure that your gut is supporting the immune system is to make sure there is a wide variety of strains in the gut. This can be achieved by making sure you're earring a wide variety of food, eating fermented foods and having plenty of fibre.

Having a less diverse range of gut microbes has also been linked to conditions such as inflammatory bowel diseases and autoimmune diseases. Gut bacteria has also been shown to influence the development of innate immune cells (meaning that initial production of immune cells) such as macrophages, monocytes and neutrophils.

So what are you waiting for? Increase your fibre, eat a wider variety of foods including fermented foods, and if you feel like its needed, then invest in a strong broad spectrum probiotic supplement over the winter months. Then you will truly have all lines of defence up against that runny nose.