Our gut microbiome is a hidden inner resource that we all have to build a robust immune system – because our gut health and immunity are intrinsicly linked.
Did you know that two thirds of our immune system sit within the walls of our gut? All 100 trillion of our beautiful gut microbes have a vital role in regulating it, helping it to understand what it should and shouldn’t react to.
So, nurturing our gut health is a brilliant way to strengthen our immunity especially when we’re more vulnerable – when travelling, for example, or heading into winter, when we don’t get so much vitamin D from that glorious summer sun.
So, what are the small, everyday changes that are easy wins when it comes to nurturing our precious microbiome?
Eat a variety of plant foods for both good gut health and immunity
Daunted by the idea of aiming for 30 different plants each week? Remember ‘plants’ includes spices, herbs, nuts, seeds, pulses, beans, cereals, grains, fruit and veg – so it’s not so tricky after all!
Consume probiotics
Remember, probiotics doesn’t have to mean supplements – there are many everyday foods which contain natural probiotics. These are naturally fermented and live yoghurt, cheese and sourdough are all great choices. Then there are some which you may not have tried – kefir for example, which is an ancient, fermented milk drink bursting with live cultures. What’s great about this is we know that the dairy food around kefir’s live microbes helps to protect them as they go through our digestive system making sure they reach our colon – the home of our gut bacteria! You can also try going a bit spicier with kimchi or even make your own vegetable ferment at home – it’s a great way to reduce food waste too.
Try fasting
You can even help your gut health while you’re sleeping! Research shows that fasting for at least 12 hours each day is very good for our gut. Finishing your last meal by 8pm and avoiding tucking into breakfast too early is a simple way to achieve this. You may think you’re hungry first thing in the morning, but have you tried hydrating well instead? You may discover you’re more alert if you hydrate first and swap your morning snack for a later breakfast – your gut health, your immunity (and possibly your to-do list) will thank you for it!
Reassess your ratio
It’s easy to fall into the trap of restricting our food choices when following a plant-based diet but it doesn’t have to be this way! Eating plant-based to nurture our gut health just means filling two thirds of our plate with plants. Good quality animal sources of protein are fine for happy guts too; think less but better meat, sustainably sourced fish, eggs and dairy. Choose organic if you would also like to do your bit for the planet.
I had the pleasure of judging the Immunity category in the 2024 Wellness From Within awards. I’d recommend taking a look at the winning and highly recommended products as many of these would be great to help support your immune system, especially in the build up to winter when we’re all more susceptible to bugs.
If you’re interested in learning more, there’s a special Gut Health Course on my website (lwnutrition.co.uk), which consists of six-episodes that can be downloaded and watched in your own time. I recommend watching all episodes for the complete gut health picture but there is one that focuses on immunity and the gut. When booking the course, cite this code exclusive for Natural Health and Health & Wellbeing readers: GUTHEALTH50 and get £50 off.
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Award-winning registered nutritionist Dr Lucy Williamson uses gut health to unlock whole health potential and provides personal nutrition coaching and nutrition communications. She also has an online accredited gut health course and regularly speaks at events. For more visit LWNutrition.co.uk or follow her on social media @lucywilliamsonnutrition
For more advice on how to look after your gut through the food you eat, read more here.
