Now more than ever, you need your body to be ready and able to handle anything life throws your way.
And while supporting the strength of your immunity is critically important, you’ll want to take the necessary steps to ensure your immune system responds in the right way.
Too much, too little, or the wrong immune response can result in immune disorders such as allergies or hypersensitivity. On top of that, an OVERactive immune response can lead to autoimmune disease, in which your body attacks its own tissues.
Boosting your immunity effectively – without making it hyperactive – requires balance. But not in the way you might think.
Because the secret to a healthy, balanced immune response starts somewhere unexpected…
Your Gut Microbiome Influences Your Immune System
The trillions of bacteria in your gut – your gut microbiome – affect every cell, organ, and system in your body… and that includes immunity.
In fact, your immune system NEEDS your gut microbiome in order to develop and respond the right way.
In a healthy gut microbiome, beneficial probiotic bacteria outnumber harmful pathogenic bacteria. And those beneficial bacteria profoundly influence the actions of your immune system.
Here are 5 important ways your gut microbiome supports a strong, resilient, responsive immune system.
1. Beneficial gut bacteria train and direct your immune system to deliver the right response in the face of a threat. Your good gut bugs literally teach your immune system how to tell the difference between friends – like other probiotic bacteria – and enemies, like infectious bacteria and viruses.
2. A healthy gut microbiome promotes immune homeostasis – constant balance and stability. When your gut is healthy, your immune system is better able to decide when to send in troops and how many to mobilize in order to handle threats. In this way, your gut ensures your immune system won’t under-react – which increases your risk of infection – or overreact – which can cause serious health consequences.
3. Probiotic bacteria produce essential nutrients and other health-promoting compounds such as short chain fatty acids (SCFAs). These crucial compounds include:
- B vitamins, necessary for proper immune system function, including protection against infectious microbes
- Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10), which boosts healthy immune system performance and provides energy to key immune cells
- Butyrate, a SCFA that teaches immune cells how to recognize infectious microbes
4. A healthy gut microbiome maintains the integrity of your