What is the link between gut health and low immunity?
If you’re suffering from frequent colds, flu’s, sinusitis or any recurring infection then it’s time to address the underlying cause: your gut health. The immune system or wei qi that comprises your body’s defense is directly affected by the health and function of the digestive system, most commonly known as the Spleen and Stomach axis. Our modern understanding of the gut has validated what natural medicine has known for years; that the microbiome of the gut directly supports and regulates immunity.
So how do you improve gut health?
Eat in a way that supports healthy gut function.
This means prioritizing eating local, organic and seasonal produce and wholefoods. Reducing processed foods, ultra processed foods, sugar, refined flours, gluten, and dairy. Secondly your food should be for the most part cooked and warm; this enables your body to digest your food more easily and so you can absorb what you need from the food in a much more efficient way.
Find ways to regulate stress and find ease and calm within the body.
The parasympathetic nervous system is known as the ‘rest and digest’ system and it is critical to maintain a balance between this and the sympathetic nervous system ‘fight or flight.’ Simply put if you’re body and nervous system are in a chronic state of stress, most of your body’s systems are spending their energy trying to keep you safe from acute danger instead of repairing, digesting and promoting overall immunity
Exercise
Find a way of moving your body that feels good for you and is sustainable. It does not have to be intense or vigorous. Moderate intensity, walking, swimming, cycling, Pilates, yoga and weights are all beneficial.
Spend time outdoors.
Get outside, enjoy the sunshine, the fresh air and environment nature provides. It offers relief from stress, lifts your mood and just makes you feel better and calmer. Exposure to natural environments also has positive benefits for your gut microbiome
More being, less thinking.
Overthinking takes a lot of energy, so much so that excessive thinking, which can manifest as rumination or worry can be detrimental to gut health. Hence the expression ‘I’m worried sick.’ Finding ways to regulate worry may include attending counseling, taking up a daily journal, meditating or exercising in order to spend less energy and time on continued thinking.
Add herbs to your diet
Herbs like ginger or gan jiang, ginseng or ren shen, astragalus or huang qi as they are known in TCM are all herbs that have traditionally been used to support energy levels and immune health in the body. You can add them into your diet with soups or stews for the added health benefit. Or speak to your TCM Herbalist about incorporating herbs into your treatment plan today.