HEALTHY INFLAMMATION SUPPORT
Keep Your Immune System Thriving By Ankit Chander, MD, MD(H) Understanding the immune system can help benefit overall health as we learn how the immune system deals with bacteria and viruses. Additionally, learning what activities, foods and supplements positively influence the immune system is beneficial to overall health and well-being.
What is the immune system?
The immune system is spread throughout the body and is focused in certain key organs. It works as a whole-body system as its primary function is to patrol the entire body. The immune system can trigger inflammation, however, not all inflammation is bad. If you get a paper cut, inflammation is part of the healing process as it’s an organized immune response. Inflammation becomes a bad thing when it no longer has an organized response. This is referred to as a cytokine storm. What causes inflammation to get out of control? There are many reasons why this can happen, but some of the most common include stress, extra fat tissue and leaky gut. The body has one trillion immune cells and making sure they remain balanced
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is key when dealing with inflammation. A balanced immune system is healthy, strong and creates an organized immune response.
Food for thought
About 70 percent of the immune system lies in the gut and small and large intestines. That’s why good gut health means good immune health. It’s important to look at what foods to avoid and examine healthy alternatives for favorite additives. Probiotic foods are great for supporting the immune system and the beneficial bacteria in probiotics are found in the gut. One of the more prominent foods that offer probiotics is yogurt, but if you have a dairy intolerance then yogurt should be avoided. An alternative would be fermented foods as they are generally high in probiotics. Other beneficial foods include oatmeal that contains prebiotics, and green foods like cabbage and avocado. Blueberries, sweet potatoes and green tea are other great examples of foods that contain the nutrients the immune system needs to thrive. If you think about diet as a whole, then you can incorporate beneficial nutrients and foods into your diet plan. Make an individualized diet based on body type.
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