One of the ways to tune up your immune system and give you more resistance to the Coronavirus is to heal your intestines. A healthy gastrointestinal tract is often synonymous with a healthy immune system, which strengthens your resistance to any and all infections.
Roughly 60% to 80% of our entire immune system is estimated to surround our gastrointestinal tract to keep our microbiome, the bacteria, fungus, parasites and viruses, in check. If an overgrowth of unfriendly flora occurs or our immune system is reacting to various foods (e.g., food allergy), a lot of our immune systems energy is diverted to the intestines and away from the immune system’s other responsibilities such as resisting or fighting infectious invaders like Coronavirus.
Symptoms of an Unhealthy Microbiome
How can we tell if the immune system is wasting its energy fighting food proteins or the flora growing in our intestines? One way is to consider symptoms. If bloating, excess gas, abdominal discomfort, loose stools, acid reflux or constipation are a regular occurrence, you may be suffering with food allergy/sensitivity and/or the overgrowth of unfriendly intestinal flora. Sometimes it is impossible to figure out which foods are involved, and which micro-organisms are overgrown without diagnostic functional medicine testing, like a stool test, a urine test and blood work. Once the diagnosis is made, it’s a relatively simple process to correct the flora and get your immune system to then divert its attention away from the intestines to other parts of your body.
Healing the Gut with the 5 R’s
Read More