Trust your gut for winter proofing your immunity

Having good microbiome health is so important and increasingly linked to strong immunity. By Matt Nixson

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Our gut microbiome has a huge impact on immunity and health.

It's where 70% of the body's immune cells are found, and a recent evidence review confirmed good gut health strengthens both “innate” immunity - our frontline defence - and “adaptive” immunity, which provides a rapid-response force when bacteria or viruses breach defences.

Nutritionist Suzie Sawyer says: “This dual action means optimising your gut health will not only help reduce the risk of catching colds and other infections, it will also bolster your ability to fight them off and minimise symptoms.

“Conversely, having a less than optimal range of bacterial strains, and/or an overgrowth of potentially pathogenic ones - gut dysbiosis - is linked to an increased risk of respiratory issues and urinary tract infections.”

Earlier this year, a paper in Frontiers in Microbiology detailed the growing evidence which points to a critical pathway from the gut to better health and immunity called the gut-lung axis.

Suzie explains: “While it's true the vast majority of our immune cells are in the gut, they are also present in mucosal tissue throughout the body, including the nasal passages, mouth, lining of the lungs and our eyes - all recognised entry points for bugs.

“There is also 'cross-talk' between immune cells in different parts of the body, as well as some migration of immune cells from the gut to the lungs and elsewhere, which points to the importance of promoting and maintaining a good gut microbiome.”

This is underlined by cell mapping published in 2023 which showed that immune cells make up 38% of lung tissue. Paediatricians also believe that supporting the gut microbiome of premature infants could “ensure lifelong enhanced resistance towards respiratory infections”.