Go With Your GUT

The way to someone's heart may be through their stomach, but did you know that keeping your gut healthy is the way to a strong immune system? We explain this essential link and what to eat to stay well.

- STACEY COLINO

Your gut health has a major influence on your immunity and protecting your overall health. In part, that's because the immune system cells in the digestive system make up 70 percent of the body's entire immune system, says Emeran Mayer, MD, distinguished research professor in the Department of Medicine at UCLA.

The community of microbes that live in the gastrointestinal tract is called the microbiome, and there's an intricate communication between those microbes and the gut-associated immune cells. This keeps the immune system active, as the good bacteria produce antiinflammatory substances.

A combo of lifestyle factors keeps your immunity strong, but experts say that if they had to pick a top one, it would be diet. "Diet is foundational because the nutrients in food provide the building blocks for the immune system," explains David L. Katz, MD, MPH, past president of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine.

We map out which foods give the strongest benefits.

Powerhouse ImmuneBoosting Foods

The more plant-based foods you work into your diet, the heartier your gut and immune system will be, says Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University and author of The Good Gut.