Right now, there is an army of microbes inside you, and they're essential for fighting off viruses. As a matter of fact, the bacterial cells outnumber human cells in your body! They make up your microbiome, and each species has a role in keeping you healthy.
The bacteria colony in your gut (digestive tract) is critically important to a balanced immune response. It needs to be effective enough to kill pathogens, but not so strong that it damages you.
Gut bacteria can fight viruses that target the digestive system, such as norovirus and rotavirus, but also those infecting the lungs, such as influenza (flu).
When a viral threat arrives in your body, helpful gut microbes order specialized immune cells to produce strong antiviral proteins. If your gut health is lacking, you will not be able to mount a strong immune response.
Poor gut health can be caused by:
- Not eating a diverse range of foods
- Lack of prebiotics in the diet
- Antibiotic use
- Smoking
- Overuse of alcohol
- Lack of regular physical activity
- Lack of good sleep
- Too much stress
Antibiotics can used to eliminate bad bacteria that are making you sick, but they also destroy beneficial bacteria at the same time. An important study found that mice who were treated with antibiotics had low counts of virus-fighting white blood cells, weak antibody responses, and were poor producers of a key protein needed to fight viral infection and balance the immune response.
It's very important to avoid antibiotics unless absolutely necessary, and work to re-balance our gut health after antibiotics. (Here's a recipe to help restore your gut!)
BOOST YOUR GUT HEALTH AT HOME
Foods play a huge part in restoring, nourishing, and creating a healthy environment for beneficial bacteria.
In another study, mice were fed Lactobacillus bacteria, a common probiotic in fermented food. These microbes were able to reduce the severity of influenza infection! The Lactobacillus-treated mice did not lose weight and had only mild lung damage from the flu, compared with untreated mice.
Research also proved that mice treated with Lactobacillus were protected against different subtypes of influenza virus and human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – the major cause of viral bronchiolitis and pneumonia in children.
You can add beneficial gut bacteria to your digestive system by eating:
- Raw apple cider vinegar with "the mother" (This is a key ingredient in Sweet's Elderberry Shrub!)
- Kimchi
- Red Beets
- Coconut-milk yogurt
- Pickled vegetables
- Sauerkraut
- Kombucha
