There have been several studies emerging showing a strong correlation between microbiome diversity (the health and number of good bacteria in your colon) and the strength of your immune system.

The virus that kept us in our homes for 2 years has now been studied extensively, especially in those who got severely ill or have continued to suffer with symptoms years later.

Two "good" bacteria, bifidobacteria and faecalbacteria have been seen to be highly deficient in those patients, while bacteroides (a "bad" guy) are abundant.

Basically there was an inverse association seen between disease severity and the abundance of the good bacteria. Reduced bacterial diversity is associated with a decreased immune response, making it more likely that you will get sick and stay sick.

I bring this up because we all want to maintain our health, but you never know when the next virus or other type of infection will crop up. You need to have a healthy gut beforehand, or you risk infection.

Working a lot with Hiatal hernia syndrome patients, we test the microbiome always. The decreased bifidobacterium mentioned earlier is also seen in the presence of an H. pylori infection which we frequently see in our Hiatal hernia patients as it's linked to gastric ulcers and even stomach cancer.

What steps can you take to build up these healthy bacteria and increase your microbiome diversity?
Eat a diet rich in fermented foods like sauerkraut and healthy yogurt, enjoy an abundance of fruits and vegetables, along with fatty fish and legumes. Bad bacteria "love" sugar, so remove that and highly processed foods from your diet. And, make good sleep a priority and decrease your stress load as much as possible.

A healthy gut truly means a healthy immune system. They go hand in hand.

If you're suffering with a weak immune system or gut imbalance, consider contacting us for a consultation: call 727-335-0400.