Inside Health Magazine: A Better You Starts With What's Inside May. 2016 | Page 15

Immune Health and Your Digestive Tract Natasha Trenev President & Founder Natren, Inc. Your digestive tract is not only responsible for breaking down and absorbing the food you eat – it also acts as a barrier against foreign substances, including undesirable bacteria. Most people are surprised to learn that 70 to 80% of their immune system lies in their intestinal tract – but this shouldn’t be surprising at all. After all, your digestive tract is one of the main entry points for harmful substances, including bad bacteria, to get into your body. That means there has to be safeguards for making sure these undesirable microorganisms can’t take up residence in your gut or be absorbed into your blood stream. That’s where the immune system comes in. During birth your intestinal tract rapidly became colonized with gut bacteria from your mom and from the surrounding environment. If your mother was not in great health, you were born by Caesarian section (C-section), you were not breast fed or you were not a full-term baby the bacteria transferred may not have been the ideal bacteria for inducing health and establishing your immune system, and if your first exposure was the microbes found in the hospital room, it’s possible your health may be jeopardized. David Mills Lab at the University of California, Davis, recently published an astonishing research article on this very topic showing that one specific bacteria, Bifidobacterium infantis, dominates the healthy breast fed infant gut. When they provided it, as a probiotic, to premature infants it was restorative and protective for those poorly colonized babies. Properly selected beneficial bacteria, like those transferred from a healthy mom to a healthy baby during birth, defend against foreign invaders and prime the immune system, teaching it to recognize friendly bacteria from undesirable bacteria. Beneficial bacteria make it harder for undesirable bacteria and yeast to survive by establishing themselves along the intestinal lining creating a natural defense barrier and “hogging” resources those undesirable bacteria need to survive. Based on this, it is easy to see why it’s important to maintain a healthy bacterial balance in your intestinal tract. When there’s an optimal balance of good bacteria, the immune system in your gut functions best and you have a better chance of keeping unwanted bacteria and yeast from gaining a foothold and causing problems. Plus, beneficial gut bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which have an anti-inflammatory effect. This anti-inflammatory effect keeps the immune response from over-reacting like we in your gut. That’s where probiotic supplements come in. They seed your gut with good bacteria and help maintain a healthy digestive tract – and a healthy digestive tract is important for immune support and overall health. Unfortunately selecting the right probiotic bacteria can be difficult, especially today when the health store shelves are full of options, many of which do not adhere to or follow a published standard. Probiotics are live microorganisms so protective packaging and careful handling is imperative. Buy products that clearly list the potency (CFUs). Probiotics are the foundation of see in some bowel disorders. In addition, a healthy population of gut bacteria aids digestion and nutrient absorption and is required for the synthesis of some vitamins, including certain B-vitamins and Vitamin K. health for the 21st century; educate yourself and get to know the published standards to make certain you are getting the right product foryour money. Unfortunately, a number of factors can upset the delicate balance of bacteria in your gut. Drugs can destroy unfriendly bacteria as well as good bacteria. This creates disharmony in your gut and produces an environment where resistant bacteria can take up residence. Eating a poor diet and physical and psychological stress are other factors that can cause gut bacteria to become unbalanced. The population of bacteria in your gut is very much influenced by what you eat and drink. THE NATREN STANDARD How can you restore peace to your digestive tract or maintain the peace? After all, it’s pretty hard to completely control factors like stress that can disrupt the normal balance of bacteria • Non-porous, amber glass bottles protect against damaging light and moisture • Products are refrigerated at time of manufacture, and shipped second day air in thermally controlled boxes • Clearly listed potency (CFUs) of each strain guaranteed through an expiration date www.natren.com UNIQUE & POWERFUL PROBIOTICS INSIDE HEALTH  •  15