Så här stärker du ditt immunförsvar genom bättre tarmhälsa

Att stärka immunförsvaret är något många funderar över när infektionerna avlöser varandra, energin sviktar eller magen strular. Visste du att upp till 70 % av immunförsvaret sitter i tarmen. Därför är tarmhälsan en av de viktigaste nycklarna för ett bra immunförsvar.

Här tänkte jag förklara hur tarmfloran, tarmbarriären och nervsystemet påverkar vårt immunförsvar. Jag kommer även att ge lite råd vad du kan göra för att stärka!

Hur hänger immunförsvaret och tarmhälsan ihop?

Tarmen är kroppens största kontakt med omvärlden. Varje dag måste immunförsvaret avgöra vad som ska släppas igenom (näring) och vad som ska stoppas (patogener).

Det innebär att en stor del av kroppens försvarsceller placerats just här.

När tarmen är i balans fungerar detta fint. Men om tarmfloran rubbas, tarmbarriären blir skadad eller stressnivån är hög kan immunförsvaret överreagera, triggas eller försvagas.

Det är därför många märker:

• fler infektioner

• mer inflammation

• IBS-liknande symtom

• trötthet

• hudproblem

• hormonell obalans

…när tarmen inte mår bra.

Tarmfloran Är grunden till ett starkt immunförsvar

En frisk och varierad tarmflora är avgörande för immunförsvaret. De goda bakterierna i magen hjälper kroppen att:

• utbilda och balansera immunförsvarets celler

• producera antiinflammatoriska ämnen

• skydda mot skadliga bakterier och virus

• stärka tarmbarriären

När tarmfloran är i obalans, t. ex. efter en antibiotikakur, stress, långvarig kost med lite fibrer eller infektioner då blir immunförsvaret både svagare och mer lättretligt.

Läckande tarm (när immunförsvaret överbelastas)

Tarmens barriär fungerar som ett filter som släpper igenom näring men håller tillbaka sådant som inte ska in i kroppen.

Vid läckande tarm (ökad tarmpermeabilitet) blir filtret skadat och oönskade ämnen kan ta sig in i blodet. Immunförsvaret reagerar direkt genom att gå till attack och inflammationen i kroppen ökar.

Detta kan bidra till:

• återkommande infektioner

• kronisk inflammation

• trötthet och hjärndimma

• matsmältningsbesvär

• autoimmuna processer

• hudbesvär

• och mycket mer.

Att stärka tarmbarriären är därför ett av de mest effektiva sätten att stärka immunförsvaret på lång sikt.

Stress och immunförsvar

Detta är en koppling som ofta blir bortglömd, men den är viktig! Stress är en av de största orsakerna till både tarmbesvär och nedsatt immunförsvar.

Stress kan:

• sänka produktionen av magsyra, enzymer och galla

• skapa obalans i tarmfloran

• försämra tarmens rörelser (motilitet)

• göra tarmbarriären svagare

• trigga inflammation

Det är därför perioder av mycket stress ofta sammanfaller med infektioner, uppblåst mage, förstoppning eller diarré.

Så stärker du immunförsvaret genom att stötta tarmhälsan

Här kommer de mest forskningsbaserade och praktiskt genomförbara stegen för dig som vill stärka både mage/tarm och immunförsvaret.

1. Ät mer växtfibrer (prebiotika)

Prebiotika är mat till dina goda tarmbakterier, viktigt för tarmfloran!

Bra källor är:

• lök, vitlök, purjolök

• sparris och jordärtskocka

• havre och baljväxter

• fröer och nötter

• bär och frukt i olika färger

Målet är att äta minst 30 olika växtbaserade livsmedel per vecka. Det ger en mer varierad tarmflora, vilket forskning gång på gång kopplar till bättre immunförsvar.

Det är lättare än du kanske tror att komma upp i. T.ex. kan du variera kosten genom olika kryddor och örter, olika teer, nötter och frön, osv.

2. Lägg till fermenterad mat (probiotika)

Fermenterade livsmedel innehåller naturliga probiotiska bakterier som stödjer tarmfloran och immunförsvaret.

Förslag:

• surkål

• kimchi

• kefir

• kombucha

• yoghurt (utan tillsatser)

Börja smått om du är känslig, en tesked om dagen räcker!

3. Minska det som skapar inflammation

Ett immunförsvar i balans behöver lugn och läkning. För många hjälper det att dra ned på:

• ultraprocessad mat (chips, godis, färdigrätter, osv).

• vitt socker

• alkohol

• mat du vet att du inte tål

Det här ingen diet, det är ett sätt att skapa bättre förutsättningar för tarmens immunförsvar.

4. Stötta matsmältningen för bättre tarmhälsa

Bra matsmältning är en förutsättning för bra tarmflora.

Prova:

• att tugga maten ordentligt (tills det blir till en gröt i munnen)

• äta i lugn och ro, fötterna på golvet

• bitterämnen före maten

• tillräckligt med protein (ca 1 “handflata”)

• en kort paus eller andningsövning före måltid

Detta kan minska gaser, uppblåsthet och ge immunförsvaret mer ro.

5. Prioritera sömnen

Vi läker när vi sover. Under sömnen reparerar sig både tarmen och immunförsvaret.

Sömnbrist ökar:

• inflammation

• infektionskänslighet

• stresshormoner

Målet är 7–9 timmar för de flesta vuxna. NÄR vi sover spelar också en roll. Inte bara att vi får våra timmar. Helst bör vi vara i säng kl 22.00.

6. Minska stress

Detta är tarmens bästa försvar! Återhämtning är lika viktig som kost. Några minuter om dagen räcker för att lugna nervsystemet och stärka tarmhälsan.

Prova:

• djupandning

• kort meditation

• promenad i naturen

• lugn rörelse

• pauser under dagen

Ett lugnt nervsystem ger en lugn tarm och ett starkare immunförsvar.

När är det dags att söka mer individanpassat stöd?

Du kan ha nytta av individanpassad vägledning om du:

• har återkommande infektioner

• länge haft problem med IBS eller magbesvär

• misstänker obalans i tarmfloran

• har autoimmun sjukdom

• behöver testa tarmflora, immunmarkörer eller näringsstatus

Individanpassad funktionsmedicinsk hjälp kan då vara nyckeln till att förstå varför dina symtom finns och vad just ditt immunförsvar behöver.

Ett starkt immunförsvar börjar i magen

Att stärka immunförsvaret handlar inte om enskilda kosttillskott eller snabba lösningar. Det handlar om en balanserad tarmflora, en stark tarmbarriär och ett nervsystem som får återhämtning.

När du tar hand om din tarm bygger du:

• bättre motståndskraft

• mer energi

• mindre inflammation

• bättre matsmältning

• mer hormonell balans

En frisk mage är grunden till ett starkt immunförsvar och ett friskare liv.

Känner du att du vill ha hjälp att komma till rätta med just dina symptom och din hälsa? Varmt välkommen att boka ett kostnadsfritt lära känna samtal. Då kan du berätta mer om dina hälsomål och jag kan förklara hur jag ser att jag kan stötta. Tillsammans kan vi ta nästa steg.

Should you avoid gluten?

Gluten is in a lot of things we eat, from bread and pasta, to cookies, pastries and even drinks like beer. It’s been a staple for thousands of years but, along with turning vegan, going gluten free has been one of the biggest health trends in the last decade and is almost as divisive. Some claim gluten is damaging their health. Others argue that we are at risk of nutritional deficiencies if we don’t eat it. So what’s the truth?

Like so many things these days, when there is a lot of information and opinion, the waters can become muddied and it’s not always easy to separate fact from fiction. I thought I’d explore the topic so you can decide whether going gluten free is best for you.

What is gluten is and where you’ll find it

Gluten is a collective noun that refers to a number of different proteins found in grains like wheat, barley, rye and anything made from them.

The main proteins found in wheat are glutenin and gliadin, which are very elastic and give bread its stretchy quality. Some products naturally contain gluten, but gluten is also added in extra quantities to foods to add protein and texture, and to bind processed foods together.

You’ll find gluten in the following products (not an exhaustive list!)

Wheat flour

Durham wheat

Kamut

Semolina

Bread and breaded or battered foods 

Pasta 

Noodles

Soy sauce (Tamari soy sauce is gluten free)

Worcestershire Sauce

Many flavoured crisps

Barley squashes

Beer, lager, stout, ales

Cous cous

Bulgar wheat

Pies and pastries

Pizza

Cakes and biscuits

Dumplings and Yorkshire puddings

Breakfast cereals

Muesli

Many packet sauces (powders and liquid sachets)

OTHER INGREDIENTS

Malt extract

Malt vinegar

Barley malt flavouring

Brewer’s yeast

Edible starch

What’s the problem with eating gluten?

The gluten proteins are very hard for your body to break down and, when they don’t break down completely, they cause inflammation in the digestive tract or leak through the wall of your small intestine into your bloodstream, creating an immune response.

Coeliac Disease is the most well-known gluten-related problems. It’s an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten and it causes your body to attack the small intestine, resulting in damage to the lining of the intestine.

Symptoms range from digestive distress like diarrhoea, cramping and nausea (among others) to anaemia, neurological disorders and skin diseases like psoriasis and dermatitis.

Testing for coeliac disease is by intestinal biopsy, usually when the condition is very advanced. There are a few specialist tests not available on the NHS [amend to suit your location] that I can offer clients and that can spot problems before you become very poorly. Email to ask me about this.

Wheat allergy is an abnormal immune response to one or more proteins found in wheat. Like other true allergies, the body makes a specific inflammatory response and symptoms can be mild or severe, including anaphylaxis, which can cause breathing difficulties and death. Allergies are usually detected using blood or finger-prick testing for IgE antibodies.

Non-coeliac gluten sensitivity is a ‘catch-all’ phrase that covers everything else! Advanced testing for gluten-related disorders (I mentioned this above) can pick up if your body is making an unfavourable response to gluten. Or, quite simply, you might know that gluten causes you issues, which can mean anything from milder intestinal symptoms, headaches, joint pain and fatigue, as well as neurological symptoms. While not life threatening, these can still have a profound effect on your health and how you feel and should not be ignored.

Neurological symptoms, really? Yes. What we’ve come to understand about gluten is that it can cross the blood brain barrier in the same way the proteins slip through the normally tight junctions in the gut. If you’ve ever heard people talking about Leaky Brain, this is what they are referring to. Research has shown that gluten can cause central and peripheral nervous system and psychiatric disorders

As some of you know, I have coeliac. After suffering from asthma, hay fever and severe eczema for many years, I was finally diagnosed after having lost 8kg in a short time and suffering diarrhea several times per day. At that point my brain fog was bad and led me to having finish work earlier and I spent most of my weekends sleeping as I was so exhausted. As you can imagine, it took many years to recover.

I see a lot of autoimmune clients in my nutrition clinic, including coeliac, Hashimotos and psoriasis and one of the first things I ask them to do is cut out gluten due to the inflammation gluten creates in the body.

Why is this a problem NOW?

But - I hear you cry - bread and gluten-containing products have been around for thousands of years so why is this only a problem now?

Gluten-containing grains now form the backbone of the modern diet thanks to an over-reliance on convenience and snack foods, and bread and pasta making multiple daily appearances on family menus. It’s not uncommon for me to find clients grabbing cereal or toast in the morning for breakfast, a sandwich or soup and roll at lunch and a pasta dish or pie in the evening.

We’re just eating way too much.

Add to that, the wheat we eat today is also markedly different from the historic versions that used to be grown thanks to industrial milling that brought us the almost entirely barren white flour and other highly processed foods that see today’s wheat stripped of many of its vital nutrients. Add to that, wheat is now grown very differently with fertilizers and pesticides to increase yields.

Dr William Davis, author of Wheat Belly, had this to say: “This thing being sold to us called wheat – it ain’t wheat. It’s this stocky high-yield plan, a distant relative of the wheat our mothers used to make muffins – light years removed from the wheat of just 40 years ago.”

Is giving up gluten bad for me?

You might have seen articles proclaiming that unless you are coeliac, you MUST eat gluten-containing products or all kinds of bad things that will happen, including nutrient deficiencies.

This is not the case. Articles citing the supposed nutrient deficiencies when you remove gluten containing foods that have been fortified with B vitamins (ie they have had extra B vitamins added). You could just ensure you eat foods that naturally contain vitamins instead!

As long as you focus on eating real food rather than relying on processed ‘gluten free alternatives’, there is really nothing to worry about.

About ‘gluten free foods’

Don’t make the mistake of thinking gluten free foods are necessarily healthy. When you buy any processed foods like breads, pastries, cakes and biscuits, you are in for a long list of ingredients, some of which you may not have heard of before. The same is true of gluten free processed food.

Gluten free breads are a case in point. Because the gluten in regular flour gives bread it’s unique texture, it’s hard to recreate gluten free, which is why gluten free bread often contains corn starch, rice flour, tapioca starch and potato flour, which are more likely to spike your blood sugar levels, be lower in fibre and cost more than regular bread.

How to go gluten free

If you suspect you have a problem with gluten, the answer is to eat no gluten at all. Don’t reduce it, don’t save it for treats. Because gluten intolerance provokes an immune response, there’s no halfway house. That means don’t eat any gluten-containing foods and try to minimise cross contamination with gluten products. The food industry has come a long way in the last few years, developing products and menus that contain no gluten, but you do need to be vigilant.

To start, you might find going zero gluten a struggle, but label checking and spotting cross contamination hazards will soon become second nature. Here are my biggest tips for following a zero gluten diet.

1. Become an avid reader of food labels. Get to know which food types and which brands contain gluten and, therefore, need to be avoided.

2. Don’t afraid to say you need to avoid gluten. Real friends will try to accommodate you, and restaurants have an obligation to point out any potential allergens (and remember you are paying for the meal!)

3. Carry an emergency snack (nuts, seeds, a protein bar) in case there really is nothing else to eat.

Hidden gluten

Hidden gluten is found in many processed foods, including sausages and beefburgers, sauces and gravies. Some products, while they contain no gluten-based ingredients, may have been produced in a factory that handles gluten. This means cross contamination is possible (imagine gluten free food surrounded by puffs of normal flour). These are also ideally avoided. This is why oats can be bought as gluten free or regular. Oats themselves contain no gluten but they are often packaged in an environment where other cereals like barley and wheat are processed.

Eating out

Most restaurants now offer a gluten free (GF) menu and, if not, can often advise on GF options on a standard menu. If something is not listed as being ‘gluten free’, always ask the waiting staff. If they don’t know, ask them to check with the chef. Sauces are one of the things you always need to check. Check chips are not fried in the same oil used for breaded products.

It’s a good idea to call ahead to find out what the GF options are. You’ll soon build up a bank of favourite destinations you know can cater for you. Svenska Celiakiförbundet have a lot of information and can also support with little cards to show staff in several languages. Handy when you travel!

Cross contamination

This can happen very easily in any kitchen – including your own. Grills, pans, chopping boards and utensils may still have traces of gluten on them so wash them diligently. Take care if using normal flour as residues can remain in the air for up to 24 hours and settle on counters. Crumbs are another hazard – you’ll want a separate butter or spread you can designate GF. You’ll also want a new toaster or use toast bags to prevent the transfer of crumbs.   

Are you suffering from festive FOMO?

Hey, would you like to come to this place, spend the evening at that place, have a mince pie, sausage roll, egg nog, mulled wine, taste my world-beating Christmas cake…?

And you’ll go because you can’t resist. You’ll feast like you’ll never see another meal, and you’ll consume frightening amounts of festive tipples because otherwise you’ll be missing out on all the fun, right?

FOMO – shorthand for ‘fear of missing out’ – is the acute and often unjustified belief that everyone is having way more fun than you. And it reaches its annual high any day now.

Small wonder. Apparently, the British cram 44% more social occasions into December than any other month.

But FOMO really is not your friend this month (or indeed any month) – especially if you want to maintain your weight over the holidays.

Let’s take a look at how that festive FOMO usually pans out…

You’re committed to healthy eating at Christmas, and you go to one buffet parties or events. The food looks delicious, but you are watching your weight, so your deprived mouth can only water. There’s a very subtle fear that you are never going to be able to have any of these delicious treats ever again. The fear of missing out activates your survival instinct to consume everything and anything. And so you go on a binge, and your healthy eating plans are obliterated. The self-recriminations start.  

Here’s the thing you need to know about FOMO: We are culturally programmed to over-value losses and under-value gains, so it’s really not your fault. So we put more importance on the food we may be missing out on, and less on our goals and wellbeing.

The big question, of course, is what are you are you really missing out on? Nothing. OK, maybe some sweet or high-carb treats, some booze filled evenings and such. But eating and drinking these have a flipside: blood sugar imbalance and energy crashes, poor sleep, almost certain weight gain (if you consume in excess) – and that’s without mentioning the negative self-talk for having over-indulged.

There’s another thing about this festive FOMO and it’s that it has you giving up taking responsibility for your actions around food and alcohol (You would have been able to resist, right, but it was the party season?).

FIX YOUR FOMO AROUND FOOD

There are several things going on when it comes to food. Your fear of ‘missing out’ on that delicious desert is the first.

But also refusing food (though it should be a basic human right) is mired in emotional meaning both for you and for the host.

The answer is not to find more and more creative ways to say no. If you have to own up to eating healthily around this time or being gluten or dairy free, this seems to compound the original offence of not wanting to eat.

Can you get that it doesn’t mean anything if you don’t want to stuff yourself to the gunnels with sausage rolls and mince pies? It doesn’t mean anything about your relationship with food, or how you feel about the host. You just don’t want the sausage rolls!

Your action plan is this:

1.    HAVE A PLAN Before you go to bed each night, plan out your food for the next day. This is never more true than at Christmas, when parties, chocolates, cookies and “treats” are just about everywhere.

2.    DON’T TRY TO DIET JUST NOW Set a maintenance goal instead. This is much more realistic and it is achievable, even at this time of year. It will also give you the freedom to enjoy yourself without feeling deprived, or that you’ve failed, which in turn means you’re more likely to rebel (and this is code for heading straight for the box of chocolates without a second glance).

3.    WATCH YOUR PORTION SIZES  - especially when it comes to fast-release carbs like white potatoes, pastry, breaded items, cakes, biscuits and other sweet things.

4.    DON’T GO TO A PARTY HUNGRY If you do, you will be fighting a loosing battle. Have a low GI snack before you go – just a little something that includes protein and slow release carbs (cottage cheese or unsweetened nut butter on an oatcake, for example).

5.    KEEP FAMILY CHOCOLATES OUT OF SIGHT so you’re not tempted to tuck in just because they’re there. Ever heard of the ‘see food and eat it’ diet?

FIX YOUR FOMO AROUND ALCOHOL

Often party-goers who are cautious about their alcohol consumption are viewed with suspicion.

If you want to have a few glasses of wine, have a few glasses of wine. But make that decision inside of what you know to be your social schedule over the entire Christmas period.

How does the amount of socialising stack up against your health goals?

To be clear, you absolutely can honour all your social commitments but, in order not to find yourself tempted by the usual crash diet in January, hear this: it IS possible to go out, have fun, eat well and be ‘healthy’. You just choose it.

If you cut back on the amount you are drinking at social gatherings – even choosing not to drink at some events at all – you can feel the improvements almost immediately. On those nights that you don’t drink at all, you’ll sleep better, wake feeling more refreshed, you’ll have much more energy, and your mood will be better. The impact on your waistline will be positive, too – alcohol is a big contributor to belly fat and is brimming with unnecessary calories.

Here are a few suggestions for cutting down – if that’s what you choose to do.

·      Decide how much you are going to drink (maximum) before you go out.

·      Consider telling someone else who will be there (friend or partner, perhaps) to help keep you accountable.

·      Don’t feel pressurised by others. It’s your life and you are the one who makes the decisions.

·      Have an excuse ready when you want to give it a miss (remember ‘no, thanks, I’d rather have …’ is perfectly OK.)