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Fermented Foods: Immune Fuel for Flu Season
Fall and winter are often called “flu season,” a time of year that many people fear, not knowing how to protect themselves. But when you strengthen the good bacteria in your body, you create an army of defenders that accompany you everywhere you go.
Most of us go through our day without paying much attention to our bodies unless we’re hungry or unwell. We often forget the incredible, unseen work happening within us. For example, did you know your heart pumps around 2,000 gallons of blood through its chambers daily, or that your kidneys filter about 40 gallons of blood to produce 1-2 quarts of urine? Then, there are the trillions of good bacteria—quietly but tirelessly working to protect you. These little powerhouses destroy harmful bacteria, sort through undigested food, balance your caloric intake, and even produce essential vitamins and nutrients. They're like microscopic bouncers in your digestive system, allowing in the good and blocking out dangerous viruses and harmful invaders.
Without these good bacteria, digestion would be impossible. But that's not all they do. They’re also the driving force behind 60-70% of your immune system. Without them, we simply couldn’t survive. So, it’s time to pay closer attention to how our bodies work, because if we don’t, they will get our attention—through sickness or disease.
So, what exactly is happening inside of you that determines whether you catch the flu or not? Your body is designed to combat pathogens and viruses. When a virus is looking for a host, your body has special defenders ready to seek out and destroy the invader, protecting you from getting sick. Building up your good bacteria is key to keeping that defense strong.
Microbes And Your Immune System
Inside Help
White blood cells are your body's first line of defense, destroying germs as soon as they’re detected. But when a viral infection starts to gain ground, your immune system calls in more powerful reinforcements: T cells and B cells. B cells create antibodies, which are special proteins that latch onto viruses, preventing them from replicating. They also tag viruses for destruction, signaling other blood cells to finish the job. T cells play their own vital roles—some act as alarms, raising the alert when they detect invaders.
Here’s where your gut microbes come into play. Certain beneficial bacteria in your gut can actually boost the strength of your immune system by increasing the number of T cells. These T cells come in two types: killer and helper. Killer T cells hunt down and destroy infected cells that have become virus factories, while helper T cells act more like military intelligence, coordinating the attack. When a helper T cell detects a virus, it sends a chemical signal to the killer T cells, directing them to destroy the invader.
Having a healthy, thriving community of good bacteria in your gut boosts T cell production and keeps the immune system's communication running smoothly. Signals from these beneficial microbes are crucial for keeping your immune system strong and effective in the face of viruses and infections. Unfortunately, many people have taken antibiotics, which wipe out both good and bad bacteria, leaving them without a strong microbial defense system to fight pathogens.
Consuming cultured foods is an easy and delicious way to replenish and strengthen your army of good microbes. It empowers your body, giving you confidence and a sense of vitality. While others are worrying about flu season, you can simply reach into your fridge, fortify your cells, and strengthen your immune system with every bite. And if you do get sick, cultured foods can help you recover faster, until eventually, you stop getting sick altogether. This is the "wellness zone," where you remember the incredible truth—you are a miraculous creation with everything you need to stay healthy, fight disease, and keep the flu at bay.
Cultured Veggies Fight Viruses
This is the cultured food I use for any kind of stomach virus 1 — cultured vegetables. Cultured vegetables are extremely effective when dealing with a stomach ailment. The stories I have witnessed are nothing short of miraculous. On several occasions, I have used cultured vegetables and their juice to get rid of food poisoning and a nasty stomach virus. It was like injecting some kind of magic tonic that worked so quickly I was shocked. When my children came down with the stomach flu, I gave them small sips of the juice from cultured veggies and watched as the vomiting and diarrhea and stomach cramps subsided. I have personally seen it knock out food poisoning within a few hours. The special bacteria in cultured veggies called Lactobacillus plantarum binds to the mucosal lining of the gut preventing the adhesion and translocation of pathogens. It steals the nutrients that pathogens need to survive, and the pathogens then die and pass out of the body. This reduces pathogen growth that can also lead to reducing any circulating endotoxins. Having too many endotoxins can cause the immune system to weaken, which can cause infections and inflammation.
Check out my cultured veggie recipe:
Kefir Is Powerful Food - Like Medicine
Kombucha & My Favorite Probiotic Yeast
Kombucha is a wonderful probiotic drink and something you should really consider drinking daily during cold and flu season. The special probiotic yeast in kombucha (Saccharomyces boulardii, which cannot be killed by antibiotics) can help you stay healthy when viruses are all around you. This superstar probiotic is one of the most thoroughly researched of all probiotic supplements. 3 It is now used to treat Clostridium difficile, acute diarrhea, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, some parasitic forms of diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal disorders.4 It also has anti-inflammatory and antitoxin effects. It neutralizes toxins produced by harmful pathogens and sends out a signal to the body to reduce inflammation. Inflammation can lead to a number of negative health outcomes. Interestingly enough, S. boulardii can also act as a decoy to harmful pathogens. It attracts and binds with the pathogens, keeping them from attaching to the intestinal wall and doing damage.
Kombucha is the first thing I reach for when I'm battling a sore throat or cough. Sometimes it works better for a cough to let it get to room temperature since cold things can make you cough. It's great for adrenal stress that is due to your body fighting an infection. I just can't say enough good things about it.
Check out this kombucha recipe, loaded with vitamin C:
Fermented Garlic Two Ways
These two recipes are wonderful for helping prevent colds or cases of flu and also shortening their duration. Allicin is an organosulfur compound in garlic that is made when you crush the garlic or ferment it. It’s a defense mechanism against attacks by pests on the garlic plant and has incredible benefits. There have been studies that suggest a daily high dose of allicin proved to be effective in helping to prevent the common cold.5 Eat a clove a day at the first sign of a cold or flu. Food is Medicine, especially if it’s fermented! You can use these in hundreds of recipes (the juice as well) and they will knock out a head cold ASAP! Garlic is also a prebiotic, so it provides extra benefits as well. It’s easy to make, and the juice or extra honey can be added to salad dressings and sauces to make them probiotic!
Fermented Garlic
Fermented Garlic and Honey
There are lots of probiotic foods to choose from and here are other recipes you can include in your arsenal for cold and flu season.
These are the foods with microbes that work to keep you healthy - better than drugs. And you can keep a lot of them in your fridge to have on hand. I consider them my flu shots in jars - kefir, kombucha, and cultured veggies - and if you would like to know where you can get them or how to make them easily, check out these recipes:
How to Make Kefir
How to Make Kombucha
How to Make Veggies
Listen To My Podcast
Fall and winter are often called “flu season,” a time of year that many people fear, not knowing how to protect themselves. But when you strengthen the good bacteria in your body, you create an army of defenders that accompany you everywhere you go. Tune in to learn more.
References:
- http://www.jarrow.com/articles/release/id/417/Lactobacillus_Plantarum_299v,_Natural_Solutions_to_GI_Problems
- https://news.gsu.edu/2017/12/13/lactic-acid-bacteria-can-protect-influenza-virus-study-finds/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17767461/
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21301358 .
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/11657457_Preventing_the_common_cold_with_a_garlic_supplement_A_double-blind_placebo-controlled_survey
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