Your immunity support might be MISSING this ‘gut vitamin’
Your immune system may SEEM like a big mystery to you…
And it’s true, it can get a little complicated.
But I’m here today to break it down for you…
And to REVEAL 1 thing your immune support plan might be MISSING.
It’s something your body needs for IRON-CLAD immunity…
But it works a little differently than you might think.
Here’s how to make sure you’re hitting ALL 3 marks when it comes to ENHANCED immune function.
You may have heard how B vitamins help support healthy immune function…
And how they could help you BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES when something may put your defenses under attack.
But they don’t just RAMP UP your immunity.
After all, sometimes it’s an OVERACTIVE immune response that can make you feel really sick… and could actually WORSEN outcomes.
Turns out, B vitamins could actually help BEAT BACK that exaggerated immune reaction…
Which could be why B vitamin deficiency has been linked to autoimmune disease.
Each of the B vitamins plays a specific role in your body… and can interact with your immunity in its own way…
Including helping certain enzymes trigger certain activities.
But what you need to know is that your supply of B vitamins doesn’t ONLY rely on the food you eat… or even the supplements you take.
Because B vitamin levels also go hand-in-hand with your gut microbiome!
That’s because certain strains of gut bacteria can actually PRODUCE some B vitamins… which your body then ABSORBS through the colon…
While others need to CONSUME certain B vitamins in order to function properly.
That means if you THINK you’re getting plenty of your Bs… but you DON’T have your gut health in order…
You could be MISSING OUT on the protection you need!
This may explain part of the reason how your “gut bugs” can INFLUENCE your immunity…
And why you need to FEED your microbiota in order to SHORE UP your defenses.
I’m not just talking about taking probiotics – although that will certainly help REBALANCE your beneficial bacterial colonies.
But you also need to supplement with prebiotics… or the fiber that helps those “good bugs” THRIVE.
A 2019 animal study found that supplementing with prebiotics not only helped IMPROVE the gut microbiome… but it also helped REPLENISH the levels of B vitamins!
The result? BANISHED inflammation and a BALANCED immune response.
And while some of your gut bugs DO contribute to your B vitamin stores… research shows that it may not be ENOUGH to protect you.
On the other side of the coin, not consuming enough B vitamins from an outside source could also SABOTAGE your gut microbiota.
That’s why you need the “power trio” of…
- B vitamins
- probiotics
- prebiotics.
Fortunately, you don’t have to spend all day organizing your capsules.
Brewer’s yeast is a source of both immune-tweaking probiotics and some B vitamins.
Or, you can find a single supplement that combines all 3 of the above at your local health food store or online.
An omega-3 (or fish oil) supplement may help boost the effectiveness of both the probiotics and the B vitamins… and could help support immunity all on its own, too.
To your healthy immunity,
Sarah Reagan
Source:
“Metabolism of Dietary and Microbial Vitamin B Family in the Regulation of Host Immunity” – Frontiers in Nutrition (4/17/19)
www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2019.00048/full
