Posted on December 29th, 2008 by Stuart Reeves, Ph.D., Scientific Contributor
Immune balance and gut health Part II: The GALT & the Gut
Editor’s note: in a recent post, Dr. Stuart Reeves of Embria Health Sciences explained the difference between 
probiotics, prebiotics and a combination of the two called synbiotics. Today’s post describes how gut health agents contribute to a health, balanced immune system.
If you have been watching television lately you have probably seen that over 70% of the human immune system is located in the wall of the gut – the GALT – the Gut Associated Lymphoid Tissue. In one sense the “reason” the GALT is present is to prevent invasion of pathogenic bacteria, as might be expected. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that gut bacteria (natural and probiotics) and the GALT “talk” to each other, and one can directly and indirectly influence the other.
Probably the most abundant antibody produced in the body is gut-associated secretory IgA. Originally, it was thought that its role was to attach to foreign and pathogenic bacteria and cause them to be passed out of the system. It is now becoming clear that it also has a major role in maintaining the balance of the normal gut flora.
So finally, if you are still with me, we get to why a healthy, balanced immune system can be an aid to a healthy digestive system. Keeping the appropriate levels of secretory IgA present in the gut can help keep the gut bacterial population in balance, and still have enough left over to repel pathogens. When there are pathogenic attacks, a balanced immune system will repel the attack, without going overboard on the inflammatory response. They are linked – a healthy gut can help keep the immune system healthy, and a balanced immune system can help keep the gut healthy. Who helps whom the most will depend on a host of factors, but anything that stresses the immune system can have a bad effect on general digestion.
January 4th, 2009 at 12:03 am
We are living this right now! My son (5 years old) has Autism and has severe leaky gut and almost no NK cell reactivity (as of June that is). We started Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN) which is a safe, non-toxic, non-addicting immune modulator. Wow! His overall health has improved, of course we are working very hard on gut health as priority #1 but the overall immune support helps that as well. We’ve added in fermented foods like kombucha and soon homemade sauerkraut and of course nightly probiotics, heavy duty ones given his challenges. He had invasive yeast and clostridia bacteria. As we clean that up and his overall gut situation, his symptoms of Autism are fading. Amazing! But, more people than not probably have some of the same issues, just not to the same symptomatic level as my son. Our American diet is so awful as is our desire to reach for antibiotics at the drop of a hat. Great blog!!
January 5th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Thanks Terri, for the comment and for the detail on your son’s journey. You sound like you are really on top of the situation and exploring a lot of enlightening avenues. Every week it seems like I come upon a new health scenario that is impacted by immune balance. Yours is extremely interesting and promising. Best of success with your son’s progress and your wonderful, caring work.