The research, a mouse study, showed that when two mice–one healthy, one obese with liver disease–were put in the same cage, the healthy mouse became obese. Many factors, including mice’s tendency to eat other mice’s feces, could enter into the equation. But, the bad bacterial strains from the fat mouse ended up in the healthy mouse’s gut. This change in gut microbe populations–more bad bacteria, less good–manifests itself in more disease susceptibility and weight gain (bad bacteria dominating the digestive track can inhibit nutrient absorption while also signaling for imbalanced immune response, triggering inflammation).

None of this, of course, is even close to being conclusive. But it does kind of relate to other research showing that a pregnant mother’s bacterial and pathogen exposure and the immune composition shaped by that exposure can be transferred to the fetus.

More new research this week. Yesterday, news about a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences was racing all over the news stream. The study showed that constant arguing and personal conflict can trigger cellular inflammation within the body, which, if persisting over the long term, can lead to serious health problems including high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes and depression.

Inflammation is an immune response. A bit of short-term, temporary inflammation can be protective and beneficial. Long-term inflammation is immune function running amok…out of balance. See my recent post on stress, the gut, and immune health.

During this political season, I’ll have a new perspective as I watch the election year unfold. Hope they are all taking EpiCor and doing The Five S’s.

Here’s a brief explanation.

Stress can alter the bacterial composition of the digestive tract. When that happens, good/bad bacteria are out of balance. When bad bacteria rule the roost (in the gut), the ability of the body’s immune system to operate at top efficiency is compromised. Gut bacteria are the “educators” of the body’s immune cell behavior, signaling aggressive or passive response as needed, depending on the kinds of pathogens or antigens that enter the body and alert the immune system.

An even better, but lengthier, discussion is here. The author likens immune balance as a “four-way seesaw” that needs to maintain balance to work.

Go, stress, gut, immune. They make your health world go round. That’s why stress management over the long term is so important. It can impact so many other parts of your health and eventually, your quality of life.

The Five S’s refer to five things you can do to maintain optimal immune health. In my book, these measures will also impact many other health areas, including weight, cardio, skin and mental health.

The are:

Sustenance – Meaning diet and nutrition. A diet tilted toward fruits and veggies, less processed sugar, moderate lean fresh meat consumption, healthy fats, a good amount of water and maybe a red wine or dark beer here and there, can help feed healthy gut bacteria essential for immune health while also addressing cell inflammation that damages health. Think Mediterranean.

Sport – Moderate exercise can improve immune function. The science is there.

Stress – Managing stress helps impact gut health, where stress can upset the balance of immune-controlling beneficial bacteria.

Sleep – A solid 7 or 8 hours of sleep a night can do wonders for immune health.

Supplementation – Nutritional support with EpiCor can help optimize immune health, especially during stretches when diet, stress management, sleep or exercise might be lacking.

Keep these Five S’s at the fore. See how things go during the year. You may be surprised.

We’ve all known that stress and anxiety is something, when severe, you feel in your gut. That’s been known for centuries. However, more and more science is showing how that anxiety-driven upset stomach, if left unchecked long enough, actually can reconfigure the balance of beneficial bacteria in the gut, which can negatively impact immune function and overall health.

A very good description of gut health, stress and immune function can be found here. It’s a site about prescription meds, but the article itself is well done. In fact, they call the gut “the second brain” in this story. Very interesting.

The pardox is this: We want to keep babies and young kids–whose immune systems are weak and still forming–free of germs and viruses, so they won’t get sick. However, it is the exposure to germs and viruses at a young age that “trains” and shapes the immune system, making it stronger and more effective as one grows older. Kids who grow up in a relatively sterile environment–no playing in the dirt, no daycare, no pets, no running around on the farm (as kids did decades ago)–do not get exposed to microbes at a young age. Therefore, when they get older, their first exposure to pathogens or antigens triggers severe over-reaction of the immune system, making for more frequent illness, and longer duration and greater severity of symptoms.

The new study mentioned above concluded that newborns not exposed to a variety of bacteria at birth or shortly after did not develop a healthy balance of microbiota (beneficial bacteria) in the gut, thereby weakening immune function  and increasing risk of developing allergies. Gut bacteria is a major determinant of immune system effectiveness.

So this holiday season, let your young kids play in the snow, pet the horses on the sleigh, maybe even get a puppy for Christmas. Their immune health may be the better for it.

PRO - You’re outside, getting some sun exposure. That’s good for vitamin D production in your body, which is good for immune support. Even if it’s a night game, most people started tailgating at noon, so the sun benefit is still there.

PRO - Stress reduction. Tailgating is a good time. That means it’s a great stress reliever. That’s good for immune balance.

PRO - Unless you are a teetotaler, you are probably drinking some form of alcohol. Fermented beverages–in moderation–can help support good microbiota (beneficial bacteria) production in the gut.  Beneficial gut bacterial is very important for immune health.

CON – Unless you are a teetotaler, you are probably drinking some form of alcohol. And, if you are consuming enough alcohol so that you cannot find your way into the stadium for kickoff, you are probably damaging immune health and other biological systems in the body. And you are dehydrating yourself as well. Hydration is important for daily health.

PRO – Food. Lots of football fans are eating healthier these days. Not just burgers and beer. I’ve seen elaborate spreads that feature immaculate cuts of meat, impressive  fruit and vegetable offerings, even wheat buns. And everything is grilled, not fried. Unless you’re in Alabama or Mississippi.

CON – Food. As in massive dessert trays and lots of sodas and sugar. Oh well, it’s only one day.

PRO – Community and socializing.  Research shows community involvement and social networks (live human ones) contribute significantly to healthier immune function.

CON – Tailgating after the game. Whether you are celebrating a win or drowning your sorrows after a loss, you’ve probably already eaten and imbibed enough. Now you’re just piling on. Penalty flag for illegal use of hands and mouth and stomach.

PRO - Portable toilets that are a mile away from your tailgate. That gives you some exercise and cuts down on time available for overconsumption. Both are healthy factors in tailgating.

But what about the converse? Can working to naturally improve immune function result in beneficial weight loss? It’s hard to say. But there may be some correlations. Take diet and exercise, for example. Both are important for immune health. Exercise can aid with production of antibodies and T-cells to fight infection. Research is also suggesting moderate exercise for immune health support. Extreme exercise can, at least temporarily, weaken immune function.

Healthy diet can influence gut microbiota–the balance of healthy bacteria in the digestive system. And sleep. Always important for immune health and stress reduction, which impacts immune health, too. Stress reduction can also impact release of “stress hormones” in the gut, which can contribute to mid-section girth and weight gain. One outlyer I’ve found, though, is the concept of colon cleansing for weight loss. The concept is that a colon cleanse will rid the intestinal tract of toxins that can inhibit healthy weight loss. Problem is, colon cleanses may also take out beneficial bacteria as well, leading to questionable health results, to say the least.

While I’ve not found any sizable clincial study showing a direct correlation between improved immune function and healthy levels of weight loss, to me, it appears to be a circular sequence. Many of the things that go into healthy weight loss…better nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress reduction…can contribute to a healthier, balanced immune system as well. And vice versa.

The story, on NPR, mentioned Djokovic’s gluten-free diet as a possible contributor to his awesome tennis achievements.  With that, I had to do a little further investigation. A Wall St. Journal story from a few months ago provided some more detail.  Says the Journal: “Last year, Djokovic’s nutritionist discovered that Djokovic is allergic to the protein, which is found in common flours. Djokovic banished it from his diet and lost a few pounds. He says he now feels much better on court.” The story went on to quote a Cornell Univ. nutrition and psychology professor, who said gluten free foods, for people with or even without gluten allergies, may increase mental energy, so crucial in world-class singles tennis. He also mentioned a possible placebo effect.

Is gluten-free a good thing, especially if you have no gluten allergy or celiac disease?  Here’s an overview from the hilariously-named blog “Three Fat Chicks on a Diet.” Good immune health may be the biggest sacrifice of gluten free diets, as wheat gluten can promote growth of beneficial bacteria in the gut, which is crucial for immune health. EpiCor provides such prebiotic benefits,  so it may be a good supplemental source of prebiotic benefits if someone is cutting out gluten from their diets.

Another take on gluten-free, which may also lack important B vitamins and fiber,  is in this ABC News report.

Sauerkraut and sausage - two fermented mainstays

products to his cattle on his small farm. He eventually noticed that cattle eating those fermented material seemed to be healthier and require less attention than other herds.

Soon, he was developing a technology in 1943 for a natural, dried yeast-based fermentate as a livestock feed additive.  A lot of research was conducted on efficacy in animals, and as the science grew, the real-world animal health and production results grew and the company grew.  A similar natural fermentation technology was developed for human consumption, and is now the core ingredient product for EpiCor.  Which brings me to my point: fermented foods and beverages seems to be very good for you, and fermentation may be one big reason why EpiCor works so well in human trials. Why do fermented foods have such nutritional mojo? One source, Rebecca Wood, sums it up nicely:

1. Unprocessed fermented foods boost the immune system by increasing antibodies that fight infectious disease.
2. The flora in living cultured foods form a “living shield” that covers the small intestine’s inner lining and helps inhibit pathogenic organisms including E.coli, salmonella and an unhealthy overgrowth of candida (yeast).
3. Some ferments create antioxidants (glutathione and superoxide dismustase) that scavenge free radicals which are a cancer precursor.
4. Fermenting transforms hard-to-digest lactose from milk to the more easily digested lactic acid. It neutralizes the anti-nutrients found in many foods including the phytic acid found in all grains and the trypsin-inhibitors in soy.
5. Fermentation generates new nutrients including omega-3 fatty acids, digestive aids and the trace mineral GTF chromium.

What  fermented products, besides EpiCor, can you eat and drink that can provide even more imunne health benefit?

• Yogurt
• Sauerkraut
• Sourdough bread
• Beer (not too much)
• Miso, soy sauce
• Olives and other pickled vegetables (not mass produced, but traditionally marinated)
• Aged cheeses
• Wine
• Kimche (spicy Korean cabbage)