Food as “medicine” to strengthen the immune system
Health comes above all from the table, as Hippocrates already claimed in his treatise “Ancient Medicine”. And it is time we all became more aware of it: everyone, no one excluded.
Hippocrates argued forcefully that food can be medicine or poison, depending on the manner and quantity of intake. And never before has it been more appropriate to shake our consciences and become aware of how food plays a crucial role in our health.
To stay healthy and fight off any enemy virus, we must keep the gut healthy, where as much as 70 percent of our immunological response resides, particularly in the jejunum and small intestine.
It goes without saying that what we choose to ingest is of decisive significance.
Equilibrating the delicate balance of the bacteria that harbor the full 7 meters of our intestines is our responsibility. These have an extremely powerful filter within their walls: the villi, protuberances responsible for filtering food coming from digestion happening in the stomach. They prevent bacteria, viruses, and foreign material from coming into contact with the membrane of the enterocytes, that is, the epithelial wall cells that lie below the villi.
When the villi are “compromised” by poor and incorrect nutrition, the road to disease begins to be paved, often quite silently.
Villi and bacteria that host our intestines must be protected; so do the joints that separate the gut from the bloodstream. They are compromised by refined foods, sugar, gluten, casein, corn, soy, and legumes rich in lectins (anti-nutrients).
Our Western culture provides a diet rich in gluten and casein: this causes almost all of us to suffer from permeable bowel syndrome, sometimes without even realizing it until it is too late and the damage is irreparable, or nearly so. It is the famous and much-feared leaky gut syndrome.
When the villi fail to do their job properly, the bacteria are out of balance, and the joints are “enlarged”, we get “inflammation”.
Mostly chronic inflammation, which is the basis of all diseases: intervening at the level of inflammation is therefore our only insurance for perfect health.
So, what should we do concretely?
Take better care of our diet, of course. And this is not at all a triviality, precisely because of the delicate balances mentioned above.
Abound with precious raw olive oil, or choose flax and hemp oil.
Include avocado at least 2 to 3 times a week.
And use Ghee, the gold of the gods, every day, especially for cooking.
In fact, “noble” fats are rich in phospholipids, which balance cell membranes, formed precisely by fatty acids.
By the way, B and T lymphocytes require a large amount of phospholipids for proper functioning and performing their “immunocompetent” tasks.
This is why it is so important that we provide them with the raw materials they need to function at their best! Good and noble fats are great allies in this!
For proper balance of gut bacteria (our beloved microbiota) it is important to take fermented vegetables and specific foods that nourish the “good” bacteria (e.g., sweet potato is great, both red and purple!).
Let’s avoid all those substances that can somehow create a further enlargement of the gut’s tight junctions, that is, the barrier that should prevent the passage of all those harmful molecules, viruses, or bacteria. These substances are still the same: gluten, dairy, legumes, and sugar.
Every once in a while, it is also useful to let the digestive tract “rest”: it is always under a heavy workload with digestion. Let’s eat less and better.
A good idea may be skipping dinner from time to time, provided that we first cleanse the excretory organs responsible for detoxification. Fasting, or skipping even one meal without first cleansing the liver and intestines, means putting toxins into the bloodstream and failing to flush them out.
So, anything can be done, but with proper precautions and using our heads, never randomly!
It would be the right time to reflect and start seriously re-considering that health begins with a “healthy” gut, and the gut is not the second, but our first brain!
Nothing more, nothing less.
Health starts with a healthy gut.
And health is about conscious choices.
Day after day.
Meal after meal.
Everything, really everything, is, as usual, in our hands.
