Lee Spark’s Nutrition Focus
November 2009
Autumnal & Winter Greetings…
I hope my first Nutrition Focus back in the Spring was both interesting and thought-provoking for you.
Put together in order to help anyone spring clean their diet, the main function of the Spring newsletter was to help you to set up a foundation on which to build. Now we’re into the season where our immune defenses really do get tested to the limit, here is your first building block…
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
Intestinal Health – The Heart of Immunity
Did you know…?
Approximately 400-500 types of bacteria reside in the digestive system - each type has many strains
Some are aerobic (need oxygen to survive), many more are anaerobic (do not need oxygen to survive), while others can be either and produce lactic acid in order to acidify the intestines making it less hospitable to harmful types of bacteria
Common types of intestinal bacteria include Bacteroides, Bifidobacteria, Fusobacteria &Lactobacillus
Around one hundred trillion strains live in the digestive system – that’s 10 times more bacteria than cells in our body!
Bacteria in the mouth – billions; In the stomach – few, due to the acid environment; In the small Intestine – billions;
In the large intestines (colon) – many trillions Around 80% of the immune system is in and around the gastrointestinal tract – this is why our digestive system function is so strongly linked to how well our immune defences work.
Names can be deceiving! Some types of Escherichia coli (E. coli) are beneficial and live happily
in the intestines, while certain E.coli strains are potentially pathogenic like E.coli 0517 which can
cause digestive upset and bleeding. Similarly with Staphylococcus and Streptococcus – both
of which have beneficial types but which also include some very unfriendly pathogenic strains such
as Staphylococcus aureus (linked to impetigo and food poisoning) and Streptococcus pyogenes
(linked to tonsillitis & more serious infections)
The purely protective and friendly types of bacteria residing in our intestines are referred to as
probiotics, a term which is also used for the dietary supplement forms and naturally occurring
cultures in certain foods, discussed further on – Probiotic means ‘for life’ or ‘healthful to life’
∙ Antibiotics unsurprisingly translates to ‘against life’, prescribed to clear bacterial infections but
which are unable to differentiate between types of gut bacteria and kill beneficial types of bacteria
too.
Crowd Out the Bad Guys
Imagine the situation; unbeneficial bacteria causing
problematic symptoms of ill health. Although there are
many factors at play during this common scenario, there
is one fact that remains constant…the chance to squeeze
into a space, attach and cause havoc. If the community
of ‘good’ bacteria are imbalanced and less than optimum,
it leaves space open for opportunistic potentially ‘bad’
bacteria to attach themselves to the gut lining, begin
replicating and causing problems. In a nutshell, if they don’t attach and adhere, then they can’t begin to go to work and upset the balance! |
 |
Food for Thought and for Immunity – it’s much more than just live yoghurt!
If you have laid those foundations, including a decrease in sugar intake and increases in fibre rich vegetables, whole grains and seeds, then your gut and immune cells will already be thanking you. There are two groups of foods which specifically increase and maintain our beneficial strains of gut bacteria – these are prebiotics and cultured (fermented) foods.
Inulin and Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) are the most common prebiotics and are naturally present in the foods on the chart below. These prebiotics ‘feed’ the beneficial probiotics in the intestines – both inulin and FOS have been shown to stimulate the growth and activity of Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli species (1).
Cultured (fermented) foods are produced when natural carbohydrates convert into alcohols or acids via the action of microorganisms. Think milk into yoghurt and cheeses, soybeans into miso and tamari or grapes into wine. Not only are fermented foods alive with probiotic organisms but they are also rich in digestive enzymes and increased levels of nutrients like B vitamins.
* These are recommended to be consumed in moderation, particularly caffeinated and alcoholic beverages.
** Always consult with your GP and a qualified Nutritional Therapist before using supplements – your GP and/or your NT could also
use laboratory testing to determine any potential underlying causes of ill-health together with a tailored course of action.
Next Time
I regularly get asked for my opinion on the wide range of pro/prebiotic yoghurt drinks sold mainly in
supermarkets. Through my own ongoing research on these, I have found both positives and negatives
with several brands. In the next March 2010 Nutrition Focus I will be looking in detail at this subject and presenting the results…
…Until then, may I wish you and yours a restful, slightly indulgent Christmas and healthful 2010.
References and Useful Reading
1. Gibson.GR., Roberfroid.MB. (1995). Dietary modulation of the human colonic microbiota: introducing the concept of prebiotics. Journal of Nutrition. Jun; 125 (6): 1401-1412.
“Digestive Wellness” by Elizabeth Lipski, Keats publishing.
|
