Did you know that the millions of bacteria that live in and on you combine to form a critical component in your immune system? Well, like it or not; they do. And that’s because they help to protect your body from invading bacteria, germs and chemicals to enhance your immune system (helping to turn it on and off) to protect you effectively against colds, the flu and other infectious illnesses and diseases.

In which case, if you’re prone to catching such ailments, it could well be the balance of your gut microbiota (the kind of bacteria your gut contains) is off. And, in extreme cases, imbalanced gut bacteria might well contribute to immune-related diseases like asthma and inflammatory bowel disease.

So, to improve a weakened immune system, why not consider a gut restoration programme? Here are five steps you might want to implement…

Eliminate food intolerances

First up, you need to work out which foods you have an intolerance to – we’re talking the likes of certain nuts, dairy, eggs, soy, spicy foods, sugar and wheat. How? Remove them over the course of 10-28 days and then reintroduce them, one ingredient or food at a time. This’ll aid you in working out what does and doesn’t actually agree with you. Note: you may not want to return to much of sugar or processed grains at all.

Add fermented foods to your diet

It could be that you’re suffering from issues because your gut requires re-inoculation. How so? Well, from birth you may have had a poorly colonised gut (like it or not, harmful bacteria outnumbering the ‘good’ bacteria, such as probiotics), or it’s got that way over time due to a diet too low in nutrients or you’ve had one too many courses of antibiotics (which kill off both good and ‘bad’ bacteria). So, to re-inoculate your gut, you might try adding fermented foods to your daily diet. Indeed, such foods comprising probiotics include the likes of kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut, tempeh, yogurt and even pickles. If you’re not used to eating fermented food, then don’t rush it; build up the amount you add to each meal as you go.

Try some herbal remedies

To heal your gut properly – so that, yes, it might be able to operate properly – it needs to be healed in the way you’d want a skin wound to be totally healed. To that end, why shouldn’t you look to remedies for your gut; the sort of remedies that have been proven to work over many centuries by many different civilisations? Holistic remedies then like aloe, glutamine and liquorice root are great for supporting intestinal-lining growth. Additionally, you might want to try Omega-3 fatty acids for their restorative and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as ginger, quercetin, rosemary and turmeric.

Support your gut’s healthy bacteria

Good gut health, in essence, often comes down to repopulating your intestinal system with good bacteria, so the latter outnumbers the bad bacteria. And you can help that process along by feeding the good bacteria exactly the ‘food’ they need to survive and thrive; that is, prebiotics. These chemicals occur in many different healthy, organic foods, including artichokes, asparagus, beans, garlic, oats, onions and practically evert green leafy vegetable.

Try Restore for Gut Health

A dietary/ nutritional supplement? Yes. But why would you need one if you’re making significant positive changes to your diet. Well, this one’s no ordinary supplement. Restore’s a unique and ground-breaking product for healing the gut mucosa that was developed by Dr Zach Bush in the United States. With the gut’s lining being prone to getting so easily damaged, Restore comes into its own thanks to its innate ability to restore the tight junctions of the gut; thus, significantly helping to maintain healthy, regular function.

Indeed, this most impressive of supplements – available through us at The Finchley Clinic – has been proven both in laboratory and clinical testing to support the functioning of the gut barrier and improve intestinal health by strengthening these tight junctions between the gut’s small and large membrane cells, supporting the aim of an optimal gut environment.