Your Gut Contains 70-80% of Your Immune System!

I am going to get a bit scientific with you this month about the immune system, many of us have autoimmune disease.   With 70-80% of our immune system being in our gut, it is important that we repair our guts to not develop more autoimmune diseases and to help any we may already have. 
 
The immune system includes three main lines of defense against invaders:
 
Physical barriers – Physical tissues and mechanical functions of the body meant to stop the entrance of invaders.
 
Innate immunity – White blood cells (leukocytes) and other biochemical substances that provide a rapid response to a wide range of common invaders. This is your surveillance team and manager of the entire immune response.

Adaptive immunity – Specific white blood cells (called lymphocytes) that are capable of adapting to target specific invaders that escaped the nonspecific defenses.
 
1. Small Intestine: Eating under stress, not chewing foods properly can lead to a non-healthy mucosal lining and the cellular junctions are not tight, allowing food particles, proteins in particular, to leak through causing an immune response.  Known as “Leaky Gut”.
 
2. Large Intestine: Pathogenic microbes that get into the large intestine crowd out healthy bowel flora, leading to overgrowth of parasites, fungus, and aggressive bacteria. The Microbiome when disturbed like this, make us lose this important physical barrier.
 
3. Phagocytes: These are cells that engulf and destroy pathogens, bacteria.  They identify pathogens using receptors that recognize fats and carbohydrates found on the outer membranes of common bacteria.
 
4. Lymphocytes: These are white blood cells that play a huge role in the adaptive immune system.  The two types associated are T Cells and B Cells.  T Cells receptors only recognize protein-based antigens and mature in the Thymus.  They do not produce antibodies, nor can they recognize antigens through their receptors alone as B cells can.  The 3 main T Cells are: Killer T Cells (killers of viruses), Helper T Cells (Messenger to the immune system) and Regulatory T Cells (Promote immune tolerance and keep the system from overreacting).

B Cells mature in the bone marrow.  B Cells are great at locating bacteria, fungus, and parasites outside of the cell, but cannot see when the cell itself has become infected.  They have special proteins on the surface of their membranes called B Cell Receptors, or BCR’s, these are the eyes of the cell.  They produce antibodies after activation, either through stimulation by a T helper cell or direct contact with the specific kind of substance it was made to recognize. These specific substances are called an antigens and made of carbohydrates, proteins, and/or fatty acids. After a B cell’s receptor has bound with an antigen– or after it has been activated by a T helper cell– it is stimulated to begin producing antibodies.   BCRs and antibodies are mostly identical and, as a group, are called immunoglobulins.
 
5. IgE antibodies: Although great at defending against pathogens, they are most known for the allergic response.  They stimulate mast cells and basophils to release histamine, in high amounts this can cause anaphylaxis.  Because of this, the substance that an IgE antibody binds with has a special name– allergen, as opposed to antigen.  Allergens can be an array of substances but are primarily carbohydrates and proteins.
 
6. Type I – Immediate: This is a true allergic reaction.  The food or environmental factor that triggers a reaction is called an allergen, rather than an “antigen” (as most other immune responses). The symptoms of an allergic response are generally felt within 15 to 30 minutes of exposure.  This is a classic Th2, histamine driven response is brought on by IgE, basophils and eosinophils.  This may cause anaphylactic shock.
 
7. Type IV – Delayed:  A classic delayed food hypersensitivity and can also be seen in organ specific autoimmune disease.   Immune responses generally occur within 48 to 72 hours of exposure to exogenous substances like foods, heavy metals, or to bacterial, fungal, or viral pathogens.  Because they involve the recognition of MHC complexes, they are mediated by T cells (generally Th1 or Th17) and macrophages. The specific symptoms that a person may have are strongly influenced by their genetics. Some associated conditions are contact dermatitis (including poison ivy), Celiac Disease, Hashimoto’s, Chron’s Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and many non-Celiac gluten sensitivities.
 
Not sure how to repair a Leaky Gut?  Contact me for a free Discovery Call to see if Nutritional Therapy is something you might benefit from.

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