Boost Immune System For Children

December 15, 2017 By Nemira Leave a Comment

A healthy microbiome depends on the immune system. Boosting the immune system in children is possible through the supervision of lifestyle at an early age. The microbiome is a bunch of microbes in the intestines weighing about 3 pounds. It is the same weight as the brain. Humans have nearly ten thousand microbial species. There are at least one hundred microbes for one human gene. Bacteria are responsible for biochemical activities such as digesting carbohydrates from food or producing vitamins.

How are kids and microbiomes connected?

The period from birth to three years is busy for children’s microbiome. For three years, the child’s microbiome has been continuously changing. By age three, the microbiome will have the same behavior pattern as adults.

Adults have stability and bounce back after challenging the microbiome. The first three years are essential in the toddler’s life — all interactions with food, people, and the environment influence the quality and behavior of the microbiome.

More dirt in a child’s life, more health for the microbiome and immune system

Children who play outside, interact with animals, and have many siblings or friends around develop a robust microbiome and immune system. How does it happen?

It is the same as the training. The child is exposed to various unharmful bacteria, which train the immune system to adjust and deal with multiple intruders.

Our ancestors did not wash their hands with sanitizer or dishes in machines. They hunted, planted, and cultivated soil touching it whenever it was needed.

Good and bad bacteria

Good and bad bacteria are expressions of lifestyle. Bacteria can change behavior according to the environment, food, and immune system. Usually, a healthy immune system keeps bacteria in the right places. The authors of the book Dirt Is Good said that

some of the bacteria that are considered to be beneficial to your gut when stressed, turn to the dark side and infect your body’s tissues.

Bacteria behave in an excellent or harmful way depending on circumstances. For example, E.Coli usually sits quietly in the gut, but when food changes, stress, or toxins bother us, E. Coli can cause diarrhea or urinary tract infections.

It is fascinating how a robust immune system keeps things in check. Meningitis bacteria reside in the back of the throat and nose. However, just one in a thousand can be infected thanks to close contact with the carrier.

Everything is connected

Parents can boost children’s immune systems by introducing them to new things such as dirt, animals, friends, or various objects. A well-trained immune system would keep the microbiome in good shape, not letting them rebel. Nutritious food, fresh air, plenty of play, and moves around will keep the microbiome and immune system in balance. Microbiome and immune system correlate. The immune system is healthy, microbiome flourishes.

Here is an interesting video about a connection between the gut microbe and the brain. Unfortunately, we forgot many beneficial things. Slowly, we return to the unique and unharmful lifestyle.

Do you have any thoughts about the importance of food to our well-being? It would be great to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.

Dirt For the Immune System

December 1, 2017 By Nemira Leave a Comment

Dirt for the immune is beneficial, especially for children. When people are introduced to bacteria from a young age, they develop a more robust immune system than those living in sterile households.

Healthy children become healthy adults

Did you ever think about the health of your parents and grandparents? Most of them were and are firm and do not have so many allergies to cats, dust, or pollen. Why does it happen? A few decades ago, people were not so crazy about sanitary conditions. They ate apples from trees or picked from the ground. Nobody washed strawberries or vegetables. The visible dirt was removed from the food, and it is all. They ate it without consequences.

In cities, people got more problems compared to in the countryside. However, children who had contact with dogs and played with dirt anywhere developed a more robust immune system compared with their well-being than it is now.

Dirt for the immune system is good

Having contact with the soil keeps the immune system more vital. The immune system can adapt. When exposed to various microorganisms, the immune system becomes more robust. Significantly children benefit from it. Exposure to farm animals and multiple plants reduces the risk of becoming allergic.

The authors of Dirt Is Good recommend parents let children play in the dirt. I can imagine how it can be scary for moms who carry unique napkins to protect children from germs.

The sterile environment is suitable for labs, not for the real world. The immune system must be ready for various encounters with germs.

The immune system develops a protective mechanism during its lifetime. Primarily, it is essential for children. Here is an excerpt from the book Dirt Is Good written by Jack Gilbert, Ph.D., and Rob Knight, Ph.D.:

One way to ensure that your baby or toddler will be able to control inflammation is to expose them to a diverse bacterial world. This exposure trains their immune system to identify itself, and it also increases the chance that they’ll have bacteria that help keep inflammation in check.

Conclusion

Living in a world that exposes you to various bacteria is helpful for the immune system. Children benefit the most. The immune system expects microbes to come in. Having them around, children get more robust because the immune system develops continuously. The clean air, contact with farm animals, and soil can help build a robust immune system. It works for adults too.

Disclaimer

Beneficial Bacteria for the Human Body

November 16, 2017 By Nemira Leave a Comment

When you hear the words beneficial bacteria human body, what first comes to mind? The gut? Yes, you are right. The stomach is famous nowadays. Little friends and occupants of bowels share some fame too.

You would think about what is disgusting. Not for me because I saw plenty of animal guts. Besides it, I experienced the benefits of a well-behaving microbiome, and I was punished when I spoiled them.

What do I mean? Trader Joe’s Belgian chocolate, croissants, and plenty of bread from the bakery do not feel cozy in my gut. Why? Until now, I learned that enjoying these goodies in moderation is better, with very little restraint.

You would think, who cares about this bacteria? You would watch if you dug into this fascinating world.

I think about bacteria in the gut of individuals with character and the need to be told how to behave. If we did not control what we eat and care for our bodies, we would experience rebelling and turmoil from the microbiome.

Gut bacteria help digest and absorb food, keep the brain happy, lose weight, keep the immune system in shape, reverse allergies, and help with children’s growth and development

Foods’s influence

I knew that we are what we eat. It is right in every area of interaction with food. Researchers found out that gut bacteria can ferment fiber. From fiber, metabolites called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are produced.

Interestingly, insulin-producing cells can sense SCFAs in the gut. It seems that these cells like it. Insulin secretion increases when SCFAs are abundant in the body.

What has it shared with the food? Oral probiotics such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and fiber intake nourish SCFAs-producing bacteria. The fermentation increases, and it leads to SCFA production.

According to scientists Jack Gilbert, Ph.D. and Rob Knight, Ph.D., the adaptation of diet and the usage of probiotics can make a difference in insulin secretion. It means less diabetes and more happy individuals.

The impact of beneficial bacteria on the human body

Microbes in the gut are responsible for our well-being. It means that beneficial bacteria can

affect mental health
help lose weight
boost and shape the immune system
affect growth and development in children
improve digestion and absorption of food
reverse allergies
reduce ear infections
help with diarrhea
control the child’s weight after changing the microbiome
lower levels of chemical bisphenol A called BPA
help deal with depression

These benefits are just a part of the bigger picture. Why? Because scientists continuously find something exciting about gut bacteria. They see connections between the gut and the brain. They see microbiome involvement in celiac disease and diabetes.

Conclusion

It is okay to be exposed to the dirt. It is especially essential for babies and children. Microbes allow the body to strengthen the immune system and be healthy inside the gut. The sterile environment is harmful because we do not learn how to protect ourselves from invaders. The body becomes resistant to foes and invaders due to contact with dirt. Children who have contact with dogs, play outside, and roll in the meadow or dig the soil do not become sick.

According to Jack Gilbert and Rob Knight, both are Ph.D., the dirt is good.

Do you have any thoughts? Please leave a comment below. I would be glad to answer.

Update from the source of McGill University

There is some excellent news about the benefits of bacteria in the gut. Scientists made the study with fruit flies. Do you know these disappointing creatures which pop from nowhere and quadruple every minute? These flies were fed with a combination of probiotics and an herbal supplement called Triphala. They found out that flies longevity increased by sixty percent, and protection from chronic diseases associated with aging was remarkable.

Satya Prakash, the professor of biomedical engineering in McGill’s Faculty of Medicine and senior author of the study, emphasizes the importance of microbiome health to the whole human body. Foods are metabolized better and more efficiently in the gut, thanks to the influence of probiotics.

You know that there is a connection between the gut and the brain. It is called the gut-brain axis. Brain activity depends on the quality of the microbiome. If we have healthy bacteria in the stomach, we do not experience irritable bowel syndrome, neurodegeneration, or depression.

Fruit flies have similarities with mammals at seventy percent regarding their biochemical pathways. There is a suggestion that a diet with antibiotics can benefit from a healthy and long life. Sounds nice.