Mushrooms are currently one of the most sought-after functional foods. We see them in every form, from teas, tinctures, chunks, and capsules, in some protein and greens powders.
Over 270 different mushroom species have been identified to show anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial (think penicillin), and immune support. These benefits are attributed to some of their vitamin and mineral content, but most of their benefit is derived from their fibre content!
One such fibre found in high quantities in mushrooms is 𝛽-glucan (beta-glucan) which is known for lowering blood pressure and blood sugar and for its anti-tumoral and antioxidant properties.
On top of all that, as we’ve discussed in our previous articles on the benefits of a healthy microbiome, the fibres in mushrooms help take care of our gut bacteria too! And to learn about all the good health our microbiome generates for us, read our article here.
No wonder the interest in studying these functional foods has taken off. Studies done in humans are growing, but most have been done on mice. However, the human studies we have so far show some promising outcomes. Here are a few to date:
Shiitake Mushrooms:
Daily intake of about 5-10 shiitake mushrooms over four weeks
Increased number of white blood cells (gamma delta = first-line defence, NK = kill cancer cells)
Lowered markers of chronic inflammation (C-Reactive Protein)
Can indicate improved immune function and anti-cancer potential
Reishi Mushrooms
Reishi supplementation and chemo & radiation showed a positive response in improving the quality of life but not on survival rates.
Improved tumour response rates when used with chemo & radiation therapy
No decrease in tumour size when used alone
Can indicate reishi as a safe and effective adjunct to conventional cancer therapy
White Button Mushrooms
Done for recurrent prostate cancer at about 1 cup of mushrooms daily
Decreased PSA (an indicator of prostate cancer progression) levels and kept in remission 1 in 18 participants
Of 36 participants, four saw a drop of over 50% in their PSA levels
Two had a complete reduction in PSA levels, measuring at 0 (undetectable levels) even after 40 months
Can indicate a one in nine chance you can reduce PSA levels by at least 50%
Can indicate a one in 18 chance that someone can achieve sustained remission without any side effects or toxicity
Due to all the antioxidant healing properties that start in the gut when we eat mushrooms, or a diet rich in fibre, studies are also finding a correlation between mushrooms and colon cancer prevention.
So, our takeaway, mushrooms can be a medicinal food – not to mention they are delicious. Whether you enjoy mushrooms in soups, chilis, sautéed or puréed, go ahead and incorporate them into your regular rotation.
It’s best to cook your mushrooms for two reasons. One to break down their tough cell walls and access the valuable nutrients inside. Two, some raw mushrooms can be toxic, but the heat will destroy these toxins, making them safe to eat.
For those strapped for time in the kitchen or who don’t like the taste of mushrooms, creative products like powders & capsules come in handy, so you don’t miss out on all their healing, health-promoting benefits!
The title of this article is in part a direct quote of Socrates, that the root cause of human disease may in fact stem from our gut health. Today’s scientific literature is revealing the “how” and “why” of something that was accurately observed over 2000 years ago.
We see studies showing that chronic constipation may be linked with Parkinson’s, and that anxiety and depression go hand in hand with gas, bloating and other digestive symptoms. Those with multiple sclerosis, depression, and schizophrenia, show changes in the composition of gut bacteria.
The microbes that live in our gut outnumber our human cells in a 10:1 ratio. So technically speaking we have more microbe DNA than we do human DNA. That’s worth some perspective. Think about it, we have evolved millions of years that cultivated this symbiotic relationship between human and bacteria. We house these bacteria in our warm, damp gut, where food magically comes down to feed them on a regular basis. They’ve got it so good inside of us! In return, they produce the most potent anti-inflammatory short chain fatty acids which help our body heal, serotonin for our happiness, and they make up 70% of our immune system. (Refer to our article on the importance of reducing inflammation)
Throughout human history we’ve eaten foods that were raw or minimally processed which allowed this relationship to flourish and become an integral foundation for human health. In no time at all, our food made a 180° turn. Most foods now are ultra processed, meaning they lack what previously supported our gut bacteria.
What exactly changed?
Processing removes fiber
Emulsifiers and gums added – understand how they impact our gut here
Fewer ingredients and a lack of diversity
When we think about eating for our gut health, we need to first consider what the healthy bacteria need to grow. Their favourite foods are fiber. Fortunately, fiber comes from every food that grows from the ground! Unfortunately, conversations on nutrition focus in on carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. That’s because these are functional fuel sources for the human cell, but we’ve forgotten that we are also eating for our friendly bacteria as well. When we forget to feed them, they starve off and begin to die leading to reduced abundance and diversity which is associated with many diseases.
When the population and diversity are re-established, we see positive impacts on health outcomes. For instance, an interesting study done on dark chocolate highlights the therapeutic ability of building a healthy gut. The researchers of this study wanted to differentiate why dark chocolate seemed to help improve people’s mood and lowered anxiety. They also helped define specifically, what type of dark chocolate (70% or 85%), and how much (30g daily for 3 weeks). Their results were illuminating in that dark chocolate had the ability to increase the amount of healthy bacteria DNA found in stool samples, and the diversity of species.
Thankfully, the most nourishing foods for your gut don’t have to be bran buds and Metamucil. Here are three excellent, gut building sources to start adding or increasing in your diet.
Fermented Foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, and kefir
Fibrous foods like every single plant on this planet. Specific superstars are beans/ legumes, seeds, raspberries, broccoli, and oats just to name a few!
Last, but not least, there’s the case for dark chocolate 85% or higher!
So, diversify your meals. It can be just one new type of seed added to your breakfast, sauerkraut with your salads, and dark chocolate as an occasional treat alongside berries and nuts.
The most important component to eating healthy sustainably is that you enjoy it. Choose flavours and textures that interest you but also support gut health Be open to discovering some new go-to’s, and your gut will thank you for it!
With our workshops, we try to provide unique ways to help people understand health-related concepts. Our summer salad rolls workshop is an excellent example of one.
Dr. Tamara Kung, ND, demonstrated how to make fantastic salad rolls in no time while at the same time explaining some of the nutritional benefits of the ingredients. For example:
Turmeric, garlic powder, and cumin are great for flavour, but they are also big antioxidants that fight inflammation
Sweet potato is a yummy root vegetable, but it’s also fibre-rich
Green lettuce promotes good gut health
You get the idea.
If you want to try it on your own, the recipe is below. Have fun and enjoy this healthy and tasty treat.
Notes:
Soy Free: Use Coconut Aminos instead of Tamari Filling Variations: Sliced mango, avocado, or any vegetables you enjoy, roasted cauliflower, eggplant, cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms, and purple cabbage. Sauce Variations: Hummus, guacamole
The definition of aging is a progressive change that leads to increased debility, disease, and death. Wow! That sounds depressing. Don’t despair, there are things you can do to make it a much more pleasant picture.
As we age, there is a reduction in our cells capability to read the right genes at the right time. Genes are locked in our DNA and are highly specific instruction sets that govern everything that happens in our body. The loss of specific steps, or the inability to read instructions properly, leads to cells messing up their functional roles and tissues and organs falling apart.
The question is what causes the loss in information?
This is where chronic inflammation comes into play. I often describe this process as the Marvel character the Hulk racing around in our body, smashing up cells, and tripping over DNA. This causes damage and a loss of stored information.
But the Hulk is, for the most part, his harmless alter ego, Bruce Banner, a nerdy scientist who doesn’t cause harm. He stays calm until he gets triggered, and this is analogous to oxygen in our body. We need oxygen to live, it’s a functional part of our metabolism. But it can get amplified and become a superoxide, free radical. Another way to think of it is wildfires burning within us. The more inflammation, the bigger the fire.
What are the major triggers of our internal Hulk?
Refined sugar / processed foods. Essentially the Standard American Diet (SAD)
Protect your body with high levels of antioxidants found in colourful fruits and vegetables.
Intermittent fasting – recent studies are confirming that it’s not just what we eat that’s important, but when we eat as well. Fasting (different from starvation), has been shown to activate genes for longevity and is a whole other lever we can pull to increase our lifespan and health span. A future article will delve more deeply into this topic.
Increasing the number of healthy bacteria – aka the Microbiome we discussed in our previous article here.
These strategies help protect your cells from damage. Less Hulk, less damage. Avoiding processed foods and added sugars, getting on top of our sleep are powerful ways to reduce the triggers. Loading up on antioxidant rich foods give you an added buffer of protection as these calm down any signs that could trigger the Hulk, or they will get him to change back into Bruce sooner rather than later.
How would you react if someone told you that you could live into your 100’s remaining healthy and mentally sharp? This may sound like science fiction, but scientists like leading aging expert David Sinclair, a professor in genetics at Harvard Medical School, says this is more fact than fiction. In his book, Lifespan: Why We Age, and Why We Don’t Have To, he spells out why we should reframe the way we think of ourselves across time, sharing evidence to the theme that aging as we know it doesn’t have to be so. His quote “A painful descent into old age isn’t something you have to accept” resonates so well.
In short, inflammation is an accelerator of aging. The more we inflame ourselves, the quicker we break down. If we incorporate small practices that protect us from inflammation, we can keep ourselves running better…and for longer.
References
Sinclair, D. (2019). Lifespan: The revolutionary science of why we age – and why we don’t have to. Atria Books.
Chung, H. Y., Kim, D. H., Lee, E. K., Chung, K. W., Chung, S., Lee, B., Seo, A. Y., Chung, J. H., Jung, Y. S., Im, E., Lee, J., Kim, N. D., Choi, Y. J., Im, D. S., & Yu, B. P. (2019). Redefining Chronic Inflammation in Aging and Age-Related Diseases: Proposal of the Senoinflammation Concept. Aging and disease, 10(2), 367–382. https://doi.org/10.14336/AD.2018.0324
The growing awareness of plant-based meals coupled with our long history of enthusiasm for protein is coming to an apparent clash and leaving us wondering how are we supposed to get enough quality protein on just plants!
Before we get into that, let’s get some context regarding how much protein we should have for optimal health.
In 1890, the USDA recommended 110 g of protein per day for working men. The drive for protein peaked in the 1950’s when the United Nations declared that “deficiency of protein in the diet is the most serious and widespread problem in the world.” because of a prevailing condition called Kwashiorkor disease.
However, there’s no real evidence of prolific dietary protein deficiency in Westernized countries. Our most pressing health problems, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, pain, migraines, are not a result of protein deficiency, yet we continue to fixate on this single nutrient.
So a revision of protein guidelines was reduced from 110 grams to an average of 42 grams per day, or to be more accurate, 0.8-0.9 grams /kg ( 0.36 g per lb). This is according to the current recommended daily intake guidelines to avoid sickness and deficiency.
Females by Age Group
Total Grams of Protein Per Day
9-13 years
34
14-18 years
46
19+ years
46
Males by Age Group
Total Grams of Protein Per Day
9-13 years
34
14-18 years
52
19+ years
56
But we want to do better than just avoiding sickness. We want to thrive and make sure we are achieving levels that optimize our health, fitness, and well-being.
Many of us are in fact consuming more than what we need to just survive as found by one of the largest studies on nutrient amounts in varying diets. Observing over 70,000 individuals, researchers gathered the data to see how much of each nutrient omnivores were getting compared to their spectrum of vegetarian counterparts.
Regarding protein intake, they found that omnivores get way more than the recommended 42g, almost doubling that… and so does everyone else.
Vegetarians and vegans were also found to get 70% more total protein than recommended.
We can see omnivores and their vegetarian and vegan counterparts are achieving more than the minimum daily intake. In fact, just less than three percent of adults don’t meet protein requirements, and these are typically severely ill and malnourished individuals. A whopping 97% of adults easily meet their total protein needs so to worry about not getting enough may not be as pressing of a problem as we originally thought.
Side note: What 97% of adults are deficient in is fiber, consuming less than the recommended 30 grams per day. A focus on increasing fiber intake can move the needle in terms of improving longevity and increasing the number of healthy years lived. Plant rich diets contain significantly less fat, cholesterol, fewer microbial and parasitic infections than omnivorous diets, while at the same time providing more fiber, folate, vitamin C, and antioxidants in addition to protein. All of which are essential for preventing disease and supporting optimal health and longevity
It should be noted that there is no upper limit set for our macronutrient guides because we are lacking the data here. But omission of upper limits doesn’t mean it’s safe to have overly high amounts for extended periods of time. We can only absorb 25-40 g of protein per meal, so overdoing it can also lead to unused protein.
A study conducted by Harvard followed 130,000 people over 32 years and found that the amount of protein didn’t translate to health, rather it’s the quality.
Complete vs. Incomplete proteins
So what are quality proteins? Animal protein has been touted as a complete source of all nine essential amino acids (protein’s building blocks), and therefore historically ranked superior to plant sources.
Complete proteins contain all nine essential amino acids and include:
Fish
Poultry
Eggs
Pork
Beef
Dairy
Whole sources of soy (edamame, tofu, tempeh, miso)
Quinoa
Chia seeds
Incomplete proteins contain some but not all amino acids:
We can see from this chart below that essential amino acids can be found in a variety of plant foods as well.
If you’re eating a variety of protein foods, chances are, you don’t need to give this a second thought. Enjoying a rotating repertoire of vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds will cover your needs.
Plus, our cells are continuously breaking old parts down and recycling usable components – like amino acids, and combining them with the nutrients we take in. This means we don’t need to eat complete proteins with each meal, rather a variety on a consistent basis will do us just fine.
The science is showing that it’s the source, rather than the amount of protein that makes a difference in our health. This is referred to as the protein package because food comes not in isolate. What’s included in the package are carbohydrates, fats, vitamins and minerals, and antioxidants.
Red meat is packaged with saturated fat, sodium, and zero fiber, minimal antioxidants and is linked with increased risk for heart disease and stroke. While swapping out for plant proteins such as soybeans, lentils, legumes, nuts, fish or poultry reduce these risks. Similar studies show this is also true for diabetes, cancer, weight gain, bone health, and premature death.
This is because of the protein package idea. Plant proteins are packaged with unsaturated fat which lowers LDL cholesterol, has no cholesterol, plenty of fiber, and plenty of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. All great health protectors!
The takeaway here is straight forward. There is little danger of a protein deficiency on a plant-based diet, as long as you enjoy a variety and have a rotating repertoire of different lentils, beans, with your stews or curries, or whole grains with your meals, seeds and nuts with your salads, you’re covered!
If you are planning on eating less meat and more veggies and are not certain of how to make sure you are getting the protein quality, talk with a nutrition professional to make sure. Your body, performance and health will thank you.
Reference:
Nutrition Today – The Family of dietary fibers: dietary variety for maximum benefit
Comparison of nutritional quality of vegan, vegetarian, semi-vegetarian, Nutrients, 2014
Nutrient profiles of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dietary patterns Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2013
Srikanthan P, Karlamangla AS. Muscle mass index as a predictor of longevity in older adults. Am J Med. 2014;127(6):547-553. doi:10.1016/j.amjmed.2014.02.007
Sugar is bad, so artificial sweeteners without all the extra calories must be good, right??
Let’s look at the facts to improve our understanding of this critical area of nutrition. It’s important to first understand how insulin works and how added sweeteners affect it.
Insulin is your growth and storage hormone (“Hormone of Abundance”) and it allows your body to either use sugar (glucose) for energy, or to store it (fat) for when our intake of energy is low. Our body isn’t good at multitasking, so when it’s storing, it’s NOT burning. This is imbalance number one and why weight gain happens when we have too much fuel of certain types.
Insulin is triggered most by processed foods because they contain added sugars, artificial sweeteners, and simple carbohydrates like white flour. A diet rich in processed foods can lead to Insulin resistance which occurs when our cells no longer respond to overly repetitive signalling of insulin. This means cells won’t open their doors to let blood sugar (energy) in, thereby keeping our blood sugars elevated.
Picture This:
Imagine insulin to be the kids who ring your doorbell to trick or treat. If that doorbell keeps ringing after Halloween, that will get annoying, and you will eventually stop opening the door.
Your cells do the same. If insulin is always around, ringing your cell’s door (ie. eating sugar/artificially sweetened foods or drinks regularly), your cells will ignore it and become insulin resistant.
In response, your body will increase the amount of insulin (more doorbell rings), and increased insulin drives the development of diabetes, and other diseases related to weight gain.
When people are in this state, the first step is to take a break from insulin-triggering foods and curb the cravings so our cells can become more sensitive to insulin. Less insulin means less time storing fat and promoting energy production and growth. Less insulin means more time burning fat.
Now that you have the basics of insulin, let’s look at artificial sweeteners specifically.
When we consume artificial sweeteners, insulin still goes up despite not having any actual sugar calories coming in. This is because our bodies are smart, and our taste buds sense sweetness which signals our gut to prepare for sugar. The insulin spike from artificial sweeteners causes our body to store blood sugar in our cells, and this can lead to low blood sugar. Low blood sugar can, in turn, make us feel weak, hungry, or even hangry. That’s why people who consume diet sweeteners can eat more, and feel less satiated and thus, overconsume.
The studies on artificial sweeteners are starting to come in due to the increased use and interest in their long-term effects. Here are two incredible examples.
One study divided volunteers into four groups who had the same diet for over six months, except for the following differences:
Group 1 = A litre of sugared soda a day
Group 2 = A litre of diet soda per day
Group 3 = A litre of milk per day
Group 4 = A litre of water per day
The soda group gained 22 lbs, the diet soda group gained 3.5 lbs, the milk group stayed the same, the water group lost 4.5 lbs.
A gain of 3.5lbs is better than 22lbs, but why did they still gain weight without the extra calories? And why did the milk group not gain any weight despite having the same number of calories as sugary soda? It has to do with insulin, meaning diet sweeteners still cause an insulin release, while the lactose and fat in milk, didn’t. In a follow-up study, they took diet soda drinkers and switched them to only water, and they lost another 6 lbs. Both diet soda and water contain no sugar, so why did their weight change? You guessed it, insulin! The sweet taste alone can stimulate appetite and insulin release which drives fat storage.
The second study was long-term and followed 918 women for 7 years to better understand the regular consumption of artificially sweetened beverages (ASB). The study found that artificially sweetened beverages during pregnancy can affect the birth size and increase the risk that a child will be overweight/ obese by seven years of age.
Specifically, there was almost a two-fold increase of overweight/obese children seven years later in the mothers who drank ASB daily while pregnant (compared to mothers who never did).
The study also looked at the difference when mothers substituted their regular sodas for diet sodas (with the hope of making a healthier choice), but the results didn’t show any significant reduction in risk in childhood overweight/ obesity.
There was a reduced risk in mothers who substituted sugar sweetened beverages for water!
Diet sweeteners also change the composition of the microbiome in your gut, shifting the balance from good to bad bacteria. Studies have shown that this leads to glucose intolerance and may contribute to leaky gut, inflammation, and increased deposition of visceral fat, driving metabolic syndrome. The research is starting to come out, but many studies still need to be done on this topic so stay tuned!
The bottom line is, the impact of hyper-sweet, sugary or artificially sweetened food is negative for our health. This is especially true for our children because their taste buds become groomed to crave intensely sweet foods. No longer will a juicy peach, or flavourful strawberries satisfy them as their taste buds will be too ‘numb’ if exposed to hyper-sweet tastes too often. For adults, it’s not too late! Our taste buds can change completely in as little as 10 days if we let them. Water is your ultimate beverage, and fruit, nature’s candy, has your back since they are packed with a bounty of antioxidants and fibre to nourish and give you health in return for a sweet treat.
More research is needed, but the early message is clear. Trust real food and you will avoid these insulin high jacking sweetener issues.
Purdue University. The study of soft drinks including diet sodas contributes to increased sugar intake and calorie consumption in children. Retrieved from:
Ruiz-Ojeda FJ, Plaza-Díaz J, Sáez-Lara MJ, Gil A. Effects of Sweeteners on the Gut Microbiota: A Review of Experimental Studies and Clinical Trials [published correction appears in Adv Nutr. 2020 Mar 1;11(2):468]. Adv Nutr. 2019;10(suppl_1):S31-S48. doi:10.1093/advances/nmy037. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6363527/
Tandel KR. Sugar substitutes: Health controversy over perceived benefits. J Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2011;2(4):236-243. doi:10.4103/0976-500X.85936. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3198517/
Zhu Y, Olsen SF, Mendola P, et al. Maternal consumption of artificially sweetened beverages during pregnancy, and offspring growth through 7 years of age: a prospective cohort study. Int J Epidemiol. 2017;46(5):1499-1508. doi:10.1093/ije/dyx095. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5837735/
The title of this is an obvious fact. I’m sure that 100% of adults are aware of this. So why do we have such a hard time getting more fruits and vegetables into our diet?
There are two main reasons. Convenience and taste.
The first is just a function of our modern lives, filled with busyness that didn’t exist 50 years ago. We want or need, to save time anyway we can, and sometimes that means sacrificing nutrition for convenience.
Taste is the second reason. For most people, if they are hungry and there is a bowl of raw carrots beside a bowl of chips, most would choose the chips because our taste buds have been trained to crave those foods. You’ve been tricked over the years by very crafty manufacturers and now our taste buds are just looking for the ‘overdrive’ option and have a very difficult time ‘tasting’ natural foods.
This is the ‘why’ behind our lack of fruits and veggies. I’m sure you are not surprised.
Recent research underscores the importance of why more fruit and vegetables, and less processed foods and meats, can lead to better health outcomes. An August 2021 paper in the Journal of the American Heart Association identifies a diet rich in plants and with fewer animal products, showing a 52% lower rate of developing cardiovascular diseases. This was a thirty-year study with almost 5000 participants so the data is really good.
Knowing that your tastebuds have been hijacked by manufacturers using salt, sugar and fat, and that time is limited so we search for convenience, we can start to make some small changes…just for a start. Add on the hard facts that Plants = Health, literally, and we have a great foundation to make some change.
This is the action part. If you made it this far in this article, you know what you need to do. Now is the time to take one action (or more) to make a change.
My advice is to make it ridiculously simple. If you typically buy lunch, instead of a sandwich, go for a wrap with lots of veggies in it. Or go for a very tasty and substantial salad. This is a really easy way to introduce way more veggies into your diet.
This is one example of many, but the key is, make it really easy for yourself and over time, you will start to take back control of your tastebuds, and you’ll make more time for eating better. These positive habits build on one another.
Our immune system is composed of a robust front-line defence team. Our white blood cells and proteins called antibodies, all form an alliance to protect our body from foreign invaders. The immune system, after our nervous system, is the most complex organ system in the human body! So it’s important to understand what it takes to keep our immune system supercharged, so you can implement these tips on a routine basis.
“Evolution has arranged that we take pleasure in understanding – those who understand are more likely to survive.” – Carl Sagan
Our body’s defence against infection is composed of two components.
Your First Layer of Defence – Innate Immunity
Skin acts is a defense barrier
Mucus traps invaders
Stomach acid destroys invaders
Enzymes in sweat have antibacterial compounds
First and foremost, we need to stay hydrated. If we can keep our skin healthy, strong and intact, we’ve got a huge advantage in blocking anything from entering our body. Dried-up skin lacking in hydration cracks, and those cracks are direct openings into our body, giving outside bugs a free pass to slip on through.
Hydration is also important in producing mucus, especially in our nose, mouth, and gut. If the mucus is dried up, or too thick, it doesn’t coat our mouth and nose effectively, and bugs have another easy way in. Especially since the skin in our nose and mouth are very thin.
Stomach acid and enzymes also help in the defence system, and remaining hydrated helps both of those mechanisms.
Eight glasses of water are what is typically recommended, but to get more specific, read our article here on how to calculate your water intake. Remember, 20% of our daily water intake comes from our food, so enjoy your favourite fruits and veggies on a daily basis!
Second Line of Defence – Acquired Immunity
White blood cells like neutrophils engulf pathogens (think pacman).
Natural killer cells (another type of white blood cell) help put our cells out of misery if they become cancerous or infected with a virus.
Specialized white blood cells called B cells make proteins called antibodies.
Antibodies bind to invaders and can deactivate them, tag them for our natural killers to easily recognize and destroy, or coat them in a gooey coating, preventing them from invading our cells.
Our mucus membranes line our mouth, entire digestive tract, lungs, reproductive and urinary systems, inside breast glands, and even on our eyeballs. That’s a lot of surface area! In fact, our gut alone covers the size of half a badminton court (40 square meters, vs. skin at 2 square meters). So we’ve got a lot of surface area for infection exposure, and our mucosal layer is only one cell layer thick. Meaning we need to have a very effective defence team.
Luckily, we have our A-Team. Our mucosal membranes contain the antibodies Immunoglobulin A (or IgA). In a study, researchers found that those who ate cooked white button mushrooms every day for one week boosted their IgA production by 53% compared to those who did not have any mushrooms. In week two, this group stopped eating mushrooms yet sustained the benefit, and their IgA production measured at 56% higher than the control group, meaning the benefits were maintained for one week (but by week 3, the mushroom group fell back to baseline).
Boosting your A-Team’s numbers by incorporating mushrooms into your routine diet seems like an effective way to prevent foreign invaders from getting into our bodies. This study used regular button mushrooms, but there are others out there that can be even more helpful. Shiitake, oyster, maitake, and lion’s mane can be found in grocery stores and make delicious meals. Medicinal mushrooms for immune support also include chaga and turkey tail.
Last but not least, know that a healthy mucosal layer rests on top of your gut. This is where keeping our guts healthy can be one of the biggest players in our immune health. A healthy gut is able to produce antibodies and also houses 20% of our immune system fighters.
This is where a warm hearty cup of bone broth comes in handy. Easy to enjoy as is, or incorporate into any soup, stew, or curry dish! Bone broth can help keep your gut lining intact, as it is packed with proteins and collagen which are building blocks for your gut. There are also vitamins and minerals in bones which can help give your body an extra boost, but I often recommend adding vegetables when making your broth. This is an even bigger source of viable vitamins and minerals. Vegetables like garlic and ginger have their own anti-microbial properties (as do many herbs and spices), so don’t be afraid to flavour it up!
A recipe for your own homemade bone broth can be found here. If accessible, try to get your bones from healthy animals (ie. grass-fed beef, antibiotic and hormone-free chicken). Talk with local butchers in your area to understand the quality of the food you are purchasing.
BONUS NOTE:
Lymph helps transport antibodies and our immune cells throughout our body. Our lymph system is like a mirror of our circulatory system, a network of vessels and nodes. Unlike our circulatory system, however, it doesn’t have the heart to move the fluid around. Instead, our lymphatic system lies just under our skin’s surface and next to our muscles. This is one reason movement/muscle contraction can be so helpful in preventing us from getting sick. It helps us circulate our defence team. Another way we can help this process is by dry brushing, or for the brave – hot and cold showers!
Chronic inflammation resulting from sleep deprivation, regular intake of processed foods, fatty liver disease, or in our joints as (arthritis) can divert our immune system’s attention. This means we don’t have the full force to fight off infection and foreign invaders and this is why we can get sick more easily if we have underlying inflammation.
Check out our video on anti-inflammatory foods to find out how to reduce chronic inflammation so your protective force can focus its strength on keeping you from catching any infections!
Here’s to supercharging your immune system this fall!
Beets are a vegetable containing a natural source of dietary nitrates which, as a vasodilator, have a positive effect on blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Try this great smoothie recipe and feel the benefits.
2 servings; 10 min prep time
Notes:
Protein Boost:
Add your favourite protein powder to kick up the muscle-building properties.
Raw vs Cooked Beets:
Depending on the strength of your blender, cooking your beet first (via steaming, which is fastest, or roasting) can make it smoother.
