Our executive director Kelsey Cheyne spoke with mediplanet for their 2022 Healthy Living campaign on gut health and your immune system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you get an infection or become sick, a healthy immune system helps you fight infections and heal wounds. Did you know having a healthy gut plays an important role in having a strong immune system?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All along the walls of your intestines, a single layer of cells forms the boundary between what\u2019s in your gut and what gets absorbed and circulated to the rest of the body. These cells, together with the mucosal layer, gut microbiota, and immune system, make up the gut barrier and offer three levels of defence against disease-causing microbes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Having a diverse diet consisting of a variety of foods will provide your body with the nutrients it needs for a healthy immune system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following a healthy eating pattern such as the one from Canada\u2019s Food Guide will help get the nutrients you need. Food provides protein, healthy fats, antioxidants, and many vitamins and minerals that are essential for the proper functioning of the immune system. These nutrients include: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further to this, some types of foods and components can be of particular interest, helping to nourish and strengthen the gut microbiota, as well as protecting the gut barrier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A rich diverse diet with a variety of foods, including certain fermented foods, probiotics, and prebiotics, are important in helping us meet our nutrient needs and support the proper function of the immune system and gut microbiota.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
View the full mediaplanet gut health and your immune system article here. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n View the full mediaplanet healthy living campaign here. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n