Don't Forget Your Microbiome This Season

Did you know that 70 -80% of your immune system resides in your gut?

The microbiome in our guts not only impacts our immune system but also our brain health. Incredibly, over 90% of the cells in our body are contained in our gut microbiome and we are continuing to discover just how important these cells are in fighting inflammation, blocking the growth of cancerous cells, promoting the growth of healthy cells and even maintaining our weight. Things like our environment, antibiotic use and even whether we were born in a rural or urban area all impact our microbiome. Since both good and bad cells reside here, we want the good cells to flourish. One way that we can do this is by eating pre- and pro-biotic foods.

Certain foods are considered to be probiotic foods because their live bacteria can help our bacteria in our gut replenish. Prebiotic foods are essentially food for probiotics in our guts. They provide fiber that healthy bacteria like to eat which helps to make our guts healthier.

In order to keep the healthy and happy in your holiday season, make a point of boosting these probiotic and prebiotic foods in your diet to promote a healthy gut!