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3 Food Habits Affecting Your Immune System

Feeling off after a week of bad eating? Dive into three of the most frequent eating (and drinking) habits that are offsetting your immune system and why you should always follow your gut. 

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3 Foods Habits Affecting Your Immune System

Ever wonder why you caught a cold or felt more anxious than usual after a weekend of indulging? It is probably time to reevaluate your eating and drinking habits to better understand what is happening in your gut. If you are not monitoring your drive-thru trips, rich meals out, or even visits to the fully-stocked work kitchen, chances are you are flooding your body with foods that inhibit your gut's ability to heal the body. What’s more, harmful foods can reverse the role of digestion and actually stimulate negative activity in the body involving bad bacteria and over stimulation of antibodies. Below are three eating and drinking habits you should break. 

Coffee

Having a cup of joe every day, especially on an empty stomach, results in a highly acidic stomach. With coffee, your stomach produces high amounts of hydrochloric acid, also called "HCL" which acts as a digestive aid. As such, you are burning through your body's ability to digest foods resulting in undigested, fermenting proteins. These undigested proteins attract a harmful bacteria which has been linked to IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), bloating problems and even colon cancer. Moderate your coffee intake, especially in the mornings, and look to tea as a safer alternative for your stomach. 

Processed Foods

We have been taught that the appropriate diet consists of processed foods such as breads (including wheat), breakfast cereals, “healthy” microwavable meals and thousands of other flavorful and convenient options. It is crucial to recognize that processed foods are devoid of the fiber necessary for healthy digestion and full of toxic additives and bad fats. For starters, toxic additives can put a strain on your intestines causing significant stress to break down a single meal, making it harder for your body to absorb the right nutrients. Skip your quick fix of a meal and instead stock up with fermented foods like greek yogurt or jarred Kimchi. Both foods optimize your gut health and most importantly, can restore your body's ability to take in vital nutrients. 

Meat-Based Diet

Lastly, it's hard to look the other way from a meat-based diet, especially when tempted at family BBQs or with bar food specials. However, when you consume meats such as bacon, eggs, pork rinds, and salami, your stomach releases bile to help break down the fat. So people who consume meat every day actually produce more bile, attracting more of "Bilophila" bacteria. This harmful bacteria is what causes intestinal inflammation and colitis. With frequent inflammation in the intestines, you over signal your body to release antibodies when you least need it. This is what can lead to autoimmune deficiencies, so it is important to monitor your meat intake as much as possible. Start implementing a plant-based diet where you can still find proteins in foods such as lentils and quinoa. With the right spices and vegetable pairings, you can easily find a way to appreciate plant foods. 

Thinking about your stomach is the first step to breaking these habits. Your next step can be to educate yourself more on gut health and foods, such as probiotics, that restore and strengthen the gut. If proactive, your body will be better prepared to overcome colds and battle chronic diseases. 

Writer’s Challenge

Take a look at your daily intake for the next week. Putting these on paper help provide a visual connection with all that you have consumed. Now identify specific items that you will consciously remove going forward. Your gut will be pleased.