Intestine and immune system

The intestinal immune system is made up of more or less specific cells and systems whose goal is to protect the organism from attack by external aggressors (for example, bacteria, viruses, etc.). The intestine plays an important role in immune balances, as it represents one of the most important bulwarks of the body, hosts about one hundred thousand billion microorganisms and produces 60-70% of immune cells.

One of the fundamental elements of the intestinal immune system is the intestinal bacterial flora, that is the “good bacteria”, “friendly” microorganisms that compete with the “bad” ones for nourishment and the sites of adhesion to the intestinal mucosa and are particularly concentrated in the colon.

The intestinal bacterial flora:

• influences immunomodulation, that is, it regulates the activity of the immune system, promotes its correct maturation and efficiency, prevents it from being activated in an abnormal manner (autoimmune diseases) or in a deficient manner (infections).

• monitors the metabolic system, avoiding the onset of diseases ranging from obesity to diabetes mellitus.

• It protects us from cardiovascular diseases related to the accumulation of cholesterol and other harmful substances and maintains an efficient intestinal barrier.

To keep this bacterial population in balance it is useful to adopt a correct lifestyle: practice physical activity, optimize the daily diet with an adequate intake of fiber, fruit, vegetables and liquids, reduce the consumption of fats, proteins and industrially processed foods, use of natural supplements to support, to limit stress and the inappropriate use of drugs.

Since the diet is able to deeply influence the composition of the enteric flora and the health of the intestinal mucosa, what we eat has important effects on the intestinal immune system, with repercussions that, as we have seen, can also be systemic.

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