BROCCOLI STRENGTHENS OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

The National 31 May 2018

Dr Chatterjee explains why broccoli is so healthy and important for good health. It is a life saver and does a number of things.

It goes through the small intestine and helps to balance the immune system. And then the fibre from the broccoli that can’t be digested goes along to the colon which is the last part of the bowel.

Here is where most gut bugs live and they start feasting on the fibre and make short chain fatty acids.

Short chain fatty acids are important for colon health. There are millions of bacteria, viruses and fungi that live inside us. They can be called gut bugs.

Vegetables are quite remarkable in strengthening our immune system, our brain functions and our mood.

The food we eat has a huge influence on the gut bugs that talk to our immune system.

Seventy percent of the immune system occurs in the gut. There is a three way interaction with food choices, gut bugs and the immune system.

We can suffer from inflammation which is behind many chronic diseases. A big source of inflammation comes from the gut.

It starts with the immune system. The gut bugs send messages to the immune system that controls the spread of inflammation around the body.

Gut health can impact many things in our bodies. Diarrhoea is a primary signal of gut inflammation.

It is the effect of water, nutrients and salt not being absorbed through the gut wall and passing straight through as diarrhoea or pek pek wara.

Note: This is why we must take care with antibiotics that may destroy the bugs in our gut. These gut bugs are important to our health.

The HIV virus attacks the CD4 cells protecting our gut from harmful gut bugs and bugs that pass through any leaks in the gut wall.

This weakens the immune system and attacks our health. The gut is the epicenter of our health.

The gut absorbs nutrients, salt and water through the gut wall. The HIV virus attacks the gut lining and CD4 cells.

Absorption stops and the nutrients, salts and water pass straight through as diarrhoea.

With severe diarrhoea we go to hospital, and given a saline drip that passes water, glucose and salt directly into our blood. 

Saline drips are basically salty water which is proof that our body needs salt when we suffer diarrhoea.

Sick people need fruit and vegetables especially broccoli with daily doses of salt and water.