When thinking about the immune system and all its workings, T-cells probably don’t come to mind. However, these cells are hugely important in the realm of building up your immune system to outside invaders! They don’t attack just any foreign cells within the body though; they travel throughout the body until they reach the foreign substances they are assigned to.
There isn’t just one specific type of T-cell; within the human body, you will find three different ones. This includes helpers, regulatory, and cytotoxic T-cells. Each have their own foreign substance that they are assigned to, and this in turn helps to boost the immune system and ensure that it runs smoothly. T-cells are initially made within the bone marrow within the body, but then from there are developed within the thymus, which is located behind your chest bone, between the lungs.
The thymus aids in the development of these white blood cells all by the time one hits puberty, then the new T-cells are redirected to lymph nodes in the body to help fight off infectious diseases. Although these cells are mainly discussed in relation to infectious disease, they also play a part in how your body responds to allergens, as well as autoimmune diseases. Roles of T-cells also change as we age, from building up immunity to foreign substances to helping maintain equilibrium within the body in order to have systems function properly. Lastly, as we get older, T-cells can begin to break down and become unable to perform appropriately, which can lead to a decrease in just how well the immune system works.
So how do T-cells correlate with probiotics and the immune system? Probiotics are essentially living organisms, a type of good bacteria that helps your body to function appropriately. Probiotics are especially helpful when our bodies have too much bad bacteria, and help to balance out the microbiome within the body. All of the microbes that live within us (both good and bad) balance out each other in order to keep the body running as it should, and these microbes – which include different viruses, bacteria, and even fungi – help to keep you as healthy as possible. However, sometimes the microbiome of the gut can be thrown off (think about how many rounds of antibiotics you have done?)….and that’s where a good probiotic can come into play.
We obviously need to keep the body in a delicate balance in order to maintain health and wellness; and when we’re feeling off (and when there is an overabundance of bad bacteria), probiotics and their good bacteria can get the body back on track and in balance again. With close to 100 trillion different kinds of bacteria within the gut, it is imperative to maintain the delicate balance between the good and bad bacteria in order to keep your system running smoothly. Probiotic usage, especially specific strains, can help promote T-cell growth and development within the body, and can aid in decreasing inflammation within the body as well.
The two most prominent types of probiotics include Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria (both of which you can see on the label of most probiotic items). These strains aid in boosting the health of the immune system – and the T-cells – as well as maintaining control of the bad bacteria within the body. Probiotics come in many forms, but the most popular food items include fermented veggies like sauerkraut, fermented cheese like Swiss, and yogurt, just to name a few.
Studies have shown, even in vitro, that the addition of probiotics can aid in stimulating the activity of T-cells within the body. Another study showed that the addition of probiotics increased the immune response; after a combination of different strains of probiotics were delivered, cells were stimulated, then in turn promoted the creation of T-cells….which can be huge when trying to help regulate inflammation from disease!
All in all, probiotics can certainly aid in improving the health of the immune system, as well as decreasing inflammation, reducing the risk of cancer, and even helping to prevent allergic reactions. The more that T-cells within the body are stimulated and generated by certain strains of probiotics, the more health benefits can hopefully be seen.
If you want more information on how probiotic usage can improve the function of T-cells within the body, speak with your local functional medicine doctor in Boulder to learn more!
PS what strains are in Immunozym and why?
Bifidobacterium Lactis Bl-04
Lactobacillus Rhamnosus CNCM L-4036
Bifidobacterium Breve L-4035
These 3 strains have been shown to all increase a critical cytokine (messenger molecule) called Interleukin 10 (IL-10). What dose IL-10 do? Basically this chemical keeps our T-regulatory cells in line! It helps to keep stimulation towards regulation, not disorganization. So, what that means to us is when we take that pill it literally keeps our T-regulatory cells happy and plugging away telling our immune system what is us, Vs the bad guys; critical in the process of developing and healing auto-immune disease! On top of that US enzymes paired with Masters supplements and we are using their patented sodium alginate encapsulation to ensure >90% delivery of bugs! Most research indicates <10% actually survive digestive enzymes and bile to react with our immune system. Keep your eyes peeled as we will go into Astrazyme and sodium alginate to help you understand why this product is using the latest technology for absorption and delivery.
Yours truly in health,
Ian Hollaman, DC, MSc, IFMCP
