Hello there and welcome to the nutrition Diva podcast. I'm your host

Monica Reinagle and today we're talking about how probiotic bacteria affect your immune function, and whether

probiotic foods or supplements are safe for people with compromised immune function.

And then Hungry Girl Lisa Lillian is back with another

kitchen hack that can help you get more vegetables into your day and also save you

some calories along the way. So stay tuned for that after today's main topic.

Noreen recently emailed me to ask,

could you do a podcast on probiotic foods that one should avoid

if one has a compromised immune system. Is commercial

yogurt okay since it's pasteurized? And what about kambucha, homemade sourcrough,

pickles and hot sauces? Before I answer Noreen's questions, let's first just talk quickly about how

probiotic food might affect the immune system. Well, one of the immune system's jobs, of course, is to protect us from harmful bacteria, and the beneficial

organisms that we refer to as probiotics contribute to this effort in a number of ways. In the gut, a robust population of beneficial

bacteria can help crowd out harmful bacteria making it harder for them to thrive.

And in addition, probiotic bacteria can influence the activity of our own immune

cells, regulating inflammation, barrier function, and cell-to-cell signaling. One way to foster that healthy intestinal bacteria

is to eat more of the foods that these bugs like to eat,

namely, fiber.

Increasing your intake of plant fibers from vegetables, fruits, legumes,

whole grains, nuts, and seeds

is kind of like filling a bird feeder

with the kind of seeds that the beautiful songbirds that you want to attract like best.

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