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Cultures have known to prepare produce in a variety of ways to reduce their toxin load. And almost by evolutionary accident has soaking, sprouting, and fermenting these foods lead to an increase in beneficial bacteria that has directly shown to populate the good gut bacteria in our digestive tracts.

When it comes to autoimmune issues, in particular, the health of your gut is of the utmost importance. Because as Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine is often quoted saying, “All disease begins in the gut.”

And he’s right.

Our gut bacteria play many roles in determining our overall health, from producing their own nutrients, how well our immune system functions, how well we digest and absorb nutrients, disease prevention, and more.

In regards to autoimmune disease, there was a 2009 landmark study performed by Alessio Fasano, MD, in which he suggested that three things must be present for an autoimmune condition to develop (1):

Genetic predisposition (or a family history of autoimmune disorders)
A trigger (like stress, food sensitivity, an infection, or a toxin)
Leaky gut

With this foundational understanding of what causes autoimmune disease, it should make sense that the health of your gut is the most important asset you have to fighting your symptoms.

The health of your gut can either be an asset, or a liability. And we want our gut to work with us, not against us. If you’re experiencing any sign or symptom, you can almost guarantee that the health of your gut is suboptimal.

So how do we go about repairing it?

First and foremost, it requires a little patience. Then it comes down to applying the right information, and not getting overwhelmed with information overload like we commonly have in our mass media driven world.

Health should be simple and when we take a step back and realize we have too much information, you’ll realize the answers always lie in having less.

Part of having less, is eating foods that you can find in your local environment that are prepared properly.

Fermented foods are great because a lot of the plant toxin load has been removed, and instead it’s replaced by lots of beneficial that can boost the immune system (2, 3, 4).

And the most important benefit for autoimmune disease and beneficial gut bacteria is their role in directly regulating, stimulating, and modulating the gut-immune connection (5).

Anywhere from 70-80 percent of our immune system is located within our GI tract, so when our gut bacteria are healthy, we have a better functioning immune response.

And since autoimmune disease is the inability of the immune system to discern foreign pathogens from self-tissue, it would only make sense that having a better functioning immune response helps this process (6, 7).

What are the best fermented and probiotic-rich foods to consume?

Sauerkraut
Kimchi
Natto
Kombucha (be mindful of the sugar content)
Grassfed yogurt
Tempeh
Pickles
Kefir
Miso

According to research done at the Stanford School of Medicine, 36 healthy adults were randomly assigned to a 10-week diet that included either fermented or high-fiber foods. The two diets resulted in different effects on the gut microbiome and the immune system (8).

Eating foods such as yogurt, kefir, fermented cottage cheese, kimchi and other fermented vegetables, vegetable brine drinks, and kombucha tea led to an increase in overall microbial diversity, with stronger effects from larger servings. “This is a stunning finding,” said Justin Sonnenburg, PhD, an associate professor of microbiology and immunology. “It provides one of the first examples of how a simple change in diet can reproducibly remodel the microbiota across a cohort of healthy adults.”

And science has confirmed that a lack of microbial diversity leads to the development of autoimmune diseases (9). One review states that, “Growing experimental and clinical evidence has suggested that the chronic inflammatory response induced by gut microbiota dysbiosis can strongly contribute to the development of autoimmune diseases…the microbiota may trigger autoimmunity in genetically susceptible individuals or prevent autoimmunity in others."

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Effects of microbial diversity on specific autoimmune diseases:

Rheumatoid arthritis

The emerging field of microbiota research has raised awareness that the gut microbiota and its metabolites interact with the host immune system, with associations with the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Moreover, changes in the gut microbiota have been implicated in the loss of tolerance of self-antigens and in increasing inflammatory events that promote joint damage (9).

Going on to say that, “RA patients exhibit decreased gut microbiota diversity compared with controls, which correlates with RA duration and autoantibody levels. Studies of the gut microbiota have shown that RA is characterized by an increase and/or decrease in the abundance of microbe groups compared with that in healthy individuals.”

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Alterations in the composition of the microbiota lining the intestines are suspected to be involved in the etiopathogenesis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and a number of studies have been carried out to demonstrate that gut microbiota dysbiosis affects the onset and development of SLE (9).

SLE is correlated with increased intestinal permeability that results in increased systemic microbial exposure. Reducing microbial exposure or improving barrier function may provide therapeutic approaches for SLE patients (10).

A study with in vitro cultures revealed that Bifidobacterium bifidum supplementation prevented CD4+ lymphocyte overactivation, supporting a possible therapeutic method of probiotics containing Treg-inducer strains to restore the Treg/Th17/Th1 imbalance in SLE (11).

Spondyloarthritis

Spondyloarthritis (SpA) comprises a group of several related diseases with distinct phenotypes, including ankylosing spondylitis (AS), reactive arthritis (ReA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA), arthritis related to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and a subgroup of juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

Among nongenetic factors, it has been observed that the gut microbiota is distinct in early SpA subjects compared with that in controls, and an unbalanced gut microbiota possibly mediates activation of the inflammatory pathways observed in SpA.

Studies have revealed that the proportions of certain gut bacterial families were increased in SpA patients, including Bacteroidaceae, Porphyromonadaceae, and Prevotellaceae (12).

Irritable Bowel Diseases

IBDs are subdivided into CD and ulcerative colitis (UC), which are chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract resulting from an inappropriate immune response. Etiological factors of IBD may include personal genetic susceptibility, immune responses, the intestinal microbiota, and environmental stimuli (9).

A recent meta-analyses found that gut microbial alteration patterns in IBD were similar among Chinese and Western populations. However, these authors found relatively increased levels of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria (Enterobacteriaceae) and a relatively decreased level of Firmicutes (Clostridiales), which were strongly related to IBD severity (13).

Final Thoughts

Correcting gut dysbiosis is the very first step in addressing autoimmune diseases, and incorporating more fermented foods can be a great way to achieve these results. If you’re looking to learn more information with practical tips and takeaways, be sure to sign up for my Ultimate Autoimmune Reset™ where I have 12+ hours of video content, a dietitian formulated cookbook, guided meal plan, Certified Personal Trainer formulated workout program, supplement guide, and more!

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