Why Do I Get Sick More Often Than Others?
I Also Take Longer to Recover
Have you ever wondered why some people seem to catch every bug that goes around, while others never get sick?
If you are always the one who comes down with something, you have probably asked yourself, “Is my immune system broken? Why do I take so long to get better?”
Here is something most people do not realize. Over 70 percent of your immune system actually lives in your gut. That means your digestive tract is not just about breaking down food. It is your body’s largest immune organ. When your gut is compromised, your immune defenses everywhere else suffer.
Think of It Like the Military
Your immune system is made up of different types of white blood cells. Neutrophils, lymphocytes, basophils, and eosinophils. Each one has a specialized job. Think of them like branches of the military. You have the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Marines.
Now here is the problem. If all your troops are deployed to fight a war in your gut lining, you do not have enough soldiers left to defend against infections in other parts of your body.
This is what happens when you have a condition called Leaky Gut. Your gut lining is porous and inflamed. Your immune system is so busy dealing with chronic inflammation in the digestive tract that it does not have the resources to fight off that cold or flu you picked up at the grocery store.
Healing the Gut Changes Everything
I have treated patients with Leaky Gut for many years. It is amazing what happens when we fix the root problem. Patients come back months or even years later and say, “Dr. G, I have not been sick since I fixed my gut.”
That is the power of restoring gut health. It frees up your immune system to do what it was designed to do. Protect you from infections.
So if you are someone who is always getting sick or always slow to bounce back, do not just ask if your immune system is broken. Ask if your gut is broken.
When you heal the gut, you strengthen the immune system. That changes everything.
Authored by Gerard Guillory, MD
Gerard Guillory, MD, is a board-certified internist who practiced for nearly four decades with a focus on functional, root-cause medicine. He is the author of three books on irritable bowel syndrome and the founder of It’s My Health, where he and his team put current health news in context and help members understand the underlying causes of chronic symptoms.
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