The Science Behind Nutrition & Immunity
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Kara Wada, MD: Welcome to the Becoming Immune Confident Podcast, the show where we dive deep into the science of living a vibrant energy filled life free from the fog of inflammation. I'm your host, Dr. Kara Wada, joined by the autoimmune dietitian, Jenifer Tharani. And today we're here to empower you with the knowledge, insights, and personal stories you need to reclaim your health and vitality.
In today's episode, we're going to be exploring the science behind nutrition and immunity. But before we dive in, we have something special for our listeners. If you are struggling with inflammation related health issues, feeling fatigued, or simply looking for a science backed, expert led approach to anti inflammatory lifestyle, then we have the perfect opportunity for you.
Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: Absolutely, Kara. We're inviting you to join for the upcoming Becoming Immune Confident Jumpstart group program. Enrollment is now open through April 19th.
Kara Wada, MD: I'd love to share what one of our prior program members had to share about her experience. And you'll have to listen. That's a little bit of a long one, but I think it really shows what Jen and I are all about.
She said, "Less flare days, less inflammation and swelling, an improved relationship with food, mindful eating, eating to take care of myself, paying attention to how I feel about my food, cholesterol and triglyceride blood work improved to the in normal range, less fatigue and pain. The information, coaching and support really made a big difference in creating a sustainable lifestyle instead of the back and forth yoyo diet's results, etcetera. The information and module training really helps to understand how food relates to health. And the anti inflammatory lifestyle really assists in the healing process and helps maintain health."
The Becoming Immune Confident Jumpstart Program is designed specifically for women like you, battling inflammation and seeking to regain energy, clarity, and confidence through a guided, compassionate approach. Don't miss the chance to transform your health and your life. To learn more and to get enrolled, visit www.immuneconfident.com. And this is the fourth podcast in this weekly series we've been doing. If you've missed out on any one of the one, two or three, make sure to go back and listen to them. You don't have to listen in any particular order, but they are chock full of really great actionable advice and tips. And we've been getting some really great feedback in our Facebook support groups as well. So, we would love to hear from you.
Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: So you mentioned the Facebook support group, Kara. How can people join the Facebook support group?
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah, so they can visit either one of us on social media. I know we have, both of us have them linked in our link tree. But we have a group specifically for those who are dealing just in general, with a misbehaving immune system, 'The Becoming Immune Confident' group. And then we also do have a group that's specific to those who are dealing with Sjogren's. For those of us who have that particular condition as well.
The connection between the gut, skin, and respiratory tract in regulating immune function
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Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: Thank you. All right. Awesome. So I would love to ask you a question and dive a little deep into the scientific connection between the nutrition and immune function.
Kara Wada, MD: Let's do it. So, um, when we think about our bodies, our skin, our respiratory tract, and our gut are the three places where our body interacts with the outside world. We usually think about, you know, just our skin being on the outside, but the reality is our gut is one continuous tube. And that actually is technically on the outside of our bodies too. And when that barrier becomes more permeable or more leaky, as some people would like to describe it, then that really disrupts this delicate balance between our body's ability to see and recognize and respond to the outside world.
There is, you know, the food we're eating, everything we're inhaling, and then swallowing, you know, through mucus down to our gut too, all of this comes in contact with then our microbiome. All those bugs, the bacteria, viruses and fungi that live in us. And then, um, we have, you know, within there we should have a nice cushion of mucus and then our actual tissues, our gut tissues and our immune tissues right there, all in close proximity.
And when we have deficiencies, like for instance, vitamin D, where most of us, especially those of us with autoimmune disease are deficient or have lower than ideal levels of vitamin D, that alone can increase that permeability or that leakiness in the gut. And that creates a shift or an imbalance then in how our bodies are seeing all the other aspects of our outside world. And there's more that plays into that.
So Jen, you know, we've talked a little bit about some of those, but what are some of those other things that we look out for when we're talking to our client and when you're talking to your clients and looking at, assessing their gut health or thinking about ways that we might be able to optimize that?
Factors that impact gut permeability and strategies to optimize gut health
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Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: Yeah. I think a few things to kind of point out too, which we've discussed in prior episodes. And one of the episodes, if you haven't already listened or watching us can be great too, because we are very expressive. But one of the episodes that we dove into the Food and Symptoms Journal can be a great place to start because if you do have food sensitivities, it's really important to know those food sensitivities and then eliminate those foods because the more your gut is being exposed to those food sensitivities or the foods that your gut is sensitive to is going to create bigger.
I like to give an example of Swiss cheese, like how Swiss cheese has holes in it. So just kind of imagine your gut like that and then there's going to be holes in your gut and they're just going to become bigger and bigger allowing the things that are supposed to be inside your gut go into your bloodstream and create inflammation. So that's why we emphasize so much on the evidence based tool which is Food and Symptom Journal that I help clients in the program to determine patterns and strategically only eliminate those foods that are their triggers.
The other important connection between nutrition and immune system is like I said in the previous episode, one of the fundamental principles of anti inflammatory eating is fiber. If you're not getting enough fiber in your diet, your gut bugs are deprived. They are not going to be able to multiply because where's the food, right? Like, if we don't eat, we are not going to have the energy. We are not going to have the spoons like we like to talk about in our program and teach our clients about spoon theory. Right? So we, just to have that energy even gut bugs need the food and their food is fiber.
When they consume fiber they produce something called short chain fatty acids and these actually lower inflammation in your body. They go also to your brain and research has shown that they play a role in mental health as well. So it's not only connected to immune system, but it's also connected to, it's something called neuroinflammation, which is the inflammation in the brain. And also a lot of people struggle with psoriasis or psoriatic arthritis, which is inflammation of the skin. And like Kara said, nutrition is one important piece, but also in our program, we talk about how to make your home, how to make your products more non toxic, because these can also be endocrine disruptors, cause issues in your hormones, and then cause issue in your immune system.
So it's a very heavy, very, very big topic we are trying here to kind of make sure that we kind of give you a little glimpse into this topic so you understand the connection between gut brain, gut immune system, as well as gut, skin, and nutrition because it's so, so, so interconnected.
Recent research on localized allergic immune responses in the gut and their impact on food sensitivities.
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Kara Wada, MD: You know, one of the things that came up at my recent allergy, you know, national meeting, I go to try to go at least once or twice a year to some of our national meetings where, you know, these are the biggest collection or grouping of people studying allergies, asthma, inflammation, all in one place. And so I try to go in person, ideal, sometimes virtual with three kiddos at home. But one of the really mind blowing things that I learned this past, you know, this past month when I went was that we are now really getting some fascinating science, looking at what is causing maybe some of these, what we're calling food sensitivity reactions.
So, you know, up to this point, it's been a little bit nebulous. Like we know that there are foods that seem to be triggering inflammation, but how are they doing that because we don't necessarily have tests to like help us. There are some scientists that are showing and that some people will make a localized allergic immune response in their gut and you can find that allergy protein to particular foods, not by skin testing, not by blood testing but localized in that gut tissue. And what we're surmising as well is that that inflammatory response in the gut may then provide some feedback back to the brain that is saying, "Oh, don't go there." You know, like this is a bad, you know, creating some of those aversions that we have to particular foods that don't agree with us.
So I think we are starting to get some of the science that really is explaining the lived experience that many of us have had, who have, you know, had foods that don't agree with them. And also maybe you've had some testing that wasn't super helpful in confirming that or, you know, even necessarily ruling that in or out. And so, you know, it's staying engaged with the movers and shakers in the field and also staying engaged with my patients in the office, hearing the lived experiences of other people who are dealing with misbehaving immune systems each and every week. They're really helping, you know, inform and help our program evolve as science evolves too.
Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: I love that, that you attend conferences because I think that's what makes our program different because we're both healthcare providers and we always will bring in science backed, evidence based nutrition strategies. Not to say that, you know, nothing is customizable or it's very rigid approach, right? Like we're all about flexibility, but also bringing in a lot of this upcoming research and science backed tools that are new to our programs can be so beneficial to our clients. So I'm so happy that you said that you attended the conference and you do that on a very regular basis. And I love that. I learned so much from you.
Translating the science of nutrition into practical advice
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Kara Wada, MD: How do you in your practice, and then like through like coaching stuff too, how do you take that science of nutrition and then kind of help operationalize it? Like, how do you make it practical for your clients?
Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: Right. So this is the best part. You know, I don't know if you guys heard about this song. The song is not relevant, but just this lyrics. "This is the best part. This is the best." I always like to like put that on some of my stories when I'm like, "This is the best part about my life." But the best part about our program is doing this exact thing is translating the science of nutrition into practical advice for clients and the group sessions are such a good place to do this and also we are offering everybody who is joining the wait list and early bird to work with each one of us one on one is when I take a deep dive into what your family dynamic is like, right? What your history of disordered eating is like, because I remember you had said, and you know, I know you're going to be okay with me sharing this information. Like, you know, growing up, kids struggle.
And you also mentioned this in the first episode is struggled with, you know, restrictive eating and those kinds of things like body image issues. So I feel like it's very important to know what has led you here, right? Like what traumatic experience you've had. And I shared my mom's story in the first episode as well because not having any background and just bombarding like this facts at someone never works. So what I like to do is really understand where you're coming from. If you have a job that requires a lot of traveling, I must help you find those easy food choices on the road instead of saying to you is like, "All sunday long please batch prepare your meals because all week long you're gonna be on the road, you're gonna be taking like a fridge full of meals with you and eating."
It's just not practical. It's impossible. And somebody who is like really like gung ho about it may do it for a week and then get stressed out and not follow anything, right? So I feel like knowing what your work looks like, what your stress looks like. Like you, you have three kids. So are you a mom? Are you somebody who is an entrepreneur? You're constantly in meetings and you have to eat restaurant foods because you're also, that's part of your job.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah. Entertaining clients. Yeah.
Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: So, Exactly. So taking the principles of anti inflammatory eating and living and putting them into the client's lives based on what their life's dynamic is, because our whole goal here is to reduce overwhelm, decision fatigue, make it easy for you and improve your quality of life and create that space. Like we just don't have any space to breathe. So let's breathe together, Kara.
Kara Wada, MD: I've started, I think it's,
Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: I needed that.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah, I have actually started out our coaching calls the last few months with just a very brief little, you know, meditation, grounding exercise just to bring us all, our small group to this space to recognize that we are committing our time to ourselves, to our health, to recognize that, that that is, that's a big lift and ask and to kind of just get our mindsets kind of in the place we want to be for that particular hour that we're together. And, you know, I think the other piece that really comes into that, you know, and thinking about getting through those rough times is really knowing your why.
Knowing what is it that is driving you to make these changes in having that front and center as you are, you know, then thinking about, you know, what are my goals? What's my personal goal? What's my goal for my family? What's my goal for maybe my career or professional kind of pursuits? What are my values? How am I going to get there? How am I going to get to those goals? And having that North Star to point you and the support along the way to get through it.
Our clients who've signed up for the early bird are already in there working on their self care compass activities. I have a whole workshop in there, kind of a bonus that we just added this last cycle. And it's so cool to see everyone put up their little, their little, uh, circle divided into three, whatever shape that would be called. And to just start talking and bonding with one another.
I'd love to hear and have you share about your client that we talked about just before we were getting on, how, you know, how she was able to get results, really great results by aligning her diet with her immune system health.
A case study: Reframing restrictive mindsets, fueling exercise, and promoting a balanced approach
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Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: Yeah, so this client of mine came to me. She had a two year toddler. Her husband was often cooking. She wasn't cooking very much. And she was doing intensive physical activity. And she came to me saying that, "I want to follow an anti inflammatory diet, but I also want to be on a high protein diet and I can't eat too many carbs," because of course the personal trainer told her that, and that is not always relevant to our population of autoimmune illness warriors.
The thing is, is coming into the program with an open mind can be really, really crucial. And so when we started working together, honestly speaking, I only made changes to her breakfast to begin with, just to make sure that she's, she was getting adequate amount of not just protein but also like a balance of anti inflammatory ingredients in her pre workout smoothie so that when she worked out she had that energy to work out versus workout because she wanted to work out and had some physical goals, but dragging through the workout those are two different things. You could be dragging through the workout because you have some goals in your mind versus you could be doing an intense workout but really enjoying it because you fueled your exercise properly.
And this is something not very much talked about as exercise nutrition and which is very very important and we do include that in our program because if you don't fuel your exercise properly, you may feel like exercise is not doing any good to you or maybe you get really fatigued really fast. So instead of walking two miles, you're probably just walking one mile. But imagine you had enough amount of carbohydrates to fuel your cardio exercise. Maybe you could, you could go on that two mile walk with your friend and not have to cut it short and feel fatigued on the way, right?
So that is one thing that we worked on together. Reframe the restriction mindset, right? Because she had eliminated a lot of foods due to food fear, food anxiety. And with her, like, I always have this in my mind is ripple effects. If I'm working with a client, how is it going to have ripple effects on their kids? Because we don't want to raise another generation of kids that are constantly worrying about their body, constantly worrying about another diet, food restrictions, eating disorders. Like we already have enough of that.
And what about the mental health, right? So for me, if a mom comes to me that wants to work with me in the program or in as a private client, I'm thinking how her changes are going to impact her husband's health, her kid's health, right? What role model is she going to be? So for that aspect, we worked a lot on like reframing those, um, thoughts that were like, "Oh, I'm a bad mom" or "If I don't restrict, I'm not going to have enough energy. And if I'm not going to have enough energy, I'm going to be a bad mom because I'm not going to be able to play with my kid." Right? But when we started including and using this additive approach and also fueling her exercise, and mind you, lowering her exercise in the beginning because that is also very important is not to go extremes, right? So like it's a very like fine balance between exercise, nutrition, mental health, self care. And then also upping her fiber intake which is really important and it comes from carbs.
Kara Wada, MD: Yeah. Yeah.
The importance of a holistic, "rainbow" approach to anti-inflammatory eating and lifestyle
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Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: I don't know how to say this better, right? But if you are on a low carb diet, you're not going to get enough carbs and you can just be putting a lot of, like, greens powder. But how much money are you spending? And it's, again, processed. If you don't know how to read the ingredients, it's gonna create more problems for you versus be good for you, you know, so choosing more whole foods. Nutrition label reading ,grocery shopping, making it all fun. So some of the recipes I would give her that would help her get her daughter engaged in like the fun and playing process and just touching the ingredients right? That sensory aspect that get's you connected to the food.
We talked about earthing, which also is, was one of the episodes that we did on our program is like walking barefoot. So going to the park, playing with your kid, getting connected with nature, that also helps with gut microbiome because you're exposing yourself to different types of microbes and also connecting with nature, the earth that also lowers inflammation. So, you know, like, it's never like black or white. It's such, it's such a beautiful rainbow. I think this term came to me and I'm gonna use this more often, it's such a rainbow approach. It's like all these colors, all these pillars of anti-inflammatory eating pattern and lifestyle come together to make your life beautiful and improve the quality of life.
Because at the end of the day, all we crave are strong connections. If you're career oriented and if you're really like wanting to excel in a career then that is something that we crave also is like, "Okay. If I have more energy, if I'm able to better concentrate because brain fog isn't taking over my day, then I'm gonna be able to excel in my career." And also just overall connection with ourselves, right? Like self love, self care, all of these things are so, so important. So these are the ripple effects of, you know, going through a program that not only includes modules which is important.
Education is important, but also making the education more practical and the group calls, right? The community, you don't feel alone. You feel like somebody else is also walking in your shoes and everybody cheers each other on and we all like have a blast in our group coaching calls. So those are my favorite.
Kara Wada, MD: Me too. I look forward to them and we have, I have one coming up, I think it's next week, I saw on the calendar. And so I'm really excited. A lot of times too, I'm picking out new things that I've read along the way to incorporate. So I just did a lot of reading on the power of improving your self worth. It's another component along with self compassion, which I'm super, you know, super excited about, teach all about. But self worth is a separate entity. So, you know, bringing that to our group and having that and we record those calls so that we have, you know, if you're unable to make it, you are able to tune in later, be able to submit questions ahead of time. Like we have a lot of fun. So it is worth blocking off the time on your calendar, if at all possible.
Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: Yeah. So with this client, I just want to wrap up by saying that, you know, she did lose about 8 to 10 pounds slowly, gradually. The mindset was much better, was more confident when traveling. So she went to Disneyland with her family and she was able to make such great choices and not have to miss out on those yummy foods in Disneyland because again, she was being a good role model and not teaching her daughter to be like very restrictive, right?
So she packed a few things with her to Disneyland but also had done her homework along with me together to pick out some choices so that she's able to enjoy little things with her daughter over there and have the energy to be able to be fully present and create memories. And then also, increased her exercise so that she started building more muscle mass, which was her goal to begin with. So, you know, I just, it just makes me very, very, very, very happy when clients are able to, you know, overall have a great quality of life and just be happy overall. Yeah.
An overview of the "Becoming Immune Confident Jumpstart" program
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Kara Wada, MD: Well, thank you so much to everyone who's listening for tuning in to another enlightening episode of the Becoming Immune Confident Podcast. We hope that you found today's topic, the science behind nutrition and immunity, both inspiring and informative, providing you with the tools and motivation you need on your health journey. And remember, if you are ready to take the next step in becoming immune confident, our Jumpstart Program is here to guide you. We've designed the program with you in mind, really focusing on those simple, sustainable and science supported systems to combat inflammation and enhance your wellbeing.
Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: Don't forget to secure your spot for our current The Becoming Immune Confident Jumpstart Program. Enrollment is open through April 19.
This is your opportunity to join a community of women, like we talked about, group sessions, just like you, looking to reclaim their vibrant selves, improve their quality of life, and overall lower their symptoms.
Kara Wada, MD: So you can hop over to www.immuneconfident.com to check out all the details and get yourself enrolled. And thank you for your time with us today. We're here to support you every step of the way. So until next time, keep striving for that vibrant health and clarity that's just around the corner. Get enrolled now and let's embark on this transformative journey together and make sure to subscribe to the podcast and our emails so that you don't miss out on another episode or any other fun activities and offerings that we have. And each and every week we have newsletter coming out with updates on the science and we're just always have fun, new things going. So thank you and take care.
Jenifer Tharani, MS RD: Yeah, and I just want to add one thing before we hop off is, you know, spring is, is here. And what better time to join a program so that you work through all of your barriers and challenges, overcome them with Kara and my support. And then get ready for a beautiful summer and, you know, go on trips or date nights or whatever your goals may be, spend time with your family, do those barbecues. Just have like a fun time, spring through summer and then obviously get ready for fall and winter. But I feel like this is such a great time to embark on this journey of anti inflammatory nutrition and lifestyle. So we cannot wait for you to join and support you in this journey.
Kara Wada, MD: Thank you everyone. And we'll see you on the inside.
If you are loving this mix of self discovery and science found here on the Becoming Immune Confident Podcast, I'd love to invite you to sign up for my email list. Hop over to drkarawada.com and hit subscribe to ensure you don't miss out on any insights into new immune system science or how we can harness healing through our daily habits.
Are you ready to feel confident, energized, and more like that BA that you used to be? Here's how we can work together. Jenifer, an Auto immune Dietician and I, Board Certified Immunologist I've put together the one and only
Becoming Immune Confident Comprehensive Course Coaching and Community Membership.
What we do is we help women with misbehaving immune systems, reclaim control over their health while minimizing fatigue, fog, and pain, all caused from too much inflammation. So, if you are ready to have confidence and clarity around your immune system health, and a sense of certainty, knowing that you are doing the best for your health and the health of your family, hop over to immuneconfident.com for details on how we can work together. We can't wait to connect.
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