Dr. Susan Blum is a functional medicine practitioner specializing in the prevention and treatment of chronic disease. She is the Founder and Director of the Blum Center for Health. She has been published widely and is the author of The Immune System Recovery Plan: A Doctor's 4-Step Program to Treat Autoimmune Disease.
“Edibles impact your immune system. A diet high in animal-based foods such as dairy, eggs, and beef can promote inflammation and throw off the balance of good bacteria that live in your digestive tract. Fiber and vegetables are critical for this bacterial balance and nourish the liver so it’s able to effectively remove toxins from your body. Toxins put your immune system at risk. Unfortunately, many people don’t eat enough fiber and vegetables to reap these benefits. There are many nutrients often missing in the standard American diet, that you must include in your diet to have a healthy immune system. Processed foods fill us up with bad fats that damage immune cells. Studies have shown that when you eat food such as red grapes…, the resveratrol from these foods travels straight to the nucleus of the cell, where it turns on what has been called the “longevity gene.” Think of this gene as one of the chapters of the cell that would remain unread without the resveratrol. That is why we say food is information—it can have a powerful effect on activating your immune system in a way that makes it work better or in a way that promotes autoimmune diseases.”
Blum, S. (2013). The Immune System Recovery Plan: A Doctor’s 4-Step Program to Treat Autoimmune Disease. Scribner, New York. 15-17, 41.