A #GoodGutFeeling Could Help Boost Your Immunity and Mental Wellbeing this Winter

You know us.

At RAW, we’re all about vibrant living: positive to the core. But we’re also about honesty, so we aren’t denying how tough this year has been.

And now winter is approaching, but knowledge is power. We’re more likely to get sick when it’s cooler, that’s a known fact. We also know that, for many of us, this pandemic has an impact on our mental health. So, how can we use this knowledge to thrive this winter?

Protect Yourself

Yes to face coverings, sanitation and social distancing, but we’re talking more than that. Did you know that tending to your gut can boost your immune system and defend your mental health?

In these unprecedented times, we need to protect ourselves in every way possible. At RAW, we look to the mighty gut to fortify us from the inside out

Here’s how:

Immune Support

Research¹ is clear: gut microbiota (that’s the microorganisms that reside in the gastrointestinal tract) help regulate our immune system. Specifically, they aid ‘immune homeostasis’: your body neither over or underreacting to invaders, like viruses.

Animals raised without gut microbiota in sterile environments demonstrate the powerful effects² of gut microbes on immune function, as do studies³ that change the microbiota through antibiotics.

Scientists also say that what we eat influences⁴ the composition of our microbiota.

RAW finds: eating gut-friendly foods → healthy microbiota → happy immune system.

RAW immune booster: Organic Raw Apple Cider Vinegar

Get yours: A splash on salad, a sprinkle on rice or a switchel, shrub or tonic – you can slip ACV into your daily diet easily. Psst – we make a range of delicious flavours to make it even easier for you to give your immune system the gift of a happy gut.

Mental Health Defence

Research⁵ suggests that probiotics – live bacteria and yeasts – restore and boost a healthy microbiota. One knockout study⁶ concluded that probiotic supplementation may protect against depression.

Fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kombucha and kimchi pack probiotics⁷ in abundance.

Raw finds: fermented foods → balanced microbiota → improved wellbeing.

Raw (unpasteurised) sauerkraut is brimming with live cultures. One analysis⁸ of raw sauerkraut found that 2oz/56g contained more probiotics than 100 supplements! That’s ten trillion bacteria in a serving. Why take a probiotic capsule when you can have a tasty superbiotic crunch with your lunch?

RAW mental wellbeing booster: Organic Raw Sauerkraut

Get yours: Don’t know where to start? Check out our blog for some ideas on how to incorporate sauerkraut in your diet, and check our favourite recipes for some inspo.

Let us know how you’re looking after yourself this winter on social @RawVibrantLiving #GoodGutFeeling #GutReadyForWinter.

1. The role of gut microbiota in immune homeostasis and autoimmunity
2. Use of axenic animals in studying the adaptation of mammals to their commensal intestinal microbiota
3. Antibiotic-induced perturbations of the intestinal microbiota alter host susceptibility to enteric infection
4. The diet-microbiota-metabolite axis regulates the host physiology
5. Effects of probiotics on gut microbiota: mechanisms of intestinal immunomodulation and neuromodulation
6. Effect of Probiotics on Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
7. Fermented foods for better gut health
8. Doctor: 2 ounces of homemade sauerkraut has more probiotics than 100 probiotic capsules