Does a healthy gut help prevent cancer?
Your digestive system a.k.a. the gut plays a huge role in the well-being of the body.
It primarily controls digestion – from breaking down the food you eat, absorbing nutrients to elimination.
There are about 100 different types of bacteria (microbes) living in your gut. Each person has a distinct and highly varied mixture of gut microbes, although a core set of microorganisms are common to all of us [1]. These microbes vary due to many reasons – age, diet, geographical location, intake of food supplements, medicines and other environmental influences [1].
Some of these microbes are beneficial – they can promote health by improving digestion and absorption of nutrients while stimulating the immune system while others are more harmful [2]. If the balance between the good and harmful microbes are disrupted, it may cause an immune reaction to inflammation leading to various diseases. Research suggests that there are links between bacterial populations with diseases from eczema, heart diseases, asthma, cancer, obesity and more [3].
Particularly for cancer, over the last decade, researchers have realised that gut microbes can produce DNA-damaging toxins, inducing cancer-promoting inflammation, make tumours more resistant to chemotherapy medication and suppressing the body’s anti-cancer immune responses [4].
What do you have to do to improve your gut health in preventing diseases like cancer?
You need to eliminate the harmful microbes and replace them with beneficial ones. Remember, everyone’s gut microbe is different but the formula to a healthier gut is the same. Proper nutrition and reducing stress makes for a better gut environment.
Consuming probiotics can also help support a healthy balance in the gut by restoring the composition of the gut microbiome and introduce beneficial functions to microbial communities, resulting in improvement or prevention of gut inflammation and other intestinal or systemic disease [5].
Fermented foods are rich in natural probiotics. The most common fermented foods that naturally contain probiotics, or have probiotics added to them, include yogurt, kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut, pickles, miso, tempeh, kimchi, sourdough bread and more [6].
WILD Kombucha’s fight against cancer
Our motto is to Empower From Within and hence we strive to brew the healthiest, probiotic rich kombuchas to support your digestion, immunity and gut health. Our kombuchas are infused with high quality ingredients, real fruits and florals to support your whole body!
In our effort to combat and spread awareness for cancer, we have produced cancer-busting flavours – Pomegranate Beets, a juicy red and tart flavoured Kombucha, and earthy Spirulina Honey Jun. Rich in infection-fighting properties, pomegranate, beetroot and spirulina are believed to strengthen the immunity while forming a bodily defence against viruses and cancer cells.
For every bottle sold, RM 1 will be donated to charity.
Sources:
[1] What is The Role of Gut Bacteria in Human Health?, 2013, https://www.eufic.org/en/healthy-living/article/the-role-of-gut-microorganisms-in-human-health (accessed 28th October 2021)
[2] Gut health: The role of bacteria, probiotics and prebiotics, 2021 https://www.eufic.org/en/healthy-living/article/gut-health-the-role-of-bacteria-probiotics-and-prebiotics (accessed 28th October 2021)
[3] MacGill, M, 2018, What are the gut microbiota and human microbiome?, https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/307998#why-is-the-human-microbiota-important (accessed 28th October 2021)
[4] Dolgin, E, 2020, Fighting cancer with microbes, https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00199-x (accessed 28th October 2021)
[5] Hemarajata P, Versalovic J. Effects of probiotics on gut microbiota: mechanisms of intestinal immunomodulation and neuromodulation. Ther Adv Gastroenterol. 2013;6:39–51 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3539293/ (accessed 28th October 2021)
[6] Health benefits of taking probiotics, 2020, https://www.health.harvard.edu/vitamins-and-supplements/health-benefits-of-taking-probiotics (accessed 28th October 2021)