Life (and possibly death) on the kitchen counter

The Kombutcha scobyes are bubbling content and happily on tall glasses, while the sourdough starter has begun to look a little grumpy in the fridge. I making a last attempt to cheer it up leaving it out on the kitchen counter, but am afraid it will soon begins its journey towards its final destination in the trash can. On the stove a a pot of broth is beeing prepared and I have just finished a new attempt to make kimchi. Last time I didn't get it quite right and got a little sick. . But tonight I'm armed with a book on fermentation and this time it looks right. It would be nice if I manage to avoid giving myself foopoisoning considering I'm on immunosuppressive medicine this time.

The reason my kitchen is rumbling, bubbling and brewing is because I'm trying to befriend my gut bacteria. Most of the immune system is found in the intestines and the composition of gut bacteria affects health. One study compared lupus patients with healthy ones and found that lupus patients generally had more leaky gut and fewer types of bacteria in the gut. One type of bacteria, on the other hand, Ruminococcus gnavus, they had 5 times as many of. This bacteria was especially prominent in those who had flare-ups and kidney disease. The same study discovered that the antibodies that attack their own DNA also attack this specific bacteria. The theory is that the antibodies that are supposed to attack these bacteria leak through the intestinal wall and further into the body where it triggers an immune reaction. This same bacteria is also thought to be linked to flares in other autoimmune diseases such as Chrohn's.
 
It's with this in mind that I try to spruce and liven up the kitchen, focusing on food that makes the gut happy. Such as naturally fermented foods. There's not much life in the bonebroth, but the idea behind the broth is that the gelatin that is extracted from the bones lubricate the intestine and makes it a little less "leaky". And some happy news for this chocolate lover, dark chocolate (86%) falls into the category of fermented food. Now I'm neither a doctor nor a nutritionist, but I'm pretty sure that the dark chocolate I'm sprinkling on tonight's dessert is a spoon full of health. .


Sources:
Enders, G. (2018). The charm of the gut. Cappelen Dam
Hexeberg, S. & Hexeberg, E. (2019). New look at Autoimmune disease - Use food as medicine. Cappelen Damm
https://www.lupusresearch.org/bacteria-gut-may-cause-lupus-shows-study-supported-lupus-research-alliance/
https://www.lupus.org/news/the-gutlupus-link-how-gut-bacteria-may-impact-disease-development-and-activity
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6901743/
https://www.the-rheumatologist.org/article/to-understand-lupus-study-the-gut/
https://www.pnas.org/content/116/26/12672
https://ard.bmj.com/content/78/7/947