Vickie Tyree wrote:
>>The immune system resides in the gut.
This is not true. I realize that you can find the statement in many places on
the internet, usually in conjunction with "leaky gut syndrome," but most of
the places you find it turn out to be selling digestive enzymes or supplements
or herbs or even weirder stuff. They can't even agree on their pseudoscience.
Google "leaky gut syndrome" and you see statements that "70% of the immune
system resides in the gut" or 50% or 60% or part of the "adaptive immune system"
or "direct immune system" or other variations.
Leaky gut syndrome is not really recognized by the mainstream science
community. It is part of alternative medicine, but because it has no recognized
existence alternative practitioners are free to invent any set of symptoms and
cures they want to sell. Since all cures will be anecdotal, and many will simply
involve taking an offending food out of the diet anyway, the cures might lead
to an alleviation of symptoms for some.
How Stuff Works has a good, plain-language explanation of the immune system.
http://www.howstuffworks.com/immune-system.htm
Another straightforward set of pages are those on Allergic Reaction at
eMedicinehealth.com
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/allergic_reaction/article_em.htm