The man who ate well, lived well and still got sick every winter

Written by:

Alba Health team

Last updated:

Aug 21, 2026

Summary

David is a stress and nervous system coach who knew all about the gut-immune connection. He ate well, exercised regularly, and had done years of work on his health. But every winter, he got sick. His gut test finally showed him why, and this past winter was the first time things were genuinely different.

In this article

Doing everything right and still getting sick

What the test revealed

A probiotic built for immunity

The winter that finally went differently

David knows more about the gut-body connection than most. As a stress and nervous system coach, he teaches it. He'd also lived it, rebuilding his health after a serious breakdown five years ago, learning first-hand how chronic stress disrupts the body from the inside out.

Try Alba’s gut health test – Understand your unique gut pattern and get clear, evidence-led steps to support it →

Doing everything right and still getting sick

By the time David came to Alba, his lifestyle was genuinely solid. His wife, a trained chef studying postpartum nutrition, had shaped their family's eating habits for years: organic slow-cooked meals, bone broth, kimchi, plenty of plants. He exercised three to five times a week.

And still, every winter, the same thing. Recurring upper respiratory infections. Sinus blockages that had flared on and off for years. His GP offered advice that helped at the margins, but no one could explain why his immune system kept struggling when everything else looked so good.

"I was pretty convinced I had a bigger part to play in boosting my immune system," he says. "I understood the gut-immune connection. I just couldn't see inside my own gut."

What the test revealed

David's results in September 2025 told a clear story. Despite his varied, high-quality diet, two core diversity markers, richness and evenness, both came back red. His gut didn't have enough different bacterial species, or a balanced enough spread between them, to function at full capacity.

His Akkermansia levels were also low. Akkermansia is one of the most important bacteria for maintaining the gut barrier. When it's depleted, pathogens can slip through the gut lining, placing a constant low-level demand on the immune system. It's a quiet drain that's almost impossible to detect without testing.

On the positive side, his Bifidobacterium and butyrate-producing bacteria were healthy, real evidence that his years of careful eating had made a difference. But the diversity gaps and low Akkermansia were working against him, particularly when winter brought extra immune pressure.

"It was the knowledge I was looking for," he says. "Understanding that I eat fruit every morning, but wasn't eating enough of the correct variety. That was a surprise."

The consultation also surfaced something deeper: the years of chronic stress before his recovery had left a mark on his gut that good food alone couldn't fully undo. His gut lining needed support before it could properly absorb the nutrition he was already putting in.

"I was ironically a live example of what I teach people," he says. "Being stressed, with the correct diet but it didn't quite work. Alba helped me understand how to prepare my gut first."

A probiotic built for immunity

Based on the findings, Alba recommended a targeted probiotic, strains with clinical evidence specifically for supporting immune resilience and reducing the severity of respiratory infections.

Alongside the probiotic, David increased his intake of live-bacteria foods and added more diversity to the fibre-rich foods he was already eating: lentils, garlic, ginger, raspberries, sweet potato. He also cut back on the processed snacks that had crept into his lunches, which were quietly working against the bacterial balance he was trying to build.

The changes weren't dramatic. They were targeted, filling the specific gaps his biology had revealed.

Find out exactly which good bacteria your gut may need with Alba’s science-backed gut health test →

The winter that finally went differently

By his follow-up in March 2026, the data reflected what David had already started to feel. Both richness and evenness, the two diversity markers that had come back red in his first test, had moved into the optimal range. Phylogenetic diversity, which had been borderline, was also now optimal. His gut had become meaningfully more diverse in the months since he'd started making changes.

Akkermansia remained below optimal, and Bacteroides, which supports fibre breakdown and digestion, is still a work in progress, though it had improved since the first test. These remain the focus going forward.

But the bigger picture was clear: a gut that had been low in diversity and struggling to maintain its barrier was now resilient, balanced, and building in the right direction.

And he felt it. His immune system was stronger. This past winter, he was less sick, the recurring infections that had defined his winters for years simply didn't hit in the same way.

"Confident in understanding what's underneath the hood," he says. "And that the decisions I make around what I eat actually affect my physiology."

Key insights from David's gut tests

Richness and evenness both red – low microbial diversity despite a high-quality diet
Akkermansia low – gut barrier function compromised, quietly draining immune resilience
Bifidobacterium and butyrate producers healthy – years of good eating had made a real difference
Recommended: targeted probiotic strains with clinical evidence for immune resilience and respiratory infections
Follow-up (March 2026): richness, evenness and phylogenetic diversity all moved into optimal range
Akkermansia still below optimal – ongoing focus, but Bacteroides improving
Stronger immune system reported; fewer infections this winter

Curious about your family’s unique gut patterns?

With Alba, you understand your own or your child’s gut – and get a clear plan to help the good bacteria thrive.

Get started

POLICIES

SUPPORT

POLICIES

SUPPORT