We will consume between three and seven tonnes of food and drink in our lifetimes, which has to be broken down and then the nutrients absorbed across the gut barrier, before they can be utilised by the body. The size of a tennis court, the gut barrier of the small intestine is made up of a single layer of cells that not only regulate the flow of nutrients and water into the body, but also play a central role in how our immune system responds to the dietary proteins and microbes that are ingested on a daily basis.
Nothing put into the digestive system is, technically speaking, inside the body until it has been absorbed across the gut barrier. It is the gut barrier that decides what to both let in and keep out of systemic circulation.
Research shows that the integrity of the gut barrier is fundamental to health and wellbeing. If the gut barrier is compromised by ‘leaking’ between and/or through the cells (para and/or trans cellular hyperpermeability), unwanted substances might permeate through and provoke unwanted immune responses – fuelling chronic inflammation, which is the route cause of all chronic disease and is a recognised key factor in the development of autoimmunity. Some of the conditions directly associated with ‘leaky gut’ include: coeliac disease, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, spondylitis, Parkinson’s disease, endometriosis, eczema, Crohn’s disease, colitis, multiple sclerosis, chronic fatigue syndrome, depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.
Leakiness between the cells of the gut barrier is controlled dynamically by a protein called zonulin. The higher the levels of zonulin, the greater the leakiness between the cells. The zonulin pathway is initiated by either the presence of pathogenic bacteria and/or gluten in the gut. Dysbiosis (imbalances in the micro ecology of the gut) and leaky gut usually co exist.
The presence of either or both of these conditions will drive a state of chronic inflammation. Fortunately, you can repair ‘leaky gut’ and rebalance the micro ecology of the gut, regaining control of health and wellbeing.
Call Mark BSc (Hons) BA (Hons) mBANT CNHC on 01183 219533 or visit www.entirewellbeing.com