[ healthy strategies ]
healthy digestion
Excerpted from The Microbiome Breakthrough: Harness the Power of Your Gut Bacteria to Boost Your Mood and Heal Your Body by Raphael Kellman, MD. Copyright © 2018. Available from Hachette Go, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc.
Leaky gut—what is it and how do you know if you have it?
One of the most destructive forms of intestinal distress is the condition known as intestinal permeability—a.k.a. “leaky gut.” In this all-too-common disorder, the walls of the small intestine—which are only one cell thick—begin to lose their integrity, mostly because of a compromised microbiome. The small intestine is where most digestion and absorption take place. The small intestine absorbs into its walls only the smallest, most essential molecules: proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fats. These pass through the gut wall into the bloodstream to nourish the body. However, just on the other side of the gut wall is the immune system, or at least the vast majority 18 O C T O B E R
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of it. Since most of the world’s toxins come to us through our food, most of our immune system is located adjacent to our gut wall, ready to respond to any dangerous bacteria, viruses, or toxins that we inadvertently eat or drink. Consequently, you want your gut wall to be strong and healthy—to have good integrity—so that it can take some of the burden off your immune system. A
2021
9/8/21 9:17 AM
