Why Healthy Gut Lining is Important
I’m sure at some point in the last few years you’ve heard the term “leaky gut”. I know I did, but never really bothered to look into it. Growing up I didn’t have any food allergies, major health complaints, or physical distresses. I had strep and mono a few times, ear and eye infections, and occasionally the flu. But that has nothing to do with your gut lining…right?
According to Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride and other scientist/doctors, it has everything to do with it! Due to countless new studies done on the gut-brain connection, our gut is now being considered the body’s first brain by many!
To gain a better understanding, let’s look at how Dr. Campbell-McBride, author of GAPS, (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) describes the anatomy of our gut lining.
*This blog post contains various health information. Nothing is intended to be, nor should it be construed as, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any supplement(s) discussed and/or listed should be reviewed by your health professional before using. If you have a medical concern, please consult with an appropriately-licensed physician. If you think you have a medical emergency, contact your doctor immediately. Full medical disclosure here.
Gut Lining Definitions
Villi – a finger like protrusion on the wall of intestines that absorbs nutrients
Enterocyte – an epithelial cell, living on the villi, that completes the digestive process and absorbs nutrients from food
Crypt – new enterocytes are “born” in the bottom of these
The Role of Enterocytes & Villi
Dr. Campbell-McBride has worked extensively to understand the connection between the enterocytes and villi in her own clinic. In her GAPS book, she states:
“These cells (enterocytes) work very hard, so they have to be always young and in good shape to do their job efficiently…These enterocytes are constantly born in the depths of the crypts. Then they slowly travel to the top of the villi, doing their job of digestion and absorption and getting more mature on the way. As they reach the top of the villi, they get shed off. This way the epithelium of intestines gets constantly renewed to ensure its ability to do its work well.” (Fig.1)
The villi and enterocytes play an important role in digestive absorption. When our beneficial gut flora is depleted, the opportunistic and transitional flora take over. Without proper beneficial gut flora, the villi become damaged, their structure changes, and they can’t do their job. When opportunistic flora takes over, your gut becomes filled with bad pathogens/bacteria, yeast, parasites, etc. This leads to gut dysbiosis, or simply put, an imbalance in gut flora.
Imbalanced vs. Balanced Gut Flora
If the body is not able to absorb it can become malnourished, nutritional deficiencies grow, and food intolerances start to pop up. Additionally, it can lead to the development of physical ailments, chronic illnesses, inflammatory attacks, diseases and cancers.
In a person with healthy gut flora, most things are absorbed inside the cells inside the gut wall. When the body knows it’s safe to release those things, it’s released through the blood stream or stool.
In a person with imbalanced gut flora, holes start to form along the gut wall. Things start being released before they are ready, travel through the holes, and the immune system responds by attacking them. This is where most inflammatory responses start.
What Does Poor Gut Lining Lead To?
After a few months, the body starts to recognize the things being released early and creates antibodies to get rid of them. Those antibodies will then go through the entire body trying to find other similar things and attacks them, whether they are good or bad for the body. This leads to toxins, microbes, undigested foods, etc. entering the body. Soon, auto-immunity joins in, which can lead to the blood/brain barrier being opened and causes further damage.
What could this look like? Chronic ear/sinus/eye/throat/chest infections, constant colds and/or flu, food allergies, asthma, reoccurring yeast infections, inflammation of joints, histamine like reactions, a large list of mental illnesses, and more.
Here is Dr. Campbell-McBride’s illustration of a healthy enterocyte versus a sick enterocyte. A lot less protection when imbalances are present!
So essentially, gut flora, specifically the beneficial flora, holds the key to our entire digestive system. If we have an ample supply of the various kinds of beneficial gut flora – our body should be able to defend itself – because it will be able to adapt, regenerate, and function properly.
Gut flora helps protect our gut lining, which protects the body from “unauthorized visitors”. By taking care of the beneficial flora in our bodies, we’re taking care of our entire body’s health!
If you’d like to learn more, read my posts on Gut Flora: An Intro and Gut Flora: Various Roles!
