What is Intestinal Permeability?
The intestinal lining has a layer of cells that, in a healthy state, are closely knit and are referred to as "tight junctions." These tight junctions prevent things we ingest, such as large proteins, viruses, bacteria, and toxins, from getting into the bloodstream, where they can wreak havoc on our immune system.
It's profound to think that these tiny little cells protect the sterile part of our bodies from the outside world!
Thus, their integrity is essential to our health.
Many things can compromise the tightness of these junctions and cause them to become leaky or permeable. Examples could be:
stress
antibiotics
other medications
poor diet
infection imbalances in gut bacteria
trauma
surgery
toxins
food intolerances
inflammation
When these junctions become leaky or permeable, it means that we cannot properly absorb nutrition.
When these junctions become leaky or permeable, it means that we cannot properly absorb nutrition.
Additionally, when the cells are damaged, they can no longer effectively create an adequate barrier between what is making its way through our digestive system and our bloodstream.
When the body detects these large proteins where they don't belong, the immune system creates an inflammatory response. This can cause disease, further inflammation, and food sensitivities.
To make matters worse, some of these proteins look almost exactly like tissue found in the human body. Ultimately, the body may begin attacking your proteins that look very similar to those that made their way into your body via the damaged junctions.
This is called molecular mimicry.
In other words, the proteins mimic human tissue. Unfortunately, when the body begins attacking its own tissue, mistaking it for the previously recognized foreign invaders, various autoimmune diseases such as Celiac and rheumatoid arthritis can result. Intestinal permeability is also associated with migraines, depression, anxiety, and other diseases.
What can be done?
We can use a Zonulin test to determine whether a person has intestinal permeability. Zonulin is a protein synthesized in intestinal and liver cells that reversibly regulates intestinal permeability. Zonulin modulates the permeability of tight junctions between cells of the wall of the digestive tract.
With a gut healing protocol, the tight junctions can be restored.
It makes so much sense that dietary and lifestyle factors impact overall health and susceptibility to diseases.
Someone asked me recently what advice I have for maintaining physical and mental health.
My answer?
Make it your number one priority!
In today's world, we are inundated with environmental toxins, a stressful and fast-paced lifestyle, an abundance of unhealthy food choices (many of which are marketed as "healthy") and pills for every ill symptom we face.
Unfortunately, this is compromising our health and causing things like intestinal permeability.
So I'm helping clients learn how to heal themselves through personalized gut healing protocols to be freed from the all-consuming difficulties of illness and instead focus on enjoying the precious gift of life.
In health,
Liz