Your Glorious Gut

How long does it take to digest food? The Mayo Clinic states that digestion time varies among individuals and between men and women. It takes about six to eight hours for food to pass through your stomach and small intestine after you have eaten. Food then enters your large intestine (colon) for further digestion, absorption of water and, finally, elimination of undigested food. They say it takes about 36 hours for food to move through the entire colon. From the time you swallow food to the time it leaves your body as faeces takes about two to five days, depending on the individual. What is “leaky gut?” The digestive tract in humans is a sophisticated system that breaks down food in order to separate nutrients the body can use from any material that needs to be excreted. The walls of the intestinal tract act as a protective barrier for the bloodstream and the organs. They are the first line of defence for our immune system. The intestinal walls are permeable with tiny spaces known as tight junctions that block harmful substances from entering the bloodstream and allow nutrients and water to be absorbed into the body. When these spaces are affected by diet, irritation or stress, they can loosen, allowing for harmful material, such as partially digested food molecules, toxins, viruses, parasites and other gut flora, to escape the intestine and into the bloodstream. This is known as “leaky gut” or intestinal hyper-permeability. The Immune System Response Your body will react to these foreign bodies in your blood with an immune response. The immune system will kick in and neutralize, get rid of and alert the rest of the body to the foreign invaders. It will do this by increasing inflammation around the gut wall and throughout the body. As more foreign particles leak out into the body, the immune response increases and the result is chronic inflammation. This process leads to disease including autoimmune disease. Conditions Associated With Leaky Gut • Rheumatoid arthritis • Autoimmune diseases • Coeliac disease • Crohn’s disease • Multiple Sclerosis • Digestive problems - gas, bloating, nausea, constipation, diarrhoea, IBS • Seasonal allergies • Asthma • Hormonal imbalances • Chronic fatigue syndrome • Fibromyalgia • Brain fog, depression & anxiety • ADHD • Skin issues – eczema, rosacea, acne, dermatitis • Candida overgrowth • Food allergies & intolerance • Headaches • Diabetes Type 1 • Autism The Microbiome The Microbiome is a collection of communities of micro-organisms that live inside our bodies, mostly in the gut, but also in the lungs, nose, sinuses, mouth, throat, bladder, skin and eyes. These communities communicate via DNA so the microbes in the sinuses know what the microbes in the gut are doing for example. There are 100 trillion bugs in your gut with 10,000 unique species of bacteria, viruses, yeasts, fungi and other gut flora organisms. There are 10 times more microbes than the number of cells in your body. It is estimated we have 10 trillion cells in our body and our microbiome is made up of 100 trillion bugs/microbes. Everyone has good bugs and bad bugs. The goal is to have 85% good bugs so they can manage the troublemakers – 15% bad bugs. Your gut health plays a key role in your overall wellbeing. The enteric nervous system is housed in the gut and is also known as the “second brain”. The functions of the bugs/microbes: • They protect the gut lining. Healthy bugs keep the junctions of the intestines tight. • They digest food and absorb nutrients. • They synthesize vitamins like Vitamin K, B12 & neurotransmitters such as serotonin. 95% of the body’s supply of serotonin is manufactured by the gut rather than the brain. • They assist in detoxification of the body by eliminating any toxins. They help rid us of parasites, pathogenic bacteria, fungi and mould. • Two Way Street – the brain sends signals to the gut and the gut sends signals to the brain. This is why stress and other emotions often affect our digestive health. The health of your gut can affect how well you cope with stress, your mood and how easily you lose weight. • The immune system and the microbiome support one another. They work together to protect us from unwanted microbes.70-80% of the body’s immune cells are found in the gut. A healthy gut is your best defence against a cold, flu or virus. A healthy gut = healthy body = feeling great!! • They create natural antibiotics. • They regulate hormones. Your microbiome is likely deficient if you are feeling stressed, anxious or depressed. People with ADHD, autism, mental fogginess, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and obesity are likely to have a deficient microbiome. Dysbiosis – what is it? Dysbiosis typically occurs when the bacteria (microbiota) in your gastrointestinal tract (which includes your stomach & intestines) become unbalanced. We now know that most of these bacteria have a positive effect on our health and contribute to the body’s natural processes. The diversity of the bacteria can be affected with numbers of good bacteria falling while numbers of potentially harmful bacteria grow. As mentioned earlier, these bacteria or bugs protect the gut lining and keep the intestinal junctions tight. Leaky gut starts with dysbiosis. Symptoms may vary dependant on the type of bacteria that are out of balance. Symptoms of Leaky Gut Symptoms of leaky gut can vary from person to person. This is largely due to how long you have been suffering with leaky gut and on the level of damage and inflammation within your body. You may have only a few of these symptoms. Symptoms include: Skin - rashes, itchy skin, psoriasis, rosacea, hives, acne, eczema, dermatitis Brain – headaches, migraines, brain fog, depression, anxiety, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, insomnia, autism Immune – food allergies & intolerances, severe fatigue, high inflammation, autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis, joint pain, hay fever, allergic rhinitis or sinusitis Gut – nutritional deficiencies, chronic diarrhoea, burping, gas, bloating, nausea, constipation, inflammatory bowel disease, abdominal pain, noisy digestion – gurgling, weight gain Hormone – Hormonal imbalances, thyroid problems What Causes Leaky Gut?