The small intestine is a tube that would be around 21 ft long, if you stretched it out. It is where food is digested. The lining of the small intestine
is rather like a fine sieve, which allows only the breakdown products of digestion to pass through the gut wall and into the bloodstream and keeps undigested food molecules, microbes like bacteria, yeast etc; and toxins out.
The walls of the small intestine are lined with finger-like projections called villi. These have hair-like projections called microvilli, which serve as a point of absorption of nutrients. Antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, alcohol or infection can cause the intestinal lining to become inflamed and the microvilli to become damaged or altered, losing their hair-like projection – so in effect, getting bald patches. The damaged microvilli cannot then produce the necessary enzymes and secretions that are essential for a healthy digestion and the absorption of nutrients. This can lead to malabsorption.
When an area becomes inflamed in this way, the actual structure of the lining which keeps out large molecules, undigested protein, bacteria etc from passing into the bloodstream is weakened. Gaps appear between the cells. The fine sieve has now become more of a colander allowing large particles and toxins to escape into the body. This puts the immune system on red alert and in response it produces antibodies to locate and attack foreign objects to fight off the molecules, as they are perceived as an invader. This can initiate allergic reactions. Large amounts of this material can overwhelm the system and a cascade of inflammatory events may ensue that can trigger or exacerbate autoimmune disease.
As the blood is filtered by the liver, this increase in toxins which have leaked out of the gut results in an overburdened liver. The liver is the largest organ in the body and plays a very important part in detoxification as well as having many other functions. Leaky Gut Syndrome completely overworks the liver because it floods it with additional toxins, reducing the liver’s ability to cope. When it cannot cope with this high level of toxins, the liver expels them back into the bloodstream. The circulatory system then pushes the toxins into the connective tissues and muscles where the body stores them to prevent major organ damage. Read more about the herbal treatment of Leaky Gut Syndrome here.
Tags: tests for leaky gut syndrome, treatment for allergies, treatment for bloating, treatment for leaky gut syndrome
