HEALTH REPORT
The Leaky-Gut Brain-Drain Connection
T he gut plays a crucial role in our daily wellbeing. When functioning optimally, it helps us absorb nutrients, makes energy from our food, makes our happy mood chemicals and is an important pathway for ridding the body of wastes. Nothing will unravel your health faster than a compromised gut. Gas, bloating, reactivity to foods and unpredictable bowel habits are just some examples of what can happen when things go wrong. When symptoms like this appear, these are clues from the body that there’s inflammation and a compromised barrier in the gut often referred to as “a leaky gut”. What happens when a gut is leaky? The lining of the gastrointestinal tract that runs from the mouth to the anus is made up of epithelial cells similar to the
plethora of health issues that may present differently for everyone but some of the signs might include; Chronic fatigue Headaches and migraines Chronic pain Asthma, allergies and eczema Poor immunity, chronic infections and sinusitis Autoimmunity such as rheumatoid arthritis or Hashimoto’s disease Inflammatory gut disorders such as IBS, Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis Leaky Gut = Leaky Brain What’s starting to become clear is that what begins as a gut problem, can quickly cascade into systemic health problems. Due to its close connection to the gut through neural pathways and the enteric nervous system that lines the cells of the gut, the brain is at significant risk when the gut becomes compromised. Inflammation in the gut can provoke neuroinflammation and impair the availability of nutrients to fuel the brain. This can lead to foggy thinking, poor concentration and even set the scene for
cells of our skin. Just like we can get cuts, abrasions and issues like eczema that disrupt the protective barrier of the skin - similarly, this can happen in the skin-like lining of the gut, leading to it being more permeable - or leaky - allowing substances that shouldn’t be able to enter the bloodstream until they’re further broken down, to enter and set off the internal alarms in our immune system.
Inflammation in the gut can provoke
neuroinflammation and impair the availability of nutrients to fuel the brain.
Food particles, bacteria and other substances that bypass their usual digestive processes and pass through to the bloodstream undigested trigger inflammatory responses from the body, as it scrambles to put down the threats it’s detecting. If this continues long-term, the end result can be a
4
ISSUE 65 • 2022
Made with FlippingBook Learn more on our blog