leaky gut gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the liver

leaky gut gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the liver explained

You are what you eat is a common saying that is referred to in the context of general health. However, it is an oversimplification of an individual’s potential to achieve optimal health. It assumes that he or she consumes a balanced nutritional diet, lives and works in a clean environment, is stress and infection free, and has inherited defective-free genes. A balanced diet alone should act as the foundation for excellent health and well-being—if only it were that simple. For example, it is well-established that some foods are grown in nutrient deficient soils!

The manifestation of chronic ill health is determined, in most instances, by the low-level impact of prevailing factors causing a cascade of interrelated stresses on physiologic processes and organ functions, which results in critical disturbances to homeostasis and health. The major organs governing the initiation and progression of these processes are the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and the liver, respectively.

The GI tract must digest and process food, selectively absorb essential nutrients and biochemicals and eliminate toxic, allergenic, and inflammatory compounds. The microflora in the small and large intestine must be in balance to ensure the health and function of the intestinal mucosa.

Imbalances in microflora can alter the immunologic and mechanical integrity of the mucosa (“leaky gut”), thus permitting absorption of inflammatory, allergenic, and toxic molecules.

The liver must detoxify the body by removing endogenous waste products (i.e., end products of metabolism), xenobiotics (i.e., ingested, inhaled, and dermally absorbed toxic chemicals), and absorbed endotoxins (i.e., GI products absorbed through a leaky gut).