7 Supplements for Gut Healing
Gut health is extremely important for hormone function, digestion, detoxing pathogens, and absorbing nutrients. Digestion is the process from the moment we consume food to the moment the food is excreted. A large indicator of gut health is intestinal permeability. The intestine is where we absorb nutrients, and everything left behind will pass onto the colon and leave the body as stool. The intestine is lined with a single cell wall called lumen, and past the lumen is the bloodstream. This cell wall is thin so that it is easy to absorb nutrients, and contains tight junctions to keep out anything that is not a nutrient. If the junctions loosen up in the cell wall and become permeable, then larger substances like toxins can pass through the wall and into the bloodstream with the nutrients which cause damage. Certain compounds are found in supplements for gut healing that aid in reducing negative symptoms of digestion.
Common symptoms of gut issues:
-Abdominal pain
-Bloating
-Diarrhea
-Constipation
-Indigestion
Here are 7 supplements for gut healing:
1. L-glutamine
L-glutamine is a conditionally essential amino acid. This means that the body can produce enough of it on its own, but in times of stress or some other dysfunctional state, it needs to be consumed through food. Lots of data support that L-glutamine can protect the gut against atrophy and injury induced by external stress, especially in athletes. The amino acid was found to increase the lifespan of enterocytes which are the cells that line the inner wall of the small intestine. Increasing the lifespan and health of these cells is important for protecting against intestinal permeability, which is when toxins are able to ‘slide’ through the intestinal wall and cause damage to the rest of the body. This is why L-glutamine is one of the supplements for gut healing.
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2. Zinc Carnosine
Zinc Carnosine (ZnC) is a health product that is an artificially produced substance of 1:1 ratio of zinc to carnosine. Zinc is an essential mineral that aids in many of our necessary chemical reactions in the body, and carnosine is a dipeptide molecule composed of beta-alanine and histidine both are amino acids. Carnosine is highly concentrated in the brain and muscle tissues. Research has found that ZnC improves gut integrity and permeability by stimulating cell proliferation in the small intestine. This reduces gastric and small intestinal injury by preventing toxins and pathogens from passing through the intestinal wall. This is why ZnC is another one of the supplements for gut healing.
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3. deglycyrrhizinated licorice
Licorice root is a very beneficial tea because it contains over 75 bioactive compounds, but it also contains a compound called glycyrrhizin. This compound has been found to cause adverse effects in humans, so one of the supplements for gut healing is deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL). Studies done on patients with functional dyspepsia, a gastrointestinal disorder that causes a great deal of discomfort, have found that DGL is beneficial in reducing discomfort. It can also reduce mucosal damage found in a rat study by increasing mucous production and reducing inflammation.
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4. Marshmallow Root
Marshmallow root is another one of the supplements for gut healing. It contains a high mucilage content which helps build up the mucous content in the intestines. Increasing the mucous helps ease inflammation, prevent constipation, and it promotes the integrity of tight junctions. It also has antioxidant benefits because it can release oxygen radicals in the white blood cells, and it improves histamine activity, another nitrogen compound that fights inflammation.
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5. Berberine
Berberine is a naturally occurring organic compound that is found in many plant species, and it has been notable for its natural medicine use in china due to its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. It is one of the supplements for gut healing because it has been used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel diseases. Additionally, in a different study, it was shown to aid in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease by increasing intestinal mucous. Occludin is a vital protein to build the structure for the tight junctions in the intestines. They suggested that intestinal barrier dysfunction exists in those with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease with intestinal permeability. In these subjects, there is a decreased level of occludin, which can be rehabilitated with berberine treatment.
6. Slippery Elm
Slippery elm is a supplement made from the powder of the bark from the slippery elm tree. Evidence shows that slippery elm is one of the supplements for gut healing because it has benefitted patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. It is a soothing supplement to ease constipation and bloating through building up intestinal mucous and it decreases inflammation.
7. Curcumin
Curcumin is the bioactive part of turmeric and has so many known benefits for hormones and gut health too. Curcumin has anti-inflammatory properties that aid in intestinal health and tight junctions. It also regulates gut bacteria creating the right balance to optimize absorption. Though the herb has low bioavailability in the body, when it is absorbed it centers in the gut. Combining turmeric with black pepper or looking for curcumin supplement formation with black pepper or piperine can enhance the absorption of curcumin. Piperine is the bioactive compound found in black pepper that has been shown to increase the absorption of curcumin
