By Dr. Linda J. Dobberstein, DC, Board Certified in Clinical Nutrition
Do you find yourself aging faster with an expanding list of health concerns? At the forefront of staying well and having strong immune resiliency is the integrity of the mucosal barriers and microbiomes within your gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts. Increased barrier permeability and/or microbiome dysbiosis affects your overall ability to stay healthy. Several factors affect these concerns, and key nutrients are required for ongoing integrity and daily repair needs. Are you keeping up with your body’s needs or do you have a history of functional gut problems? Or has the latest bug going around got you down? Read on to learn more!
Gastrointestinal Mucosal Barrier
Healthy mucosal barrier integrity is crucial for your overall health. In the small and large intestines, this barrier prevents germs from crossing into circulation, while allowing the absorption of food particles and nutrition for your whole body. It is the interface between your gut microbiome, food substances, toxins in the environment, and the rest of you. It is a complex, highly selective, and very dynamic barrier.
Tight Junctions
In the mucosal layers of the small and large intestine is a single cell layer of epithelial tissue which forms an important protective component. Imbedded in the epithelial tissue are cellular doors called “tight junctions” or zonula occludens. These doors selectively open and close in response to the ingestion of foods and beverages and movement of metabolic waste. They are also essential for cell polarity.
Tight junctions also open and close in response to a variety of other stimuli. Signals from the vagus nerve and autonomic nervous system, inflammatory mediators, mast cell activation and histamine, and other immune-regulatory compounds naturally affect the opening and closing of tight junctions.
Provocative Factors That Open Tight Junctions
Numerous stressors affect the activity of the tight junctions and how long they stay open. Whether it is stress from emotions and psychological stress, strenuous exercise, gut dysbiosis, or excessive non-beneficial germs like Candida, viruses, and other germs, all can lead to prolonged openings of tight junctions. These stress responses release increased amounts of TNF-alpha, histamine from mast cell activation, inflammatory cytokines, and other compounds that change the mucosal barriers, the microbiome, and the tight junctions in the gut.
Western diets with high fat, high sugar, ultra-processed foods, alcohol use, and gluten consumption are stressful to the gut lining and barriers. Check your foods too for carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80. These commonly used food additives are known to provoke chronic low-grade inflammation in the gut leading to disruptions with the gut microbiome and mucosal barrier integrity.
Medications add their own source of stress to the gut lining. NSAIDS/aspirin, steroids, antibiotics, and others provoke a breakdown and opening of tight junctions, affecting the mucosal barrier and epithelial lining integrity. These factors and others lead to the development of Leaky Gut Syndrome.
The Tight Junction Connection and You
Why is it important to know about your gut barrier integrity and staying well? Breakdown of these tight junctions is considered one of the earliest hallmarks of injury negatively impacting your health.
Mucosal barrier breakdown puts additional strain on your physiology. Without the normal tightly regulated opening and closing, it allows unwanted and larger particles to bypass the barrier systems. These particles increase the “toxic pollution” and workload in the rest of your body. It leads to increased cellular inflammatory reactions and oxidative stress levels that age your body.
Tight junctions are also found in other parts of your body such as your respiratory tract, skin, kidneys and ureters, blood-brain-barrier, blood vessels, and lungs. Similar proinflammatory changes and barrier changes described above occur affecting the function and stress load on your lungs, brain, blood vessels, skin, and kidneys.
Gut-Lung Barrier Connection
Cutting-edge research shows a strong connection between gut barrier health and lung health, i.e. the lung-gut axis. Various studies show profound changes in the gut barrier integrity and microbiome occurs with upper respiratory challenges and vice versa.
Other Far-Reaching Effects
There are other far-reaching effects of gut barrier and tight junction dysfunction. It increases the likelihood of weight and blood sugar management difficulties. It is linked with dysfunctional insulin management, ovarian, and liver health. Barrier breakdown adversely affects the brain and cognitive function of all ages affecting development, cognitive function, learning, and mental health. It also affects your tolerance to food and substances.
Nutrients Require for Healthy Barriers
Several key nutrients are required to maintain a healthy intestinal barrier. The most important nutrients are short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, along with vitamin A, vitamin D, zinc, glutamine, glutathione, N-acetyl-cysteine, and proanthocyanins like grape seed extract. These nutrients are critical to maintain, repair, and support several aspects of the mucosal lining integrity, modulation of oxidative stress, and defense systems of the gut microbiome. These nutrients are also used to support respiratory and immune system health. Additional helpful nutrients for barrier protection include vitamin C, astaxanthin, turmeric, functional mushrooms like maitake and cordyceps, colostrum and others.
Do You Need Support?
More than 40% of the global population is affected by functional gastrointestinal health concern(s). Even more of the population is affected by other conditions triggered or worsened because of disrupted mucosal barrier integrity and changes in tight junction function.
Individuals who consume a low fiber diet, a low protein diet, a poorly implemented plant-based diet, an ultra-processed/Western diet, or other restrictive diets will lack one or more of these nutrients, increasing the likelihood of mucosal barrier changes. This opens the possibility of increased autoimmune challenges, lowered immunity to fight germs, and increased inflammation throughout your body. Fatigue, brain fog, poor concentration, skin changes, joint aches, blood sugar and hormone dysregulation, uro-genital immune challenges, weight challenges, and more also occur.
Mucosal barriers are the front-line defense system between the environment and you. The health of your mucosal barriers, microbiome, and nutritional status affects how your immune system responds to external and internal challenges.
Breakdown of tight junctions is considered one of the earliest hallmarks of injury negatively impacting your health! You may not realize that this smoldering issue is at the core of you feeling sick and tired.
Staying well requires mindful recognition and proactive steps to support the tight junctions and barriers of your body. Identify and remove things in your diet, or medications when possible, that interfere with barrier integrity. Get your glutathione, zinc, vitamin A and D levels checked with your annual physical.
Provide the necessary nutrients to support barrier integrity. Nutritional supplements like Daily Protector Eye & Immune, contains vitamin A, carotenes, NAC, and other antioxidants necessary to protect the epithelial linings in gut and respiratory barriers. Super Dophilus, Tributyrin Plus, and GI & Muscle Helper provide pre-, pro-, and post-biotics which are critical for gut barrier and microbiome integrity and immune system function. Extra zinc as found in Strengthener Plus is also helpful for many. Additional support for a healthy microbiome includes Super Immune Booster and Oregano Oil.
Your overall health is empowered and directly influenced by you taking care of your mucosal barrier integrity.
