The gut & toxins
The gut microbes are essential to our wellbeing. They help us to digest food and produce substances that strengthen the gut epithelial lining cells, so strengthening the intestinal barrier to obnoxious substances like infections, food particles and toxins.
A good functioning internal microbial system will also help the body’s immune system to reduce chronic inflammation. Chronic inflammation has been implicated as a cause of almost all chronic disease. Anything that harms the gut microbes will affect gut function, inflammation and ultimately our health.
The main toxins that affect our health are:
- Moulds
- Plastics
- Pesticides
- Heavy metals
Toxins are just about inescapable. They enter our environment through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the clothes we wear, the furniture we sit on, the shampoos, conditioners and cosmetics we use to make ourselves appear clean and healthy and the food we eat.
Toxins can have a direct effect on the gut. It appears that this effect occurs by a disruption of the microbial profile. Studies show that pesticides can cause a reduction in specific populations of gut microbes. One study assessed the species (genera) in the mouth of agricultural workers who had been subject to seasonal pesticide spraying. They found that whole genera were wiped out in these agricultural workers. It appears that this wipeout could be permanent as they found that the loss in affected populations was still present across the season i.e. even during the non-spraying season.
Most people have heard of Glyphosate. It is the active ingredient in the weed killer called Roundup. The company who made Roundup is called Monsanto. In 2018 a $289 million verdict was made against the company after one of its workers developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The company has now been taken over by a large pharmaceutical and pesticide company called Bayer. This is in spite of the fact that in 2015 The International Agency for Research on Cancer declared Glyphosate (diazinon and malathion) to be a probable carcinogen.
Glyphosate is a particularly nasty toxin, not just because it is a probable carcinogen but because it can make the effects of other toxins much worse. Glyphosate interferes with the livers detoxification system, called the cytochrome P450 enzyme system. This liver enzyme system works with the gut microbes in a partnership that ensures that we breakdown toxic substances.
Glyphosate injures the liver detoxification system. This ensures that not only does pesticide have access to our body but so do other toxins. It’s as though Glyphosate opens the gate and the other toxins enter in. One paper states that Glyphosate exposure is responsible for most of the modern-day chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, infertility, cancer, depression and autism.
Researchers from India have shown how plastics and pesticides work to disrupt the gut microbes. They then argue how this is likely to cause abnormal glucose metabolism. They present research showing how the increase in diabetes in recent years may be due to the increased use of plastics and pesticides.
There is some good news in the research literature. One study showed that probiotics containing lactobacillus can reduce the accumulation and toxicity of heavy metals and pesticides. It seems that probiotics may work by preventing the absorption of the toxins and by strengthening the gut barrier.
Conclusion
Toxins enter our internal environment via many routes. Studies show that they are toxic to our gut microbes and interfere with the liver’s ability to detoxify from other abnormal substances. Probiotics may help to reduce toxins and strengthen the intestinal barrier.