As I put a scoop of glutamine into my morning tea, I thought I might take a minute to write a short post about the wonderful attributes of glutamine during the sugar elimination process. Not only is glutamine preferentially utilized by the brain as a source of fuel (and so is a good stand-in for sugar when you need energy), but it also helps to heal a leaky gut. "Leaky gut" (or permeable intestine) sounds awful because it is awful. Basically, when you have a poor diet (eg, one heavy in processed foods and sugar), your intestines start to allow proteins and toxins into the bloodstream that would normally pass through the digestive system and be eliminated. This can instigate a host of inflammatory and auto-immune responses by the body that can result in overall poor physical (and mental!) health.
The gut plays a huge role in our health, and scientists are just beginning to discover all of the intricate ways in which our internal bacterial colonies contribute to our mental and physical health. Michael Pollan is doing some groundbreaking work in this area. Check out the American Gut project to see how you can contribute to his research.
No comments:
Post a Comment