Top 5 Reasons Why Toxicity is Actually the Cause of Your Gut Symptoms

While all the principles and importance of gut health are becoming more commonplace to the general public, there is often a non-digestive system related issue that is actually the culprit. Toxicity is a hidden cause in many of these cases. 

All the supplements, restricted diets, aloe vera and probiotics in the world, won’t fix many people’s gut symptoms long-term. They may feel better for a month or two, but the symptoms always seem to come sneaking back. 

In this blog, Dr. David Morcom is going to explain the connection between toxicity and gut symptoms. When our bodies aren’t able to expel toxins, those toxins remain in the body and continue damaging tissues. Since the gut is especially sensitive to even the slightest changes, this can lead to real issues.

Here are the top 5 reasons why toxicity is causing your gut symptoms.

1. Inflammatory Stress to Gut as Toxins Pour out of the Liver

A detox is often part of our recommended wellness plans here at Integrative Wellness Fx. We recommend it because most people are overburdened with chemicals and heavy metals from daily life causing a plethora of issues in numerous systems of the body.

Dr. Morcom notes, “The body expels many fat-soluble toxins out of the body through the bile of the liver, and that creates a lot of irritation and inflammation in the gut. This bile can also damage our microvilli, causing malabsorption and nutrient deficiencies as a result.” 

These toxins, released from tissues, damage the gut and lead to leaky gut, which is a main source of inflammation and a root cause of many chronic disorders. Without a proper detox process, we may fix the gut in the short term with probiotics, L-glutamine, and aloe vera, but if the toxicity is not addressed, this “toxic bile” just ends up damaging the gut all over again.

On one hand, the gut often does need to be fixed first so that once liver detox commences, the toxins will actually leave the body instead of just being reabsorbed again repeatedly. However, the critical key is to detoxify the liver and body promptly after completing the Gut Restoration portion of treatment. This one, essential additional step prevents the gut from being re-damaged again requiring one to re-do gut work continually. Make sure to detoxify your body at a cellular level properly so you can enjoy a healthy and happy gut and thus body long-term!

2. Immune Suppression Increases Recurrence Rates of SIBO/SIFO

The detox-gut health connection doesn’t stop there. Many toxins are immunosuppressive, which harms the gut’s ability to fight “bad” bacteria. 

Say in the case of candida or bacterial overgrowth – if you don’t detox the system adequately, you might be able to kill the overgrowth with supplements and diet, but the recurrence rates can be very high because the immune system is still inhibited. The microbial overgrowth will come back again often when you return to a more normal, less-restrictive diet. If you are needing to be on a restrictive diet long-term just to not have gut symptoms, you are definitely doing something wrong or not addressing the totality of what is going on at the root.

3. Bile Flow Allows Microbes to Climb Back into the Small Intestines

Toxic bile is a real issue for gut health. Toxins create a type of sludge that sits in the lower gut and causes liver and gallbladder stagnation. In extreme cases, this can cause gallstones, but this sludge usually slows down your bio secretion. 

“Biosecretion is key,” Dr. Morcom says, “It’s key for many things, but especially nutrient absorption. It hinders absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K. It also pushes a lot of the bacteria and fungi that are not supposed to be in our small intestines and keeps them in the large intestine – in the colon.”

Detoxing will increase bile flow to move this unwanted bacteria and fungus out of the small intestine so that we can eventually get rid of it.

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The fat soluble toxins that accumulate in the body are moved out through the bile system of the liver/gallbladder. As toxin load increases beyond the ability of the liver to process them, the bile starts to stagnate in the liver and gallbladder leading to toxic bile sludge that can solidify further into hardened stones. These can block the bile ducts and thus severely reduce bile flow. Without sufficient bile flow, three main problems occur:

1. Bile has an important role of physically “pushing” microbes into the large intestine and its absence allows the migration of these microbes into the small intestines where they shouldn’t be leading into SIBO/SIFO. Further, bile acids have antimicrobial properties and play a direct role in the microbial ecology of the intestines as well.
2. Our absorption of fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E & K is reduced. These are key to many functions of the body including our immune system to keep problematic microbes at bay.
3. Bile affects cell signaling in a way to modulate inflammation but also has a soothing effect on the epithelial lining of the gut. This is why reduced bile flow is believed to be connected to the development of conditions such as Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). 

4. Many Toxins Damage or Inhibit the Vagus Nerve.

Toxins in the body will poison the vagus nerve and inhibit it from doing what it’s supposed to. The vagus nerve is the wandering nerve that comes out of our skull, goes down the neck and into our torso, into various organ systems. It plays a role in many functions, whether it’s the heart or the gut. It controls the strength of our digestive fire by excreting pancreatic enzymes and hydrochloric acid to break down foods but also stimulates “peristalsis” which moves foods through our digestive tract efficiently.

If you don’t break down foods appropriately, these left over foods will ferment leading to troublesome microbiome imbalances and overgrowths of bacteria and yeast. If the gut is not moving appropriately, this stagnation will lead to more fermentation, gas and bloating. Just like when a river slows down too much or stops, it will get filled with flies, algae and bacteria. The same is true for our guts. The river of our guts must flow consistently and continually for optimal digestive health.

Sometimes the vagus nerve is weak because of chronic stress, insomnia, or anxiety, but often, there are potent neurotoxins like mercury in the system. If we repair the gut but don’t get the mercury out for example, our digestion will still be weak and slow and digestive symptoms often return. Often when just getting the toxins out, the vagus nerve function comes back online. Many times, we need to rehabilitate our vagus nerve with things like yoga/meditation, technologies like vagus nerve stimulators or more simply but oddly, stimulating the gag response!

Did you know that most people with Gastro-Esophagela Reflux Disease (GERD) have a degree of vagus nerve dysfunction which prevents their lower esophageal sphincter from closing properly allowing fermenting food/acid/gas to be pushed up into the esophagus? Did you know you can assess your vagus nerve tone simply by shining a light into your eye and seeing how well/long your eyes constrict to keep the light out? A weak vagus nerve will dilate very quickly…just giving up!

5. Many Toxins like Mercury are Involved in the Creation of “Biofilms,” Making it Hard to Kill the Microbial Overgrowth 

Biofilms are where a lot of the new research is of why and how these chronic infections take hold and are so difficult to get rid of. Biofilms are complex, matrix-enclosed communities of bacteria/yeast/etc that adhere to surfaces like the gut and other mucous membranes, making them more resistant to antibiotics (synthetic or natural) and our natural immune response. 

The presence of mercury, for example, acts like liquid metal to fortify the castle walls of these microbial communities. This biofilm minimizes the penetration of antimicrobial agents, leads to persistent bacterial overgrowth, and keeps nutrients from being absorbed. Thus, it takes ten times the amount of antimicrobials to kill the same organism in a biofilm. Mercury-resistant bacteria within biofilms may also inhibit the colonization of beneficial bacteria, making it difficult to rebalance the gut flora. Lastly, mercury/toxins in the biofilm inhibit the immune system from doing its proper job leading to troublesome, recurrent infections. Using the proper biofilm disrupting techniques and strategies is key to overcoming this challenge.

Toxicity and Gut Health are Complicated. Integrative Wellness Fx Guides You on the Right Path

Detoxifying and restoring the gut for lasting results can be challenging due to the complex interplay between harmful toxins, microbial overgrowth, and the body’s unique responses and needs. Toxins can lodge themselves deep into the tissues, making them very difficult and dangerous to remove if not done properly.

Finding the right approach requires a thorough understanding of your specific health needs and goals. That’s where Integrative Wellness Fx can help. Their team offers personalized consultations and tailored wellness plans to address your gut health concerns effectively. With their expert guidance, you’ll be on your way to achieving optimal health and feeling better.