Why Does Our Gut Lining Weaken Over Time?

Finnegan Pierson

Having a healthy gut can be an important part of your wellbeing, however, many don't realize how big of a role this organ plays in their overall health. Not only is your gut responsible for absorbing and processing much of the nutrients you ingest, but if your gut is not functioning at an optimal level, it could have far-reaching effects on the rest of your body, and your health. Here are a few things it can be helpful to know about your gut, and what making sure you have a healthy gut can do for you. 

What Is Gut Lining?

Your gut lining is what it sounds like, the lining of your gut. More specifically, it is the lining of your intestinal tract and acts as a barrier for your bloodstream, to prevent any substances that may be harmful to you from entering it. However, when your gut lining is compromised, it may allow these substances to enter your bloodstream. This can put extra stress on your body, and could even lead to a variety of health issues over time. Because of this, if you are experiencing any health problems it can be helpful to explore whether or not you have a weakened gut lining in addition to any other treatments you are seeking.

What Causes It to Weaken?

There can be many reasons why your gut lining has weakened. While there are some diseases that can cause this to happen, there are many lifestyle factors that come in to play as well. Some examples of this are smoking, high levels of alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use. There are other things that contribute too, such as age, because the integrity of your gut lining often decreases over time. Stress, antibiotic use, poor diet, viral infections and digestive and autoimmune disorders may all play a role in the weakening of gut lining as well. 

Steps to Healing Your Gut

When it comes to healing your gut, there can be more than one way to accomplish this. Sometimes, the simplest way to see some improvement in your gut health is by assessing your lifestyle, and deciding if there is anything that you do on a daily basis that could be having a negative impact on your gut. For example, if you know that you drink frequently, cutting your alcohol consumption down could be a good place to start. Along with this, making an effort to reduce stress in your life as well as getting enough sleep can also be beneficial, and potentially help to make the process of healing your gut go more smoothly. In addition to stress reduction and proper sleep hygiene, improving your overall diet and getting regular exercise can be a good idea, if you are not already doing those things. 

Supplements that Help

Causes of a Weakened Gut Lining and What It Means for Your Health

While ensuring that you live the healthiest lifestyle you can may go a long way toward helping you heal your gut, it can also be important to take advantage of herbal supplements and nutrients that aid in restoring gut health. As with any supplement, it is often a good idea to look for one with high quality ingredients, that is also low on any extra additives. Additionally, when looking for supplements for gut health it may help to try and find one that contains ingredients such as cloves, black pepper and cinnamon. Along with these herbs, probiotics and prebiotics may be helpful as well. 

The Bottom Line

Even though you may not consider your gut health often, your gut can have a big impact on your overall wellbeing. Not only that, but if your gut lining is compromised, it could possibly lead to many troublesome health issues down the road. 

So, whether you're in relatively good health, or think that you should be feeling better than you do, taking some time to become aware of your gut and how it effects the rest of your body could have many benefits that you may not have considered.