Remember last month when we talked about the connection to leaky gut and traumatic brain injuries (TBI)? That really had my mind intrigued. I was left thinking, “So there is a connection. Now that I know this, what can I do about it?” Like many things in health, there are no hard answers. The connections between body systems are vast, a person’s general health level greatly effects their response to injury, and nothing works the same every time it is applied. But I did find some cool stuff. So put on your seatbelt because we are heading down the rabbit hole…
The first article that caught my attention was a review of the positive effects of glutamine on intestinal wall permeability written by Achamrah, et al. (see link below). This simple amino acid has also been linked to improving gut health after severe burns as well as noted by Wang et al. (see link below). Which points to the fact that our intestinal health is so closely related to things outside our abdominal cavity.
There is also good research showing grehlin (the hormone that makes you hungry) can improve intestinal permeability significantly. In a study by Bansal et al. (see link below) they found biopsy results of rat intestine permeability after TBI varied from 109 points in the control group (aka no grehlin supplementation) to 28 points for the treatment group (rats that recieved grehlin). Yikes ya’ll, that’s a major difference. The coolest part about it, grehlin alters glutamine in the body. And exercise, yes the physical therapist in me is showing, increases grehlin levels.
So there you have it, the nerdy things that excite my brain, and the tangential path it takes to conclude why exercise always makes me feel so good.
Take home message:
Your intestinal health is important and can be affected by more than just what you eat.
Having a healthy gut goes way beyond the few things mentioned in this blog.
Exercise. It increases grelin levels, which increases glutamine, which can help your gut health.
Exercise is whatever body movement makes you feel good. You don’t have to run a marathon to get your body movin!
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