Tight junctions are important as they allow only small molecules to pass through. If you read Food Combining: What's THAT all about? , you'll see that during digestion, proteins are broken down into amino acids*. Amino acids are small enough to pass through tight junctions. Chains of amino acids larger than about 3 amino acids long are too big to pass through.
Carbohydrates are broken down into monosaccharides, which are small enough to pass through. Disaccharides are too large (except for Trehalose, which Jay Bryant told me about as a treatment for Alzheimer's Disease).
Fats are broken down into glycerol and fatty acids. Glycerol is small enough to pass through. Fatty acids and other fatty molecules such as Vitamin D, Co-enzyme Q10, Vitamin K2, curcumin, berberine etc are transported across.
The consequences of having loose junctions are not good. Stuff that's not supposed to get in to the circulation gets in and stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies. That in itself is not necessarily a problem, unless the stuff that the body has produced antibodies against happens to resemble parts of your own body.
Autoimmune diseases such as Coeliac Disease (gut), Eczema (skin), Dermatitis Herpetiformis (skin), Sjögrens Syndrome (mucous membranes), Cerebellar Ataxia (Purkinje cells in the brain), Multiple Sclerosis (myelin sheaths of nerves), Type 1 Diabetes (pancreatic beta cells), Rheumatoid Arthritis (joints), Asthma (lungs) etc are caused by the immune system mistakenly attacking body parts.
The other day, I found Immune response to dietary proteins, gliadin and cerebellar peptides in children with autism.
See also Stronger Intestinal Barrier May Prevent Cancer in the Rest of the Body, New Study Suggests.
So, how do we keep 'em tight? Here's a clue: Vitamin D.
EDIT: See also Dietary Fat Can Modulate Intestinal Tight Junction Integrity.
*EDIT: That's not exactly correct. See Physiology and Immunology of Digestion.
In other news....
I had a phone call from mum's GP this morning. Having read my evidence, he's agreed to test mum's serum B12, 25(OH)D and Calcium and give her supplements accordingly. He's also happy with me giving mum a Ketogenic diet and will also advise the nursing home to exercise mum as often as she is able. Result!
I put four cubes of liver pâté out for Sooty & Sweep (I don't know which one is which as they're identical) and a Magpie swiped two of them. We also have seagulls. I put the other two cubes out of sight in a box.
So far, so good!
P.S. What fuel can be extracted from decomposing seagulls?
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Wait for it...
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Petrel! (From Petrol Direct, a joke site in case anyone's wondering).
6 comments:
Hi,
not related, just pondering on DNL. It's said that it doesn't really happen that much, etc. But wait a minute, if the glycogen stores are full it's bound to happen, isn't it?
And unless you're low carb and skip your breakfast your stores are always full.
That's correct. People who are sedentary (and therefore aren't burning much carbs in their muscles) and are eating at or above maintenence calories with a high percentage of calories from carbs will have permanently full glycogen stores and significant DNL. A sign of this is high serum TGs.
Being active drains muscle glycogen stores. Liver glycogen stores drain naturally due to Hepatic Glucose Production.
Congatulations on your evidence etc and its effect on your GP.
All you need to watch out for now is when a dietician visits...... Don't mention ketogenic diets to them. I did once, but I think I got away with it.
Hi chmeee,
Well, mum's GP anyway. He graduated in 2002 (so he's still young and open-minded) and he specialises in Mental Health, so he's an ideal GP for mum.
Dietician? Never seen one of those at the nursing home. Did I detect a Fawlty Towers reference? ;-p
I agree in part.
Let's say after dinner a person has full liver glycogen stores and full muscle glycogen stores as no resistance exercise has been done. I understand your muscle stores are used only when you use those muscles. Walking doesn't count as it is based mainly on fat and probably ingested carbs.
During the night GNG happens but Jaminet says the liver stores are enough for 16 hours fasting. So depending on your breakfast you fill it back up but it's close to being full again. A snack at 11, lunch by then probably full.
I wish I could see some diagrams or equations to see the breakdown of nutrients depending on context.
Do you think intracellular liver fat is impossible to get rid of once there? Jenny Ruhl says so. The Merck Manual is not so pessimistic.
Some people don't have high trigs. I don't think I have ever had over 1. I don't have the results from 2007 when I was fat and eating sweets every day. That would be interesting.
But I think I have apoE4, if only they did genetic testing!
Hi lightcan,
I've had a post brewing for a while now and I think that now is the time to post it. This may turn out be the most important thing that I've ever written.
RE fatty liver: I think that nothing is impossible. Have you seen Does Choline Deficiency Contribute to Fatty Liver in Humans?
Nige.
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