
Infographic by Jan Diehm for The Huffington Post.
It’s true that 80% of your immune system lives in your gut and there is mounting evidence that our gut bacteria effects overall health in the body. Our small intestine, which connects the stomach and large intestine, runs about 22 feet long and is only about the width of your middle finger, but it’s responsible for 90% of absorption of vital nutrients, water and vitamins. There are over 10,000 species of both good and bad bacteria in our small intestine alone. If there is a disruption of balance between the good guys and the bad guys, where the bad guys take over, this can lead to various symptoms in the body. Many things can cause this disruption, like stress, hidden infections, and a breakdown of the Mucosal Barrior which then allows toxins to leak into your body, that should have been contained and excreted through the GI track. This imbalance and breakdown of the gut bacteria can lead to obvious symptoms of gas, bloating, cramping and irregular bowels, but also joint pain, headaches, skin problems, depression, anxiety and even immune issues and autoimmune disease.