Very interesting piece today from GreenMedInfo discussing the relationship between the intestinal flora and our sensitivity to gluten.
Two key ‘takeaways’:
It appears that bacteria in our guts determine how much access these peptides have to our immune system, and that gluten also changes our gut bacteria. It’s a two way street.
Caminero et al identified 144 strains and 35 bacterial species involved in the metabolism of gluten based on human fecal samples. They identified the genera lactobacillus bacteria as being predominantly responsible for the gluten-metabolizing functions. This suggests that there are bacterial colonies that can perform the functions that we can’t, functions that may render the gliadin peptides less stimulating to, at least, the adaptive immune system.
and…
Laparra et al. identified that Bifidobacteria co-administration diminished the inflammatory response activated by gliadin exposure to intestinal epithelial cells. In a related experiment, Lactobacillus GG counteracted the effects of gliadin on intestinal permeability.
So glad the two key strains in the Barrier Plan are lactobacillus and bifido then 🙂
Read the whole piece here:
What Gut ‘Bugs’ Have To Do With Gluten Intolerance
Also, don’t forget the importance of the baby bifido bacteria especially. See where I wrote about that here and here.