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Your gut is the source of many unexpected and fascinating tidbits of human biology. For instance, you’ve likely heard that your small intestine is surprisingly long.
But did you know that if you spread it out, it would cover a tennis court (that’s 2,800 square feet)? Such a tremendous area is needed to efficiently absorb nutrients from your diet!
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| And that’s just one — let’s look at nine other fascinating facts about your gut:
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1. The acid in your stomach is strong enough to burn your skin
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So why doesn’t it burn your stomach? Because a thick layer of mucus protects the stomach lining and keeps the acid on the inside, where it’s churned with your food. When gastric acid sometimes leaks up into the esophagus, which lacks this mucus layer, you know that burning feeling as heartburn.
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2. Certain bacteria and drugs can cause ulcers
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We used to think that stress caused sores in your stomach that don’t heal. We now know that prolonged use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs can interfere with stomach mucus.
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Ulcers result when stomach acid reaches the lining, and when they bleed they can cause pain and even be life-threatening.
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3. Stomach cancer was No. 1 in the 1940s, now it’s No. 8
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We’re seeing a lower incidence of gastric cancer these days, partly because our diet contains fewer foods that cause cancer (as refrigeration became widespread, we ate fewer smoked and cured meats).
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4. You have detergents in your intestines
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Bile acids are the detergents in bile, the digestive liquid made by the liver. Without these detergents, you couldn’t digest or absorb fats. And, just like dish detergent, they make fat mix well with water, and only then can digestive enzymes break down the fat for absorption into the bloodstream.
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5. Cholesterol and fats are completely different
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Your liver uses cholesterol to make bile acids, and bile is the only way your body can get rid of excess cholesterol.
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Your body also uses cholesterol to make the sex hormones, like estrogen and testosterone. If you have liver disease, you’ll have trouble absorbing fats as well as hormonal problems.
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But fats are chemically different from cholesterol; the body burns fats for energy. That’s why food labels list fat and cholesterol separately.
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6. Most people with “gluten intolerance” don’t have celiac disease
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Celiac disease occurs when gluten causes damage to your small intestine.
Only about 2 percent of the population have true celiac disease.
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Many people who claim they are gluten-intolerant don’t have this diagnosis, but feel better on a low-gluten or gluten-free diet because it is low-carb and thus the best and safest way to lose unwanted weight.
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7. It’s unlikely that probiotic supplements will help your gut
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Your digestive tract contains many beneficial bacteria, but taking a probiotic supplement is unlikely to give them a boost as they are in your large intestine, and probiotic supplements will rarely survive the acid and churning of the stomach or the enzymes of the small intestine.
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8. Prebiotics are better
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If you want to boost the bacteria in your bowel, eat a high fiber diet or take fiber supplements, which the bacteria can convert to healthy chemicals for nourishment.
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9. Fecal transplants are ancient medicine made modern
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Fecal microbiota transplantation is a method of restoring beneficial bacteria in the colon. The procedure involves a colonoscopy and transplants feces from a healthy person into a sick person.
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In the U.S., doctors completed the first fecal transplants in 1958. But the practice dates back to 4th century China, where they used a fecal suspension called “yellow soup” to treat digestive problems.
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Article Source: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/9-amazing-weird-facts-gut/
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