The Digestive Domino Track, Part 5: The Small Intestine and its friends, Gallbladder and Pancreas

In this installment of our Digestive Domino Track series, the name of the game is absorption and protection! 

It’s almost as if this giant tube from the mouth to tail is really still part of the outside world, and the intestinal barrier serves as a gatekeeper for things entering your body, nutrients included! 

Let’s unpack what happens in the small intestine and how the impact on the health of this important organ is indeed contrary to its name. There’s nothing small about it!

What does the small intestine even do?

The small intestine, stretching over 20 feet in length, is divided into three segments: the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum. This is where food goes after the stomach has done the biggest part of the chemical digestion process, and when it gets here there’s a final big push to break the contents down into even smaller bits. This is because the walls of the small intestine contain millions of tiny villi and microvilli that increase their surface area for optimal nutrient absorption. This is where all that good stuff in your food actually passes into the bloodstream to do and become all the things that make your body function! 

This last big push of food breakdown – you can kind of think of it like nutrient extraction – is initiated by the pancreas and gallbladder. We often think of the pancreas as a blood sugar organ since it produces insulin, but it plays a huge role in digestion as well. When those acidic contents of the stomach land in the top of the small intestine, the pancreas neutralizes the acid and then goes to work secreting digestive enzymes to break down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins for absorption. 

Meanwhile, the gallbladder stores and concentrates bile produced by the liver, and when it receives the message that it’s needed, it contracts and releases that bile into the small intestine. Not only does the bile serve as a raft to carry waste products from the liver to your toilet (a big part of detoxification!), but it also emulsifies fats, facilitating their digestion and absorption.

The small intestine’s significance extends beyond digestion though. It also plays a crucial role in our immune system, acting as a protective barrier against harmful pathogens and toxins. Specialized cells within the intestinal lining work tirelessly to identify and neutralize potential threats, preventing them from infiltrating the bloodstream and causing harm.

Where Things Go Wrong

Despite their critical functions, the small intestine and its support team are not immune to dysfunction. Factors such as poor diet, sedentary lifestyle, stress, bacterial overgrowth, and other health conditions can impact how well they do their jobs, and, you guessed it, cause a host of negative symptoms for you! 

Let’s start with the gallbladder. Inflammatory fats, such as those found in processed foods and hydrogenated oils, can lead to reduced bile quality and flow, contributing to the formation of gallstones. Excess consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates, hypothyroidism, and rapid weight loss are also associated with gallbladder dysfunction, which impacts the clearance of waste products and breakdown of fats. This can manifest in symptoms such as abdominal pain, particularly after consuming fatty meals, bloating, constipation, and nausea. 

Next, let’s consider the pancreas. Reduced pancreatic enzyme production, whether due to pancreatic disease, aging, or other factors, can impair food breakdown and digestion. Without an adequate supply of enzymes, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins may not be properly digested, leading to malabsorption, nutrient deficiencies, and digestive discomfort. Symptoms of pancreatic insufficiency can include bloating, abdominal pain, gas, loose stools, and diarrhea

We also have to remember that the contents of the stomach must maintain sufficient acidity to trigger the release of digestive enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the gallbladder. A perfect example of the Digestive Domino Track! Adequate stomach acid is essential for activating these processes and ensuring efficient digestion and nutrient absorption downstream in the small intestine.

Lastly, the above mentioned digestive dysfunction, inflammatory foods, food sensitivities, bacterial overgrowths, and nutrient deficiencies can all compromise the lining of the small intestine. This leads to leaky gut, AKA increased intestinal permeability, which is a condition that allows substances such as undigested food particles, toxins, and bacteria to leak into the bloodstream. Not only does this affect how well we absorb nutrients, but it also plays a huge role in triggering immune responses and inflammation. 

What do we do about it?

The good news is that there are steps we can take to support the optimal function of our small intestine and its accessory organs while addressing issues like leaky gut and food sensitivities. While this is usually a very highly customized process depending on one’s unique presentation and issues identified on testing, there are some key strategies:

• Diet – Embrace a balanced diet rich in fiber, lean proteins, healthy fats, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. Avoid excessive consumption of processed foods, refined sugars, and unhealthy fats, which can burden the digestive system. Consider eliminating potential trigger foods identified through food sensitivity testing to reduce inflammation and support gut healing.

• Lifestyle habits – Adequate hydration and movement support healthy digestion. And as we talked about in part 2, slowing down, breathing deeply before meals, avoiding mealtime distractions, and incorporating stress reduction techniques can help to ensure the digestive cascade kicks off optimally starting from the first domino in the track. 

• Supplements – In some cases, supplementation may be necessary to support digestive function. Proper testing can reveal invaluable information about what could be amiss in the gut and can guide a more custom, targeted supplement protocol, but examples of commonly used formulas are digestive enzymes, bile acid supplements, and various nutrients shown to repair intestinal tissues. 

There you have it! This dynamic trio is essential for efficient digestion and nutrient absorption, and the small intestine specifically plays a huge role in protecting the body from the threats of the outside world. By understanding their anatomy, recognizing potential pitfalls such as leaky gut and food sensitivities, and adopting a proactive approach to diet and lifestyle, we can nurture our digestive health and resolve a variety of symptoms affecting the whole body. 

Next up, part 6 – we’ll talk about all things poop and bacteria when we knock down the next domino in the Digestive Domino Track: the large intestine.