Gut Dr ARTICLES
How the gut defends itself
The gut not only has the functions of digestion and absorption but increasingly we are appreciating its role in the immune system. It is the immune system that is responsible for detecting and destroying foreign harmful microorganisms. The study of the immune system is ‘immunology’ and this is becoming an increasingly complex medical field as we learn more and more about the underlying mechanisms underpinning how our immune system works.
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A short journey into the gut
The gut is amazing! Not only does the breakdown or digestion of food take place in the gut but the absorption of nutrients for the body is carried out by the gut. In order for efficient absorption to take place the gut is extremely folded. If we can fully unfold the adult gut and lay it out in a flat sheet it would have the same surface area as a tennis court. Not only does the gut have to be efficient but it has to be durable. Over a normal lifetime around 60 tonnes of food and drink passes through the gut.
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Diarrhoea, stomach ache and nausea: the many ways COVID-19 can affect your gut
COVID-19 patients with gut symptoms are also more likely to develop severe disease. That’s partly because even after the virus has been cleared from the respiratory system, it can persist in the gut of some patients for several days. That leads to a high level of virus and longer-lasting disease.
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