Here at AEON, we are big fans of a healthy digestive system! One of the many things that can impact gut health is leaky gut. But we’ve discovered something new! It’s called zonulin.

It’s not actually that new, either. Gastroenterologist and researcher working at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Alessio Fasano and his team of researchers discovered zonulin in 2000.

To explain it simply, zonulin is the protein that regulates the permeability of tight junctions of the walls in the digestive tract. Diseases like celiac disease and type one diabetes show excess of a toxin called zonula occludens toxin (ZOT) which reduces the amount of zonulin in the body. This reduction of zonulin causes digestive issues.

What are tight junctions? Tight junctions, also known as zonula occludens/zonulae occludentes (singular/plural) and occluding junctions, are multiprotein junctional complexes. Their job is to prevent leakage of transported materials in the gut such as water and solubles.

Tight junctions also have the role of creating selective pathways within the intestinal wall. This selective permeability means certain materials can go through the intestinal walls such as anions and cations.

Now what do all these things have to do with leaky gut? Well, leaky gut occurs when the tight junctions of the gut are compromised by ZOT. This causes toxins to permeate the intestinal wall which creates digestive issues. A healthy gut has healthy levels of zonulin with healthy tight junctions.

What does leaky gut look like? Leaky gut looks like digestive issues, but that’s very broad. Some diseases associated with leaky gut are Crohn’s disease, celiac disease, IBS, food allergies, metabolic issues, and even type one diabetes!

But that is not all: leaky gut can also cause other kinds of ailments. Some studies show that leaky gut may be associated with other autoimmune diseases (lupus, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis), chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, arthritis, allergies, asthma, acne, obesity, and even mental illness. However, we do not yet have clinical studies in humans showing such a cause and effect.

These are a lot of factors that can impact your gut health, AEON can help with that! AEON is a natural health product that contains humic and fulvic acid. Humic and fulvic acid have been studied and have shown results for helping leaky gut. This one small change to your diet by adding AEON can change your gut health for the better!

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zonulin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tight_junction https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/features/leaky-gut-syndrome#1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC152047/ https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/leaky-gut-what-is-it-and-what-does-it-mean-for-you-2017092212451