Travel to Health

Stop Wasting Money on Probiotics. Here’s What Actually Improves Gut Health  (YouTube  link ) The gut barrier follows a clear sequence described in Fasano’s model:  A structural epithelial layer, tight junctions that regulate passage between cells, and zonulin, the key modulator that can open these junctions when triggered.  Rather than repeating the full mechanisms here, readers can find a concise explanation of how these components work—and what activates zonulin—in the companion article : “ The Gut’s Gatekeepers: How Tight Junctions and Zonulin Shape Your Health .”   Figure 1.  Prevention of gut-barrier dysfunction in arthritis ameliorates joint inflammation [30]   Increased Intestinal Permeability and Its Association with Autoimmune Diseases Recent studies indicate that increased intestinal permeability (often called ' leaky gut ') is commonly observed in many individuals with autoimmune diseases, though prevalence varies by condition and is n...

One of the immune disorders is  celiac disease  ( CeD ). CeD is not an allergy , but a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system abnormally attacks the lining of the small intestine in response to gluten — a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye — in genetically susceptible individuals. This leads to inflammation and damage, impairing nutrient absorption. Untreated or active CeD can cause serious health problems, including stunted growth in children, osteoporosis, infertility, miscarriage, anemia, neurological issues, and increased risk of other autoimmune conditions or intestinal cancers. CeD affects approximately 1% of the global population (with seroprevalence around 1.4% based on blood tests and biopsy-confirmed rates around 0.7%, varying by region, sex, and age — higher in females and children). However, many cases remain undiagnosed, potentially underestimating the true burden. A landmark 2009 study by Rubio ‑ Tapia et al. (published in Gastroenterology) ...

Celiac disease (CeD) is an autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten ingestion in genetically susceptible individuals (primarily those with HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 genes). While genetics and gluten exposure are essential, they do not fully explain the rising prevalence of CeD in developed countries over recent decades. Scientists increasingly point to environmental factors that disrupt immune tolerance to gluten, with the hygiene hypothesis (or its refined "Old Friends" variant) as a leading explanation. The Hygiene Hypothesis and CeD The hygiene hypothesis proposes that modern "cleaner" environments reduce early-life exposure to certain microbes, parasites, and infections (especially via the fecal-oral route), depriving the developing immune system of essential "training." This leads to an overly reactive immune system that may lose tolerance to harmless dietary proteins like gluten, contributing to autoimmune conditions such as CeD. Supporting evidence inc...