Robert Lustig explains how emulsifiers in ultra-processed foods damage the gut's three protective barriers, letting allergens and pathogens escape. He calls the gut a sewer and links this barrier breakdown to rising food allergies in children.
In the last couple of decades, there's just been such a huge increase in prevalence of dietary restrictions and food allergies in the younger population. Why do you think that.
It'S all about the gut? You know, the gut is a sewer. There are three barriers in the intestine. A physical barrier called the mucin layer. A biochemical barrier called tight junctions. That's what goes wrong in celiac disease. And finally, an immunological barrier. When these three barriers are working properly, the bad guys stay in the sewer. But there are numerous things in our environment that will antagonize each of those three barriers. Examples Emulsifiers. Emulsifiers are detergents. They hold fat and water together. Emulsifiers are throughout our ultra processed food supply. Carboxymethylcellulose, polysorbate 80 carraghenin.