patients to take all these nutrients in supplement form, the problem
was often not the lack of nutrients but the inability of the body to
absorb them. In fact, some patients showed the need for certain nutri-
ents they had been taking in supplement form for months or even
years! Improving stomach and intestinal function, including absorp-
tion, eliminated the need for most of these supplemental nutrients
because the patient could now obtain them from food.
An effective dietary supplement to help protect against and rem-
edy the common problem of malabsorption is the amino acid L-glut-
amine. This nutrient is the primary energy source for the villi of the
small intestine — the structures that actually absorb nutrients from
food. These delicate villi are easily damaged or destroyed under
stress, by poor eating habits, by fasting or illness, and glutamine helps
restore their function. Glutamine also reduces intestinal distress,
improves immunity, has an anti-inflammatory effect, and can protect
the intestines from the dangers of aspirin and other harmful chemi-
cals.
Glutamine is available in powder form or capsules. But if you add
glutamine to liquids, be sure to consume it right away; if it remains in
liquid it begins to lose potency. Most people don’t need to take gluta-
mine for long periods. Once the gut is healed and working well it
should be discontinued. About 500 to 1,000 mg once or twice daily is
a common dose. The need for glutamine is another example of a high-
dose supplement that can be valuable in some individuals.
Liver Detox
The liver plays an important role in intestinal function. One of the
most important of the liver’s thousands of jobs is disarming toxins by
chemically breaking them down and removing them through the
intestine — via bile through the gall bladder.
By filtering the blood, the liver breaks down and eliminates an
untold number of toxins that are produced within the body during
normal metabolism, and those that enter the body through food and
the environment. This is accomplished through a complex process
referred to as detoxification, which requires a variety of nutrients that
must come from the diet. Many scams lure the public with their mir-
acle liver detox potions, but the very best way to promote healthy
THE GUT • 265