Is Pollution Harming Your Gut?

Your microbiome consists of many thousands of different types of micro-organisms like bacteria and fungi co-existing with one another. This ecosystem inside you works hard, not only ensuring your digestion runs smoothly but also transmitting messenger substances all over your body. One of your microbiome’s most important roles is to regulate your immune system.

The immune system is tasked with recognising potential assassins and neutralising them before they can do you any harm. If it’s too enthusiastic, it can mistakenly attack parts of your body, believing they’re invaders. If this friendly fire attack continues, an autoimmune disease will be the result.

There are over one hundred autoimmune conditions in existence, but immune system dysfunction will likely be found to be behind many other diseases. There’s thought to be a genetic tendency to develop autoimmune disease, but something in the environment is needed to trigger these inherited tendencies.

It seems pollutants can cause the lining of the intestines to become leaky, allowing toxins, pathogenic bacteria and incompletely digested food particles into the bloodstream, all provoking immune responses.

Autoimmune diseases affecting the digestive system include Chron’s disease, where any part of the gut can become inflamed, and ulcerative colitis, painful ulceration of the large intestine or colon. Both are inflammatory conditions.

Research has found Chron’s disease occurs more often in people exposed to higher amounts of nitrogen dioxide, and it’s more common in urban than rural areas. Developed nations like Europe and North America, with more air pollution than developing countries, have a higher incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases, although cases are rising in countries like Africa, Asia and South America where industrialisation is relatively recent.

Studies have shown short-term exposure to air pollutants causes inflammation in the small intestine, whereas longer-term exposure tends to affect the colon. Further links have been found between air pollution, particularly ozone levels, and appendicitis. In areas of high air pollution, people tend to develop perforated appendicitis, a dangerous form of the disease.