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Ammonia - the enemy of healthy intestinal flora

02 March 2021
Dipl.-Biol. Dorothee Ogroske et al.

Environmental toxins are a growing problem in our world. However, the largest amounts of toxins we ingest may not come from the outside at all, but are created every day in our gut and metabolism.

When proteins are not properly digested, they putrefy in the colon and ferment into ammonia. Among many other toxins, the bacterial metabolism of protein in the colon produces the highly alkaline, gaseous ammonia toxin. We know ammonia from factory farming and the resulting slurry – the ammonia contained there is a massive air pollutant and responsible for many deaths. But it is also produced in the human intestine and for the organism the detoxification of ammonia has the highest priority. This is a central task of the liver and also of the kidney.

The role of the liver

In a healthy liver, ammonia is present in the organism only in very small quantities. It circulates biologically bound as urea and glutamine. In healthy people, the intestine and liver have to detoxify about 5000 mg of ammonia daily. If there is an imbalance of the intestinal environment with a pH above 6.5 (a so-called intestinal dysbiosis or putrefactive flora), the daily exposure to this toxin is likely to be much higher.

Even at slightly elevated concentrations, there is a risk of ammonia causing central nervous system disorders. It is a cytotoxin that can very easily cross cell membranes, but also the brain barrier.

Too much ammonia in the intestine

Increased ammonia formation in the intestine can have various, harmful consequences. It leads, for example, to a massive strain on the liver’s detoxification capacity and an inhibition of energy production. Causes of an increase in ammonia in the body include factors such as a high-protein diet, especially one rich in meat, gastric acidity or the use of acid blockers, and also bile problems.

The digestion of proteins begins in the stomach. In the course, sufficient bile flow is important for this in the duodenum. Only in this way can the proteins pre-digested in the stomach be broken down into amino acids. If there is a deficiency of amino acids, this subsequently reduces the formation of muscle and repair building materials. In addition, this affects both energy balance and blood glucose regulation.

The consequences are manifold. When proteins are not properly digested, they putrefy in the colon and ferment into ammonia. Ammonia is an alkaline poison. The colon, however, needs an acidic environment. In an alkaline colon, putrefactive bacteria and pathogenic fungi such as Candida can thrive magnificently.

Vital mushrooms as natural therapy

Once again it becomes obvious: A healthy intestinal flora is an essential basis for a healthy organism. Suitable therapies include regular exercise, dietary changes, intestinal rehabilitation with lactic acid or lactate, prebiotics such as medicinal mushrooms and, if necessary, additional probiotics. A good support for the liver is the vital mushroom Reishi, for lungs and kidneys Cordyceps and for the health of stomach and intestines the mushrooms Hericium and Pleurotus.

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