Every day, our bodies break down the food we eat into its molecular components. This allows us to utilize fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. But all the secondary plant compounds, minerals, vitamins, and micronutrients also find their way into our bodies via the intestines. Exactly how this works is complex in detail. Various absorption pathways exist to ensure that all molecules reach their intended destination.
So that you will know better in the future, why, for example, the bioavailability of magnesium fluctuates between 4 and 80%, why we to certain secondary plant compounds You should add oil., what bioavailability actually is and which absorption pathways actually exist in our bodyThis article will give you that information.
Absorption pathways – it all begins in the stomach
To help you better understand the different absorption pathways, let's look at an example together. Let's say you eat an apple. In your mouth, it's already being broken down and mixed with the first digestive enzymes. Generally speaking, digestive enzymes are helpers that can break down food into smaller pieces. Amylase can z.B. cut the long-chain carbohydrate chains into shorter pieces.
But back to our apple. It now lands, chopped up, in an acid bath – the stomach. In this harsh environment, the acid is meant to destroy as many germs as possible and further soften the food. But this isn't the stomach's only function. It also produces... Intrinsic Factor (IF)This protein is essential so that we can absorb vitamin B12Without the intrinsic factor, this would hardly be possible.
200m2 Intestine for absorption
After our apple has already been partially digested by stomach acid, it now enters the duodenum, where additional digestion occurs. Bile and pancreatic juice encounter the chyme. The pancreatic secretions contain... Peptidases They contain substances that ensure the proteins in our food are broken down into individual amino acids.
Now that almost everything has been crushed, the crucial question remains. How can we absorb the remaining molecules?
The answer to this question lies hidden in our small intestine. It is a fascinating evolutionary development. In an adult human, it is about 5 meters long and Its surface area is more than 200m²2, which is slightly less than a whole tennis court.
On this huge area A large number of vans are distributed, which help us absorb all the essential components from our food. For example, our intestinal cells have a special transporter to absorb iron ions. We need these for the red pigment in our blood, hemoglobin. However, we can also obtain iron (in the form of hemoglobin) via the Heme transporterwhich is contained in meat.
First-pass effect – the liver is in charge here.
We've cleared the first hurdle. Our molecules have successfully made the journey from food, through the intestines, and into our bodies. Portal vein – a vessel that collects all the blood from the digestive tract – They then reach the liver. It serves as the first detoxification site in the body.
All nutrients absorbed through the intestines must first pass through the liver, where they are processed by liver cells. The molecules are processed through various biochemical processes – and this has significant consequences for subsequent health outcomes. In medicine, this phenomenon is called... First-pass effect.
Perhaps an example will help you better understand the significance of the first-pass effect. In medicine, various forms of OpioidsThis class of medications binds to opioid receptors, thus providing strong pain relief. However, there is one opioid derivative that is used not for pain, but for diarrhea. LoperamideThis drug binds to enterocytes (intestinal cells) in the intestine, thus slowing down intestinal transit. However, like all other medications, it also enters the bloodstream, where it leads to over 99% percent in the Liver detoxification and thus has hardly any effect on the rest of the body.
Parenteral, sublingual, buccal and Co. – who’s who?
Our liver is therefore a kind of upstream protective shield. Before a molecule reaches the brain or heart, it must pass the "entry check" in the liver.This makes perfect sense from an evolutionary perspective, but is sometimes a hindrance in medicine. It is possible to partially circumvent this first-pass effect, by increasing the concentration of the starting substance, so that the liver is unable to "detoxify" all the moleculesHowever, this is often associated with some side effects.
In this case, a slightly more elegant approach is to change the application method. Instead of above the mouth, we have further options. parenteral (in addition to the intestine) absorption pathways available. If things need to happen quickly, the buccal (via the buccal mucosa), or sublingual (under the tongue) application This occurs with medications. These are predominantly painkillers that dissolve in the mouth or under the tongue. These molecules then reach the bloodstream via the blood vessels. directly to the heartThe liver is thus bypassed. To help you better understand the process, we've included a graphic.
This works in a very similar way with suppositoriesThe blood from the rectum no longer reaches the liver, but instead flows directly to the heart via the inferior vena cava. This is a particularly popular method for administering medications to children, bypassing the liver..
You're probably familiar with the last method from the hospital. We can also administer medication directly through the vein. This also bypasses the liver and the first-pass effect.
Liposomal vs. Hydrophil
We have now managed to get it into the bloodstream, but further hurdles still await us.In principle, we can distinguish between molecules that fat-soluble (lipophilic)) are, like the Vitamins A, D, E, K and water-soluble such as the Vitamin C. Water-soluble substances are easily transported in the blood, but have more difficulty entering cells. The opposite is true for fat-soluble substances. In the blood, they often require special transport proteins, but they pass through more easily. the Phospholipid layer of the cells.
When we talk about blood lipid levels, these fat particles don't float freely in the blood, but are attached to bound to transport proteins, such as apolipoprotein BThis allows these blood lipids to be made water-soluble. If you want to learn more about this, and also which Blood lipid levels important for your longevity, then feel free to read our article on the subject.
Bioavailability using magnesium as an example
Not everything we eat ends up in our bloodstream in the same way. To put it very simply, you can think of it this way: Bioavailability introduce. The concentration of the substance in the blood plasma is measured. (after it has passed through the liver) and compares it to the initial concentrationThis can lead to significant differences.
A good example is magnesium. This naturally lies in various forms of connection, such as Magnesium oxide, Magnesium citrate or magnesium bisglycinate The bioavailability of magnesium differs enormously between these compounds.
The well-known Magnesium oxide indicates Bioavailability of just 4% Up! That means this form is quite suitable for constipation, but other forms are much more effective for magnesium supplementation. Magnesium citrate and Magnesium bisglycinate For example, both are 80% processed by our body. It is absorbed. Additionally, magnesium bisglycinate can also cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain.
Secondary plant compounds – the difficulty with bioavailability
Secondary plant compounds They offer a number of health benefits. We've already given you an overview in a separate article.
The problem with secondary plant compounds is, on the one hand, their Concentration. Large quantities of the pure substance are used in studies. z.Bthe amount of Quercetin To take it in, we would need up to 100 apples - daily.At the Resveratrol It depends on the study. 12 liters of red wine and at Sulforaphan would be up to 40kg broccoli – all per day.
Some of the secondary plant compounds, such as Resveratrol and quercetin are fat-soluble. As a result, we absorb them less efficiently for the reasons mentioned above, and their bioavailability is low. To circumvent this, we can encapsulate the molecules in a phospholipid layer, thus increasing their absorption. Increase bioavailability many times over.
In the case of the blood sugar lowering Berber woman Can this formulation increase bioavailability by the Increase tenfold and at Quercetin 20 times more! This is made possible on the one hand by the combination of a lipid layer and on the other hand by the Addition of adjuvants, that is, molecules that can aid absorption. In the case of quercetin, this is Vitamin C and in Berber woman Mineral complex.
Bioavailable berberine with chromium and zinc in the mineral complex Berbersome
Absorption of secondary plant compounds - the devil is in the details
Not only quercetin and berberine need a little help to increase bioavailability, but also the [unclear] contained in broccoli. SulforaphanIn green vegetables, this anti-inflammatory molecule is still in its precursor stage. the glucoraphanin before. This occurs in our intestines. with the help of the enzyme myrosinase in sulforaphane converted. The Efficiency However, it is not very large – it is located at approximately 10% and usually even lower, since z.B. the individual substances are washed out by cooking for too long.
For this reason it contains Sulforapro both glucoraphanin and myrosinaseAnd there's another trick to ensure that the active ingredient reaches exactly where it's needed: the intestines. The magic word here is: Gastro-resistant capsules.
Sulforaphane from molecular precursors combined with the finest broccoli extract - a natural source of sulforaphane.
The right size matters
The molecules we ingest daily come in a wide range of sizes. Some of them are too large to be absorbed directly – z.B. Collagen and Hyaluron, both Important molecules for skin healthThese substances form long molecular chains that are not absorbable by our bodies.So, shall we Collagen or to obtain hyaluronic acid through food, we need to package the molecules in smaller sizes, in so-called Peptide shells. These already contain crushed pieces of the starting substance. This is where it gets a little complicated.
At Collagen The studies showed that it is advantageous if the Fragments in the peptide shells should be as small as possible.. At Hyaluron is exactly the oppositeLarger fragments, so-called high molecular weight hyaluronic acid, showed better results in studies with humans.
Conclusion Absorption pathways
The journey from food to our cells isn't always as straightforward as one might imagine. Fat-soluble and water-soluble molecules are absorbed differently. The liver metabolizes many molecules before they even enter the bloodstream, and the bioavailability of substances depends on their composition.
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