With a warm heart, let us interpret the wisdom of the Donguibogam through modern medicine. The Donguibogam emphasized the importance of clean evacuation by calling the large intestine the official in charge of conveyance, and modern medicine can explain this through the concept of leaky gut syndrome or increased intestinal permeability. Our intestinal wall is bound tightly together by cells linked with bands called tight junctions, much like a sturdy fence. These tight junctions act as a critical protective barrier, allowing nutrients in food to pass through while strictly preventing undigested large molecules, bacteria, and toxins from entering the body.
However, various factors such as stress, antibiotic overuse, a Western diet of refined carbohydrates and processed foods, chronic inflammation, and certain medications can cause these tight junctions to loosen or become damaged. It is just like holes opening up in an otherwise tightly woven fence. When gaps form in the intestinal wall like this, undigested food debris and harmful bacteria toxins breach the intestinal mucosa and enter the bloodstream. Our body recognizes these as invaders and declares a state of emergency. As a result, the immune system becomes excessively activated, causing chronic inflammation reactions throughout the entire body.
This chronic inflammation does not stop at simple stomach discomfort. Circulating through the entire body, it triggers various symptoms. Reaching the brain, it can trigger brain fog or feelings of depression; reaching the skin, skin trouble like eczema or atopy; reaching the joints, unexplained pain. Furthermore, as the body expends energy continually fighting off these invaders, it suffers from chronic fatigue. It is even reported to trigger allergies or hypersensitivity reactions to specific foods and influence the onset of autoimmune diseases. Do you now begin to see how profoundly the health of the large intestine, and indeed our entire gut, affects our immunity and whole-body health?
