The Doctor's Farmacy With Mark Hyman, M.d.

This episode is sponsored by InsideTracker and Athletic Greens. Believe it or not, the surface area of your small intestine, which is where your food is absorbed, is the size of a tennis court. Your small intestine is also the home of your gut-immune system, which accounts for about 60 percent of your total immune system. The lining of this sophisticated system is just one cell layer away from a toxic sewer where all of the bacteria and undigested food particles live in your gut. If that lining breaks down—from stress; too many antibiotics or anti-inflammatory drugs like aspirin or ibuprofen; steroids; intestinal infections; a low-fiber, high-sugar diet; alcohol; and more—your immune system will be exposed to foreign particles from food, bacteria, and other microbes. This, in turn, creates havoc that can lead to an irritable bowel and other system-wide problems including allergies, arthritis, and autoimmune and mood disorders. In today’s episode of a new series called Health Bites, I discuss how to heal irrit