Your Gut Nervous System Helps Regulate Intestinal Barrier and Allergy Risk

Dr. Joseph Mercola - Take Control of Your Health

Briana Mercola

Health & Fitness, Alternative Health

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 31 December 2025

⏱️ 8 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Your gut's nervous system directly influences whether you tolerate foods or react to them, making it a key factor in food sensitivities and allergy risk
A tiny nerve messenger called the vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) tells your gut stem cells how to rebuild the intestinal lining; when VIP drops, your gut produces too many tuft cells that trigger allergy like inflammation
Everyday exposures — like microplastics, seed oils, and emulsifiers found in processed foods — damage tight junction proteins, weaken your gut barrier, and increase the flow of irritants into your bloodstream
Low vitamin D, disrupted sleep, and high stress interfere with your gut's ability to maintain barrier integrity and calm immune activity, raising your vulnerability to allergic reactions
You can lower your allergy risk by supporting mitochondrial function, removing gut damaging triggers, restoring healthy carbs in the right order, and improving the nerve-gut connection that regulates intestinal healing

Transcript

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0:00.0	What if the strength of your allergic reactions is being set by your gut's own nervous system,
0:04.6	long before your immune cells even get involved?
0:07.4	Welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom.
0:10.8	Stay informed with quick, easy-to-listen summaries of our latest articles, perfect for when you're on the go.
0:16.2	No reading required. Subscribe for free at Mercola.com for the latest health insights.
0:21.3	Hello and welcome to Dr. Mercola's cellular wisdom. Today we're examining how your
0:26.6	guts, brain, helps decide whether you tolerate foods or react to them and why repairing that
0:32.2	nerve gut connection can lower your allergy risk and calm persistent sensitivities. I'm Ethan Foster.
0:38.3	You'll hear how a tiny messenger called
0:40.3	vasoactive intestinal peptide, or VIP,
0:44.3	guides the way your intestinal lining rebuilds,
0:47.3	and what happens when that signal drops.
0:49.3	We'll also cover modern triggers,
0:51.3	like seed oils, microplastics, and emulsifiers that weaken your barrier and push you toward reactions.
0:58.5	I'm Alara Sky. We'll keep the focus on practical, article-based steps you can apply.
1:04.5	How to remove gut-damaging inputs. How to reintroduce carbohydrates in the right order.
1:10.1	When to be cautious with fiber,
1:12.0	how to support VIP through sleep and daily rhythm, and why vitamin D and key microbes matter.
1:19.0	Your gut's nervous system, often called the enteric nervous system,
1:23.9	regulates how your intestinal barrier is maintained.
1:27.1	When it's balanced with your mucosa, immune cells, and microbiome is disrupted,
1:31.3	more irritants slip across the lining, and you become prone to food sensitivities and allergy-type responses.
	...

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