A pivotal issue in digestive health is that the integrity of the digestive lining swells and the normally tight junctions between cells develop permeable gaps in them that allows toxic contents from the digestive tract to enter the general circulation, causing multiple health problems. New research is showing that whey protein can activate factors that tighten up junctions between digestive lining cells, thereby offering a strategy of improvement for the many people who have trouble with this issue.
The research focused on a type of structural protein called claudin proteins, which are the most important component of tight junctions. These link the epithelial cells together, and when in a healthy condition they regulate the flow of molecules that can cross through the spaces between the epithelial cells.
The researchers found that whey protein could turn on gene signaling that increased claudin production, thereby helping to improve the integrity of the digestive lining.


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