5 Reasons you're not absorbing nutrients

Eating nutrient-dense foods but still not feeling your best is disheartening. Good food costs more money and often more of your time. But the answer isn't to stop eating well, it's to address why you aren't absorbing the nutrients you're already eating.

A good internal environment is just as important as the food itself. Certain foods and practices can greatly improve your gut's ability to absorb nutrients. We'll cover exactly what those are in this article, along with the main reasons that absorption begins to fail in the first place. Let's get into it.

1. Leaky gut

Without a doubt, the main reason people struggle to absorb nutrients is leaky gut. This can come from harmful foods, alcohol, stress, and even dish soap.

Leaky gut refers to a compromised gut barrier, one that isn't properly sealed, think of it as microporous holes in your gut lining, especially within the tight junctions. This allows nutrients to “leak” out before they're absorbed, and points to a broader issue of gut dysbiosis. The combination of leaking nutrients out of the gut and poor absorption means much of what you eat simply passes through and gets excreted.

The large majority of people aren't getting enough nutrients to begin with. Add leaky gut or dysbiosis into the mix, and the compounding effect on health becomes significant. A strong, sealed gut with a balanced microbiome is key to getting the most from the good food you eat. Don't neglect your gut seal.

To help seal your gut, firstly reduce that which causes a leaky gut to occur, such as ultra processed foods, seed oils, alcohol, dish washing soaps (the traces left over can cause holes in the gut) And begin to add in more gut sealing foods such as bone broth and zinc rich foods. 

2. Pathogens and overgrowths

Unfortunately, sealing the gut isn't the only concern, we also need to focus on removing pathogens and keeping overgrowths in check. Overgrowths like candida can steal vital nutrients such as iron to fuel themselves, and pathogens do much the same.

The good news is that we don't need to take drastic measures. Gentle antimicrobials such as propolis, manuka honey, coconut oil, mastic gum, aloe vera, garlic, black seed oil, lactoferrin (from raw milk or colostrum), ginger, bitter foods, and cinnamon can all help without causing a harsh detox reaction.

These aren't all to be taken at once. Rotating them in and out of your diet while keeping some antimicrobials in daily rotation can help maintain equilibrium in the gut.

Combining these with a sealed gut, natural probiotics from foods like yoghurt and raw milk, as well as natural binders to mop up toxins can significantly reduce the chance of overgrowths or pathogens taking hold. Some gentle natural binders include activated charcoal, pectin (found in jams), coriander/cilantro, and raw carrot.

3. Stress

We can quite literally think ourselves ill. The more we worry, stress, or hold tension in the body, the more it breaks down. Aside from the obvious that stress suppresses appetite, chronic stress also directly damages the gut.

Being in a fight-or-flight state diverts blood away from digestion. This is why the parasympathetic state is called rest and digest. Lowering cortisol allows the body to heal, blood returns to the digestive system, and nutrient absorption improves. Most people spend their days in a low-grade chronic stress state driven by notifications, work pressure, and environmental toxins.

This also applies at mealtimes. Do you need the news on? A TV show or YouTube video? You don’t, and all of these can spike cortisol while you eat, pulling you out of the rest-and-digest state. Eat without stimulation where you can.

4. Glyphosate and pesticides

The harm caused by artificial pesticides, herbicides, and fertilisers is significant and the pesticide residues most people consume when not buying organic can also directly inhibit nutrient absorption.

Glyphosate is a mineral chelator, meaning it binds to vital minerals such as iron, zinc, and magnesium, preventing the body from accessing them. On top of this, glyphosate and other artificial pesticides are well-documented for the damage they cause to gut health.

Buying organic not only avoids these pesticides but also avoids conventionally grown produce pumped full of artificial fertilisers, which tend to be far more nutrient-sparse than its organic equivalent. Buy organic where you can, and when you can't, soak produce in a bowl of water with baking soda to help remove surface pesticide residue. 

5. Natural cofactors

Most people turn to synthetic supplements chasing higher and higher RDI (recommended daily intake) percentages, assuming the bigger the number, the better they'll feel. What they don't realise is that most synthetic supplements are poorly absorbed, because they don't come packaged with their natural cofactors.

Cofactors are nature's way of ensuring food is balanced and contains the supporting nutrients needed for proper absorption. Liver and oysters, for example, contain both zinc and copper together, because you don't want too much zinc in isolation.

No synthetic supplement compares to real, organic food. The body recognises nutrients in their whole-food form, and nothing is wasted. Synthetic supplements may list higher nutrient amounts, but they often need to compensate for their very poor bioavailability and their origins are far less transparent than real food. Prioritising naturally nutrient-dense foods means your body absorbs significantly more than it ever would from isolated synthetic vitamins.

What to take away

Half the battle of getting more nutrients in, is including them in your diet. The other half is ensuring your gut is in a state to actually absorb them. Sealing the gut, addressing pathogens and overgrowths, lowering stress, and promoting good bacteria all work together to improve absorption and how you feel.

Our bodies are intelligent. They were created to adapt. Unfortunately, many of us have adapted to processed food and toxic environments, but that can be reversed. The body responds to new stimulus and makes it the new norm. It's never too late, and the damage is never too far gone. It all starts with the choices you make today.