The Gross Mucus Is Your Internal Amulet

You know the mucus, the nose sniffles, the phlegm, the secretions from private parts. You have seen and felt it.

When we catch cold, mucus is formed in the nose, which thickens depending on the germ load. Mucus can collect in the back throat which is removed by expectoration, the precise job of cough.

The slimy mucus is perceived as gross by some.

You have not seen it, but mucus is responsible for your eye health, swallowing, gut integrity, bowel movement, sperm motility, ovum flow through the fallopian tube, and bone joint operation. I mentioned barely the tip of the iceberg. It’s roles are much more vast.

Mucus is a polysaccharide hydrogel made of mucin glycoproteins. It provides lubrication for passage, a jelly to tangle pathogens, a barrier against microbes from accessing the bloodstream.

Nowadays, our lifestyles are getting inflammatory in unprecedented manner. It’s turning the body acidic. When acidity rises, it sends a wake-up signal to enzymes.

Enzymes are swords, ready to cut polysaccharides, proteins, fats, nucleic acids, pretty much all macromolecules in the body.

So, activated enzymes degrade mucus. Such mucolyic enzymes include galactosidase, galactosaminidase, fucosidases, sialidase and glucosaminidase. They cleave the sugar chains of mucins, impairing mucus integrity. You can imagine the disruption mucus damage must be causing to the system.

Let me some examples of illnesses due to mucus degradation:

🌿My friend had an ectopic pregnancy because the egg settled in a mucus-devoid scarred part of the fallopian tube. She survived, but the tube was removed along with the fertilized embryo. It could have been fatal.

🌿An old man I know has colon lesions, which lead to painful, bloodied stool. It’s because colon mucus is disintegrated, and the stool microbes are inflaming the colon mucosa. If this inflammation becomes chronic, even cancer can develop.

🌿My uncle died of prolonged painkiller use. The mechanism was that the drugs created an acidic environment in the gut, degrading mucus, and letting pathogens enter the bloodstream. He suffered fatal septicemic shock.

🌿Even I had a bladder urinary tract infection (UTI), due to acute cockroach allergy. My provoked immune system resultant of the chronic allergy has made the body acidic. The mucus was depleted at places and the gut E.coli bacteria had migrated to other tissues.

Both a deficit and excess of mucus can be problematic. In acidic body, both are risks.

Cystic fibrosis, a serious disease affecting respiratory, digestive, and reproductive systems is characterized by thick and sticky mucus.

In chronic respiratory conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), excessive mucus production can occur. In emphysema, airway obstruction is common. In this case, mucus cant escapae and it provides a favorable environment for germs to thrive, increasing as bronchitis or pneumonia.

Vaginal mucus secretion varies in biochemical composition, depending on the phase of the menstrual cycle. The right flow and texture of mucus are essential for enabling sperm motility to reach the ovum for fertilization.

The lack of a mucus barrier is root of a litany of modern diseases.

Glands in the stomach and duodenum secrete mucin. Erosion of the mucus can cause cancers in these organs.

Loss of mucus from the linings can lead to constipation.

Mucus in stool is common symptom of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Acidic erosion of the mucus membrane, and the lack of a mucus barrier in the colon and cervix, can contribute to the development of colon cancer and cervical cancer, respectively. Its because, in the absence of mucus, germs access the host tissues, inducing persistent inflammation.

Several microbes are armed with mucus-degrading enzymes. Several respiratory viruses invade human airways, inducing abnormal mucin and airway mucus secretion.

So, we must strive to not tilt our body towards acidic. If enzymes are tightly-regulated, mucus integrity will not be compromised.

I hope, you learned a thing or two about the jelly internal protective sheath of your body.

Note: Myself Dr. Seema Patel. I write on a multitude of interesting topics. Follow me, for wholesome contents. Thank you for your support. It keeps me delivering. A version of this article was previously published in Medium.