Gut-maintenance mechanism

Researchers in the US have found the mechanism by which roughage in the diet helps with regular bowel movement. A team at the Medical Centre of Georgia says in the US journal the Public Library of Science Biology that the passage of certain foods through the GI tract ruptures the surface of endothelial cells, which then release mucus as they begin to repair themselves. This can then ease the passage of waste. Research team member Dr Paul McNeil says, “An injury at the cell level can promote health of the GI tract as a whole.”

BBC