{"id":51559,"date":"2019-12-17T11:53:04","date_gmt":"2019-12-17T19:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/selfhacked.com\/?p=51559"},"modified":"2021-01-29T02:52:19","modified_gmt":"2021-01-29T10:52:19","slug":"gastrin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/selfhacked.com\/blog\/gastrin\/","title":{"rendered":"Causes of High Gastrin Levels + Tests, Diseases & Gut Health"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Have you ever wondered how your body is able to break down the foods you eat after they enter your stomach? Balanced levels of a group of hormones and enzymes work together to make this possible, one of them being gastrin. Read on to learn more about the roles gastrin plays in gut health and what can affect its levels.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>What Is Gastrin?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Gastrin is a hormone produced and secreted inside the body that is mainly responsible for promoting digestion<\/strong>. Gastrin targets the stomach, small intestine, and pancreas to aid digestion. But gastrin also helps protect and replenish the cells in the stomach lining [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Gastrin mainly acts by boosting stomach acid production<\/strong>, which helps to digest food. Gastrin is released in the largest amounts by cells in the stomach near the entrance to the small intestine (called antral G-cells). The small intestine and the pancreas have similar cells that also make and release gastrin [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Gastrin is found in many different forms but the most common in the body are gastrin 17 <\/strong> and gastrin 34<\/strong>, also known as little gastrin and big gastrin<\/strong> respectively [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

<\/a>How Is Gastrin Made?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Gastrin is a peptide hormone, made up of multiple amino acids. Gastrin 17 has 17 amino acids while gastrin 34 is bigger and has 34. Both are made by activating progastrin, found in the inner layer of the stomach. Progastrin is broken down at different points to produce the active forms of gastrin, which are then released [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

<\/a>Why Is Gastrin Released?<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Gastrin is released in the presence of food and proteins in the stomach,<\/strong> vagus nerve<\/strong><\/a> stimulation or excess blood<\/strong> calcium<\/strong><\/a> [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

<\/a>Food Consumption and Digestion<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we eat something, the food enters the stomach, causing the release of gastrin <\/strong>(gastrin 17). Gastrin increases stomach acid, which works to kill any bacteria and to break down the food. This helps with digestion before the food passes through the small intestine for further breakdown [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Gastrin also stimulates cells (enterochromaffin-like cells, ECL) to release histamine<\/a>. Both<\/strong> histamine<\/strong><\/a> and gastrin increase stomach acid <\/strong>[R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Stomach acid also re-balances the acid level of the stomach, which is normally very high (pH of ~2). When food enters the stomach, it makes the environment less acidic, triggering gastrin release to bring the acidity back down [R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

Gastrin is also released from the small intestine (as gastrin 37), helping to further break down food [R<\/a>, R<\/a>].<\/p>\n

<\/a>Vagus Nerve<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

The vagus<\/a> nerve is the tenth cranial nerve, critical for the heart, lungs and digestive system. This nerve is sometimes stimulated by the thyrotropin-releasing hormone<\/a>, TRH<\/a>. The vagus nerve promotes gastrin release in two ways [R<\/a>, R<\/a>]:<\/p>\n