Can Emu Oil Promote Better Gut Health?

“Your gut” is sometimes referred to as your second mind, so it’s no wonder we should take care of it. Call it a gut feeling, if you will.

According to the Gut Foundation Australia, almost half the Australian population suffer digestive problems. If you’re looking for a way to relieve uncomfortable symptoms and improve your overall digestive health, emu oil may hold the key.

We know that emu oil has anti-inflammatory properties, so it follows that it can be good for your gastrointestinal system as well.


The research

Research at the University of Adelaide has discovered that emu oil may be helpful in treating a variety of common bowel and digestive diseases. The laboratory experiments conducted by Ph.D student Suzanne Mashtoub Abimosleh confirm that emu oil has powerful natural anti-inflammatory properties, and is also found to repair damage in the bowel.

The findings

The researchers discovered that emu oil stimulates the growth of “crypts” – the part of the intestine that produces food-absorbing “villi”. Longer crypts and villi lead to a healthier bowel that absorbs food more effectively.

Specifically, emu oil was found to:

1. Repair damage in the intestines caused by ulcerative colitis

2. Significantly decrease acute inflammation associated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced gastrointestinal disease

3. Decrease acute inflammation and promote the repair of intestines damaged by chemotherapy (a condition known as mucositis)

What does this mean?

Based on these results, they believe that emu oil could also be helpful in treating other digestive disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and Crohn’s disease by reducing inflammation, promoting repair in the intestines and preventing further damage.

Current treatments for digestive disorders only work for some patients and there are no effective treatment options at all for the painful ulcers associated with mucositis, so these findings bring hope to sufferers.

What we know now

Emu oil has the ability to improve intestinal repair naturally while reducing inflammation in the digestive tract. When taken orally, emu oil’s rich fatty acid content could also promote better digestive health. With its proven anti-inflammatory properties, emu oil could be beneficial in alleviating the symptoms of a wide range of digestive disorders.