Persorption

Persorption is the process by which solid particles—sometimes up to ten times the diameter of a red blood cell—pass intact through the intestinal wall directly into the bloodstream or lymph, a phenomenon Peat emphasized was first demonstrated over a century ago and rediscovered by German immunologist Gerhard Volkheimer in the 1960s. 3 Peat argued that this transit does not occur merely through gaps between cells; particles can enter the cytoplasm on one side of a cell and exit on the other, a flexibility he noted was consistent with microscopic films showing ameboid cells moving through one another without resistance. 2 He maintained that the biomedical establishment’s rigid belief in a semipermeable plasma membrane has made it essentially impossible for the culture to assimilate the facts of persorption, despite the ease of demonstrating starch granules in blood or urine with an iodine stain shortly after ingestion. 2

The primary pathological consequence Peat identified is arteriolar obstruction. Once in the bloodstream, a persorbed starch grain or other hard particle can lodge in a small artery, shutting down circulation to the downstream capillary bed and creating a localized region of ischemic cell death. 2 Volkheimer’s foundational experiments showed that mice fed a diet high in raw starch aged prematurely; upon dissection, every organ contained little nests of dead, deteriorating cells downstream from starch-grain-blocked arterioles. 2 Peat extended this concern to modern processed foods, warning that microparticles of fumed silica, titanium dioxide, and even Teflon from food-grade lubricants can contaminate food and undergo persorption, with larger particles also acting as carriers for carcinogenic volatile organic compounds like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. 2

Peat identified the energetic state of the intestinal cell as the critical determinant of persorption susceptibility. He explained that a leaky intestine is not simply a matter of holes between cells, but a condition in which the individual cell is weak and becomes tolerant of particles passing through its substance. 7 He noted that stress and anxiety sharply reduce circulation to the intestine, damaging the ability of cells to exclude large molecules, and that local irritation and inflammation similarly increase permeability. 6 This mechanistic view led him to conclude that consuming starch on an empty stomach, without sufficient food to energize the intestinal cells, was particularly hazardous, and that the increased peristaltic pressure from a vigorous digestive response could actually force more particles into the bloodstream. 3

To mitigate persorption, Peat recommended several practical strategies. He stated that the presence of fat and fiber in a meal reduces the absorption of particles. 2 His most definitive personal solution, however, was to stop eating starch entirely, a decision he attributed directly to Volkheimer’s findings and the observation that coffee—while important in the diet—could not fully eliminate the risk when natural fats already contained some polyunsaturated fatty acids. 10 He also advised that very well-cooked starches are safer because cooking breaks down the granular structure, though he cautioned that natural starches are often embedded in materials that resist both cooking and digestion, allowing them to support bacterial growth. 2 Regarding other particulates, he suggested that charcoal with a particle size around half a millimeter would be safe, while acknowledging that persorbed starch grains accelerate aging by killing off small areas of cells throughout the body. 9