Do you think that blood leaving the intestines after a meal goes directly to the heart and then to the rest of the body? This is a common misconception. The truth is that there is a mandatory stop before any food, drink, medication, or toxin reaches your heart: the liver. The portal vein is the superhighway that carries everything exiting the stomach, intestines, spleen, and pancreas to the liver first, before any other organ. Within the Tayyibat System, Dr. Diaa Al-Awadi, may Allah have mercy on him, places great importance on this unique circulation because it explains why gut health determines liver health, and why any digestive dysfunction directly affects metabolism, toxicity, and general inflammation in the body. If you are new here, you may want to start with What Is the Tayyibat System?, then review Allowed and Forbidden Foods in the Tayyibat System, read about Dr. Diaa Al-Awadi, and finally download the Tayyibat System PDF.
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Introduction: The Heart Is Not the First Stop After Eating
Imagine that the intestines are an international airport receiving thousands of passengers (food particles) daily. The liver is customs. No passenger or luggage can leave the airport to the city (the heart and the rest of the body) without passing through customs for inspection and clearance. This is exactly what the portal vein does: it collects blood loaded with everything the intestines absorbed (sugars, amino acids, fats, vitamins, minerals, medications, toxins, pesticides, preservatives) and transports it directly to the liver. The liver inspects these materials: what is beneficial and clean is released into the general circulation (then to the heart); what is harmful or excessive is processed (stored, converted, or eliminated). Understanding this fact changes how you view food: every bite you eat passes through the liver within seconds. The quality of your food determines the quality of blood that reaches the liver, and the quality of blood that leaves it.
What Is Portal Circulation?
Portal circulation is a unique venous system found nowhere else in the body. Most veins in the body carry blood from organs directly to the heart. However, the veins of the digestive system (stomach, small intestine, colon), spleen, and pancreas do not go directly to the heart. These veins unite to form a large vessel called the portal vein. This vein flows into the liver. Inside the liver, the portal vein branches into tiny capillaries that allow the contents of the blood to exit into liver cells (hepatocytes). After the liver cells process these materials, they are collected again and exit the liver through hepatic veins that flow into the inferior vena cava and then to the heart. In short: intestines → portal vein → liver → heart. The liver is the gatekeeper.
Quick Anatomy: The Portal Vein as a Main Channel
The portal vein is not an ordinary vein. It is about 8 centimeters long but carries about 75% of all blood flowing to the liver (the rest comes from the hepatic artery carrying oxygen). The portal vein is formed by the union of three main veins: the superior mesenteric vein (collecting blood from the small intestine and ascending colon), the inferior mesenteric vein (from the descending colon and rectum), and the splenic vein (from the spleen, pancreas, and stomach). This means that everything happening in the digestive system, as well as in the spleen (breaking down old blood cells) and pancreas (secreting enzymes and hormones), directly affects the liver. Another analogy: imagine the intestines are factories, the products (food) are loaded onto trucks (blood), and these trucks do not go directly to markets but go to a quality control center (the liver) first.
The Liver as a Filtration and Conversion Factory: What Does It Do with Blood Coming from the Intestines?
The liver performs three main functions on blood arriving via the portal vein. First: detoxification. The liver captures toxic substances (pesticides, preservatives, alcohol, medications, ammonia from protein breakdown) and converts them into less toxic or excretable forms in bile or urine. Without this function, these toxins would reach the heart, brain, and other organs directly. Second: glucose regulation. The liver absorbs excess glucose from the portal vein and stores it as glycogen. Between meals, glycogen is broken down and glucose is released to maintain blood sugar levels. This is why sugar in the Tayyibat System is not viewed as an absolute poison. Third: fat and protein processing. The liver synthesizes triglycerides, cholesterol (both “good” and “bad”), and essential proteins such as albumin and clotting factors from amino acids arriving via the portal vein.
Gut Hormones (GLP-1, Gastrin): Messages Arriving via the Portal Vein
The gut is not just a digestive tube; it is the largest hormonal organ in the body. After eating, gut cells secrete hormones such as GLP-1 (responsible for satiety and blood sugar regulation) and gastrin (responsible for stimulating stomach acid secretion). These hormones are not secreted directly into the general circulation. They are secreted into the blood flowing toward the portal vein, thus reaching the liver first. The liver receives these signals and in turn sends signals to the pancreas, brain, and other tissues. This means that the gut-liver axis is a crucial link in regulating appetite and metabolism. If the portal vein or liver is not functioning efficiently (due to fatty liver or inflammation), these signals become disrupted, contributing to insulin resistance, obesity, and eating disorders.
When the Liver Fails to Filter: Malabsorption and Fatty Liver
The problem begins when the intestines themselves are unhealthy. Inflamed or leaky gut – due to poor nutrition (white flour, dairy, eggs, legumes), harmful bacteria, or toxins – becomes more permeable, allowing large undigested particles, bacterial toxins (LPS), and immune-triggering substances to pass into the blood. These substances reach the liver via the portal vein, overloading it. As the liver attempts to filter them, with continued assault, the liver itself becomes inflamed (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis – NASH) and filled with fat (fatty liver). This explains the direct relationship between malabsorption and anemia and fatty liver. It also explains why fatty liver improvement begins with changing food, not with liver tonics.
How Does the Tayyibat System Protect the Portal Circulation?
The philosophy of the Tayyibat System is a practical application of understanding portal circulation. First: reducing “difficult-to-digest” inputs that burden the liver. The forbidden foods in the system (white flour, dairy, eggs, legumes) do not just remain in the intestines to ferment and cause bloating; they also allow irritating particles to pass through the portal vein to the liver, causing inflammation and fat accumulation. Eliminating these foods reduces the burden on the portal vein and liver. Second: fasting and periods of food interruption. Fasting gives the liver a rest from continuous filtration. When no food enters the intestines for several hours, blood flow in the portal vein decreases, allowing the liver to focus on self-maintenance, cell repair, and excreting accumulated toxins. Third: improving the health of the intestinal wall. The system aims to repair leaky gut with easily digestible allowed foods (rice, potatoes, clean meats), reducing the amount of toxic substances reaching the liver.
Foods That Burden the Portal Circulation (and Cause Fatty Liver) vs. Safe Foods
Burden the Liver (Increase Portal Load)
White flour and its products (viscosity, pesticides, preservatives). Legumes (fava beans, lentils, chickpeas, beans) – cause fermentation and excess nitrogen that converts to ammonia, burdening the liver. Chicken and eggs (contain antibiotic residues and hormones that increase filtration load). Hydrogenated and processed vegetable oils (cause inflammation and increase liver fat). Dairy products (casein causes inflammation and immune stimulation).
Rest the Liver (Easy to Digest and Filter)
Egyptian rice (pure starch, easily absorbed, reaches the liver as pure glucose). Potatoes (boiled or fried without flour). Clean red meat (beef, lamb, goat) from a reliable source, once or twice a week. Butter, ghee, and olive oil (natural fats easy to process). Sea fish.
Conclusion
Portal circulation is the cornerstone of understanding the relationship between the gut, liver, and the entire body. The portal vein forces everything the intestines absorb to pass through the liver first, before reaching the heart and other organs. The liver acts as a filter, factory, and monitor. If the intestines are healthy and food is clean, clean blood reaches the liver, and it functions efficiently. If the intestines are inflamed or leaky, toxins and irritating particles reach the liver, leading to fatty liver, chronic inflammation, and metabolic disruption. The Tayyibat System protects the portal vein and liver through three mechanisms: eliminating burdening foods (white flour, dairy, eggs, legumes), fasting to rest the liver, and improving the health of the intestinal wall. Liver health does not begin with tonics or herbs; it begins with what you put in your gut before it reaches the liver’s door.
Read Also
- What is the Tayyibat System?
- List of Forbidden and Allowed Foods in the Tayyibat System
- Biography of Dr. Diaa Al-Awadi
- Download the Tayyibat System PDF
This article is a simplified and organized summary of the video content, aiming to arrange the ideas and concepts mentioned in it and connect them to their context within the Tayyibat System. You can watch the video on YouTube here.
It is a large blood vessel that collects blood loaded with food and toxins from the stomach, intestines, spleen, and pancreas, and transports it directly to the liver for inspection and processing before it reaches the heart.
Because the liver is the mandatory checkpoint. If blood went directly to the heart, toxins and harmful substances would reach the heart, brain, and other organs before being filtered.
When the intestines are inflamed or leaky, more fats and irritating particles than normal pass through the portal vein to the liver. The liver stores this excess fat and becomes exhausted, leading to fatty liver.
Yes, hormones like GLP-1 (satiety hormone) and gastrin are secreted into blood flowing toward the portal vein, thus reaching the liver first. The liver receives them and sends signals to the pancreas and brain.
Fasting reduces blood flow in the portal vein, giving the liver a rest from continuous filtration. The liver uses this period for cell repair and eliminating accumulated toxins.
Forbidden foods (white flour, dairy, eggs, legumes) cause intestinal inflammation and increased permeability, allowing toxins and irritating particles to pass through the portal vein to the liver, leading to fatty liver and chronic inflammation.
If you suffer from bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea, along with signs of fatty liver or chronic fatigue, the dysfunction likely begins in the gut. Improvement in digestive symptoms with dietary change precedes liver improvement.
No. The best way to cleanse the portal vein and liver is to remove what pollutes them: inflammation-causing foods (white flour, dairy, eggs, legumes). Then rest the liver through fasting. No pill or herb “cleanses” the liver while you continue to introduce pollutants.
