Gut health takes 2 forms in cattle: how effectively the nutrients in the food are being processed and used by the body, and how effectively pathogens are being contained in the digestive tract so they are not impacting the rest of the body. These pathogens are beneficial to the digestive tract in cattle as they assist in the food breakdown process. In animals with good gut health, there is a barrier that keeps these pathogens contained. When cattle are stressed, this barrier becomes weak and the pathogens escape to other parts of the body and cause infection or disease.