The GI condition called Increased Intestinal Permeability: more commonly known as Leaky Gut, has been gaining attention lately, and for good reasons.
A growing body of research has linked this condition with a number of health conditions. Plus, as American’s continue to consume GMO and processed foods, struggle with chronic stress, toxic overload and have bacterial imbalances leaky gut is surfacing more and more. So, could your ailments be because of Leaky Gut?
What is Leaky Gut?
Almost all the foods we eat are absorbed in our intestines. Think of your intestines as a net with tiny holes – only allowing the tiniest particles of food and nutrients that the body needs into the blood stream. The tiny holes keep things such as toxic waste, bacteria, microbes and undigested food particles from entering the blood.
Leaky gut is essentially like having larger holes in your “net” where particles that are never meant to be in the blood stream are now leaking into the blood stream. When this happens, and the body recognizes that there is a foreign substance in the body it signals the immune response. The immune response is a natural (and great) response to have; however, with leaky gut, the intestinal lining is damaged (and inflamed) and foreign particles are continually leaking into the blood, which leads to chronic inflammation in the body.
Chronic inflammation has been found to be associated with just about every health condition. Unfortunately more times that not, western medicine focuses on treating the symptoms of inflammation and not addressing the root cause. Which doesn’t heal anything – it only temporarily masks the symptoms.
Hippocrates stated, “All disease begins in the gut” and sure enough, he was right. Our gut is the first order of defense against any harmful pathogen. If our gut’s messed up, we’re messed up.
Leaky gut, if gone untreated, can cause a cascade of health conditions.
How ailments have been linked to leaky gut:
- Allergies
- Joint pain
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Fatigue
- Malabsorption
- Eczema
- Psoriasis
- IBS
- Arthritis
- Anemia
- Hyper/hypothyroidism
5 Signs of Leaky Gut
#1 Food sensitivities
This is the #1 sign of leaky gut. Because toxins are able to enter the bloodstream, the immune systems of people with intestinal hyper-permeability are continually working to produce antibodies to protect itself, which make their bodies more susceptible to antigens in certain foods (particularly gluten and casein.)
#2 Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Research out of Hungary discovered that increased intestinal permeability is often localized in the colon of those who suffer from IBS and ulcerative colitis.
#3 Auto-immune Disorders
The cells of the gut have secretory, digestive, and absorptive functions and have receptors to facilitate their participation in immunity. When these cells and the lining of the intestines become damaged it causes the body to remain in a chronic inflammatory state leading to auto-immunity – where the body basically attacks is own healthy tissues.
Initially, symptoms of auto-immune disorders are vague and include fatigue, low-grade fever, muscle and joint aches, and malaise, but going untreated can lead to more severe, chronic conditions.
#4 Malabsorption
Leaky gut prevents your body from absorbing nutrients properly. Malabsorption of B12, Vitamin D, magnesium and key enzymes can lead to nutritional deficiencies. It is vital that people with leaky gut supplement with whole food multivitamins and live probiotics to aid in digestion and to support healing.
#5 Skin Conditions
Over 70 years ago the connection between the gut and the skin discovered how increased intestinal permeability can cause various skin conditions such as eczema, acne and psoriasis.
Your ailments could be because of leaky gut.
If you suspect you have Leaky Gut there is hope! Diet can greatly heal the gut and reduce inflammation.
Stay tuned for more to come on dietary recommendations!
Questions? Contact me: Crystal@TrueHealthRD.com
References:
Autoimmunity and the Gut, Andrew W. Campbell; Autoimmune Dis. 2014; 2014: 152428.
http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/021313p38.shtml
Khalif IL, et al. Alterations in the colonic flora and intestinal permeability and evidence of immune activation in chronic constipation. Dig Liver Dis. 2005;7:838–49.
Liu Z, et al. Tight junctions, leaky intestines, and pediatric diseases. Acta Paediatr. 2005 Apr;94(4):386-93.
Arrieta MC, et al. Alterations in intestinal permeability. Gut. 2006 Oct;55(10):1512-20.
Gecse K, et al. Leaky gut in patients with diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome and inactive ulcerative colitis. Digestion. 2012;85(1):40-6.
