Do You Have A Leaky Gut?

The reason we’re starting to hear so much about gut health from functional medicine doctors, integrative doctors, the media and even sources such as The Wall Street Journal is because we now know that most diseases and symptoms such as eczema and psoriasis are related to gut health.

BACK TO THE BASICS

When we eat food, it moves down our oesophagus, it goes into our stomach and then it moves into the first part of our intestines. It first goes into our small intestine and this is where a lot of the breaking down of food takes place allowing your body to absorb the nutrients and smaller food-based particles. Then it moves into the large intestine and after a few hours the indigestible food is then eliminated through our bowels.  

However, around that digestive tract we have the cells such as the IgG immune cells and IgE cells. This means that the body is constantly looking at anything foreign that may come in through the gut wall.

Think about it this way, our skin is the outside of our body so it protects us from the outside environment but so do our intestines. Our intestinal tract is not mean to allow foreign particles in; only the good stuff is supposed to come in and not the bacteria, yeast, parasites or larger amino acids strains.

WHY IS THIS SO IMPORTANT?

Just like when you have a cut in your skin, we cover those cuts with band-aids in order to prevent the outside having a direct line to our bloodstream.

We have our blood stream right outside the intestines too so if you have leaky gut (increased intestinal permeability gaps), the gaps in our gut wall start to widen. This can be caused by a number of different factors such as alcohol, stress, poor food combining, birth control and medications. When these gaps widen, all of the “stuff” that is not supposed to pass through the gut wall such as bacteria, parasites, yeast and longer strains of protein get spilled into our blood stream. So now, our body sees all of these as foreign objects coming into our body so it turns the immune system ON, causing inflammation.

If you can’t fix your gut health, you can’t fix anything else. You work on everything else after you get your gut health in proper order otherwise everything you eat, you’re literally spilling all of these objects into your bloodstream

SYMPTOMS OF LEAKY GUT

Bloating and gas: If the digestive system is broken down then every time you put food into your body it begins to ferment. The fermentation process then creates bacteria and it shows up as symptoms such as acid reflux, indigestion, bloating, gas, lose stool or constipation.

Food sensitivities:  When you have increased intestinal permeability, undigested food particles can enter your bloodstream more easily. Over time, food particles “leaking” into the bloodstream can confuse immune cells and trigger an inflammatory-based reaction to harmless foods.

Fatigue: If your immune system is always on, you are going to feel tired.

Joint pain: Rheumatoid arthritis for example, is absolutely connected to gut health. It is scientifically and clinically proven that more than 90% of autoimmune diseases t involve, or are a consequence of, leaky gut.

Migraines:  Your immune system is reacting to all of these “invaders” that are being spilled into the blood stream, causing an inflammatory-based response which can trigger migraines.

Skin issues: Cystic acne, rosacea, psoriasis, dermatitis and eczema are a perfect example of leaky gut. There is candida and bacteria being spilled into the blood stream.

Constipation: When the gut is not functioning properly, digestion will be much slower

Unexplained weight gain and cellulite: When we have all of the toxins being spilled into our blood stream, our liver gets overwhelmed and is unable to detoxify as quickly as it should, so a lot of it is left in our blood stream. Our body then pulls those toxins into fat cells (adipose tissue) and they start to swell causing cellulite, puffiness and bloating. We then become swollen because our body holds to all of the excess toxic water weight and makes us look as if we were holding more body fat than we are.

Depression and Anxiety: If your digestion system is not functioning properly there is going to be a lot more stress in the body. The gut is directly connected to the nerves of the brain and this is known as the gut-brain axis. This means that the digestive system can actually affect the brain and lead to lower mood, anxiety and depression. There is a link between the bacteria in our gut and the way we think.

I THINK I HAVE LEAKY GUT…

If you think you might have leaky gut, you can run an at-home lab test called the an Organic Acid Test. This test tells you if you have bacteria or candida spilling into your blood, your detox levels, whether your mitochondria is functioning optimally, b-vitamins and more. It is an amazing test to run if you want to dive deep into why you’re experiencing certain issues.

I understand that many people cannot run this lab because it can be very expensive. This is the case with many of my clients, so we just start a GI Protocol right away because 99% of the cases involve some sort of intestinal permeability.

My job is to give you the information. You don’t have to work with me, you can work with any integrative health practitioner you want. My aim is to help you become aware of it because if you have acne, rosacea, eczema, psoriasis or autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto, Rheumatoid Arthritis, constipation, headaches, IBS, then you have some sort of gut issue steaming from leaky gut.