How to Know if You have Leaky Gut

How to Know if You Are Suffering from Leaky Gut

Lately, I have been sharing information about HS and the dangers of continuing to eat nightshade foods like potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, paprika, and more. Today I want to share information about "Gut Permeability" or "Leaky Gut." According the Dr. Alessio Fasano and his research on gut permeability and celiac's disease (and gluten intolerance) there are 1 in 133 people in the US who suffer from this disease. Therefore, many people are suffering from "Leaky Gut."

For many of us, this may be the first time hearing about this term, "Leaky Gut" and so many don't realize that they may be suffering from this disease and damaging the body without even knowing it. Since the 1980's doctors and researchers like Dr. Alessio Fasano of Mass General Hospital have noticed that many people have sensitivities to gluten or wheat that is found in many grain products offered to the public such as breads, mixes, flours, and more. Researchers are now finding out that many chronic health conditions are related to this gluten insensitivity.

What is Leaky Gut or Gut Permeability?

Well, it exactly as you would think it would be, stuff leaks out of your gut where a protein like zonulin breaks apart the tightly fit junctions in the intestinal lining allowing proteins to escape into the blood stream. Now you have leaky gut and now toxins, undigested food are able to escape into your bloodstream instead of being broke down and used by the body like food was intended. So when you eat something your stomach can process and breakdown foods so that the body can then use them. When proteins break free from the stomach via these holes then, it ends up in your bloodstream where it doesn't belong and causes a response where your body begins attacking the protein and may end up attacking other areas in your body such as your thyroid.

Researchers are now finding that people who suffer from auto-immune disorders may have leaky gut, and this is the cause of the attacks on the body. I have Hashimotos and know I have leaky gut or did before I quit eating the foods that were causing the leaky gut. I believe that I had been eating foods that I was allergic or non-tolerant of since childhood and the leaky gut then caused my auto-immune disorder and, therefore, developed Hashimotos.

How do you know if you have leaky gut?

The symptoms of leaky gut, most of us, have felt at least once in our lives, but I bet more of you suffer from this and don't even know it. I was one of those people and never realized that there were foods harming me when I ate them, but they did, and now I don't suffer from any of these symptoms anymore and I have to say wow it is wonderful.

Symptoms of leaky gut

·        Bloating

·        Gas

·        Cramps

·        Aches and pains

·        Irritable Bowel Syndrome

·        Seasonal allergies or asthma

·        Hormonal imbalances such as PMS and PCOS

·        Autoimmune disorders like Hashimotos, Lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, or celiac's disease

·        Diagnosis of chronic fatigue or Fibromyalgia

·        Depression, anxiety, ADD, ADHD

·        Acne, Rosacea, or Eczema

·        Overgrowth of Candida (yeast)

·        Food allergies or food intolerances

·        HS Disease

Some researchers believe that cancers are also part of this list. It makes sense if you think about how eating foods that are poisonous to our bodies or that we are unable to tolerate affect us negatively. Look at this list, there are thousands of people across the world that suffer from many of these disorders, and if they quit eating the food that is affecting them negatively, their own body will heal and the disease or disorder will go away.

What causes leaky gut?

The number one reason people are suffering from leaky gut is from gluten. We eat many products that contain gluten such as pancake mixes, all breads, and many other foods have even just a little bit of gluten. The majority of us are not able to digest gluten, and it causes the leaky gut which then causes people to suffer from a disease or some other chronic disorder. According to an article written by Dr. Amy Myers, the main culprits are foods, toxins, and infections. Foods like sugar, dairy, and alcohol are also culprits that can cause leaky gut.

However, it's not just foods that are causing these issues but medicines as well like Ibuprofen, steroids, antibiotics, and acid-reducing drugs. It's a vicious circle that we weave when we eat the foods that cause an inflammatory response like pain leading us to take medicine to relieve the pain which is part of the cause of a leaky gut. Of course, the environmental toxins are also part of this process. When a person quits eating the foods that are causing the inflammation response most disease and disorders disappear. Stress is also a factor in causing leaky gut. So you can see there are a variety of things we all are doing every day that is leading the breakdown of our digestive system and causing leaky gut.

So, you have leaky gut now what?

1.   The first thing to do is not eat the food that is causing this to happen. Changing your diet is harder than you think but once you quit eating the food you will begin repairing your digestive system. When you try to eat these foods in the future, you will have a reaction to it as pain, headache, nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, stomach ache, or something else that tells you that you should not eat that particular food. For me this is rice, I keep testing the boundaries and ate pasta the other day that was made of rice flour and was violently ill afterwards and sick for 24 hours from eating a food that I cannot tolerate.

2.   Next you will need to balance your gut flora. This is where probiotics are very important and you will need to get some and start taking them. Also eat fiber rich foods these can also help balance the gut.

3.   Repairing the gut requires some supplements. Many doctors believe that a supplement of L-glutamine is helpful.

You should work closely with your gastroenterologist on repairing your digestive system. You may want to look in your local area for a functional medicine practitioner who will understand how to help you with this because many doctors don't always believe in leaky gut but there is a lot of research that has been done on this area and if you are interested in finding out more check out this site.

Please share if you think you have been suffering from leaky gut or have a story to share with us about how you healed your leaky gut issue. Or if you have questions about it.