How To Heal A Leaky Gut Without Pharmaceutical Drugs

A LEAKY GUT, also known as INTESTINAL PERMEABILITY or GUT HYPERPERMEABILITY, is a condition that occurs when the cells lining the small intestine become damaged.  This allows undigested food particles (especially PROTEINS), ENVIRONMENTAL (CHEMICAL)TOXINS, and bacteria to leak through the intestinal wall and into the bloodstream.  This can trigger INFLAMMATION, which is essentially your IMMUNE SYSTEM’S response to an injury.  This discussion will teach you HOW to heal a leaky gut naturally. You need to address the fire of INFLAMMATION. Otherwise, it eventually leads to a wide range of gut symptoms and other health problems, including FOOD ALLERGIES, AUTOIMMUNE disorders, DIGESTIVE issues, BRAIN dysfunction and more.

 

INFLAMMATION IS THE ENEMY

Most of your nutrition is absorbed through the cells of your small intestines. Natural digestive enzymes help breakdown and prepare the food you eat to be absorbed in the digestive system.

But inflammation of the gut lining and gastrointestinal tract from POOR DIET, STRESS, NSAIDs (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) such as IBUPROFEN or aspirin, ALCOHOL or other causes can cause gaps in the intestinal cell wall. These irritants increase a protein called ZONULIN, which causes even larger gaps to develop.

 

Leaky gut can cause symptoms both in the digestive tract AND beyond the gut. But this doesn’t mean that improving symptoms of leaky gut is difficult.

Fortunately, since all the symptoms of leaky gut syndrome are more of the unwanted, direct effect of GUT IMBALANCE, working to optimize your overall gut healthy will greatly improve your individual leaky gut symptoms.

 

In other words, it may not be necessary to try to work on each of the separate symptoms of leaky gut. Rather, a general approach to improve overall gut health, by focusing on an anti-inflammatory diet, adopting good self-care habits and using a few key support SUPPLEMENTS should improve your leaky gut symptoms.

 

Symptoms of Leaky Gut

The immune response that results from leaky gut can lead to a wide variety of digestive and non-digestive symptoms.

Because it is often caused by digestives issues, the MOST COMMON are gut related. These include:

• Gas and bloating
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Heartburn or reflux
• Symptoms from digestive disorders like CELIAC disease, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), COLITIS and CROHN’S disease.

Many of these symptoms and digestive disorders are associated with an overgrowth a bacteria such as CANDIDA or other microorganisms. This can be a main cause of most leaky gut symptoms.

Since Leaky gut allows undigested food particles and undesirable bacteria to ENTER YOUR BLOOSTREAM, symptoms can also occur elsewhere in the body (as far as your BRAIN) as your IMMUNE SYSTEM attacks and tries to eliminate these perceived intruders.

As the immune system responds, it releases compounds called inflammatory CYTOKINES. Depending on the location in your body that this attack is occurring, it can lead to a variety of symptoms outside of the gut area.

 

Here are some of the non-gut symptoms that are associated with leaky gut:

BRAIN – BRAIN FOG and/or MOOD (ANXIETY/DEPRESSION)

BONES/JOINTS – JOINT PAIN

CELLULAR ENERGY – CHRONIC FAIGUE/EXHAUSTION

IMMUNE SYSTEM -FOOD INTOLERANCE/SENSITIVITIES/ALLERGIES

DIGESTIVE – UNNATURAL CRAVINGS

 

The Link Between Leaky Gut and OTHER Chronic Degenerative Diseases

Many autoimmune disorders are associated with a leaky gut, but it is not yet clear whether leaky gut CAUSES ALL autoimmune disease.

There is clear evidence linking celiac disease and Crohn’s disease with increase intestinal permeability.

When a person with celiac disease consumes GLUTEN, there is a very immediate and clear increase in leaky gut along with digestive distress. Likewise, when a Crohn’s disease patient has a flare-up, permeability increases and appears to decrease as those flare-up symptoms decrease.

There is evidence linking other forms of inflammatory bowel disease, like ULCERATIVE COLITIS, autoimmune disorder like RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS and HASHIMOTO’S THYROIDITIS, ANKYLOSING SPONDYLITIS and CHRONIC FATIGUE syndrome with increased intentional permeability.

 

In fact, gut permeability may be associated with the onset of Type 1 diabetes and that even the arterial inflammation of cardiovascular disease may be caused by leaky gut!

Some in the alternative medical community claim that all autoimmune disease is caused by leaky gut.

In any event, if you have a digestive or autoimmune health condition, improving your gut health will likely improve your overall symptoms.

You CAN HEAL a leaky gut and restore your overall gut health by taking a few important lifestyle steps.

 

DIET

With any gut problem, making changes to how you NOURISH your body is essential.  This is because if you continue to eat food that you are sensitive to (whether you know it or not) you continue to create gut inflammation.

Here is a good analogy:

Imagine using a deodorant to which your skin reacts.

Now, would you just cover up the irritation or suppress your body’s reaction with a prescript for cortisone cream?

No, you get to THE CAUSE of the problem instead of covering up THE EFFECT of the problem (which was the wrong deodorant) and you would immediately find a different brand that didn’t cause a reaction!

Three SPECIFIC DIET PLANS that show promise for healing a leaky gut are the LOW FODMAP diet, the PALEO diet and a GLUTEN-FREE diet, but no single diet is right for everyone. It’s important to find an anti-inflammatory diet blueprint that works for your body.

 

IDENTIFY AND REMOVE TRIGGER FOODS

The first step in healing a leaky gut is to identify and remove any foods that may be the CAUSE of provoking INFLAMMATION in your gut. The most common TRIGGER FOODS include the following:

• GLUTEN
• DIARY
• SOY
• CORN
• EGGS
• PROCESS/REFINED (unnatural) food products

To identify trigger foods, consider doing an ELIINATION DIET, which means removing common trigger foods from your diet for a period of time, then gradually reintroducing them one by one in order to see which one triggers symptoms

 

Eat a NUTRIENT – DENSE, WHOLE FOOD diet

Once you’ve IDENTIFIED and ELIMINATED (at least temporarily, while your body heals) trigger foods, it’s important to focus on eating REAL food that support gut health.

This includes plenty of fresh, organic vegetables, fruits, healthy fats AND CLEAN SOURCES OF animal proteins.

In particular, aim to eat plenty of FIBER-RICH foods like vegetables, fruits, NUTS and SEDS which help feed the BENEFICIAL BACTERIA in your gut and support a healthy MICROBIOME.

In addition to eating a healthy diet, you may also want to consider supplementing with specific nutrients that support gut healing. There are many that benefit the intestinal barrier function and gut health. The top three I encourage you to start with are PROBIOTICS, L-GLUTAMINE, and VITAMIN D.

Simple changes to your behavior can significantly improve leaky gut. You don’t need to necessarily do ALL these things to experience a benefit. Chances are there are one or two of these options that you know are most out of balance.

 

STRESS REDUCTION and SELF-CARE

STRESS (PSYCHOLOGY/EMOTIONAL) can disrupt the delicate balance of bacteria in the gut and trigger inflammation, the main cause of stubborn gut health issues.

To support gut healing, it is ESSENTIAL to reduce stress as much as possible and practice regular self-care.

This may include activities like YOGA, BREATH WORK, MEDITATION, LEISURE ACTIVITIES, TIME IN NATURE or any other activity THAT HELPS YOU relax.

 

CONSISTENT, ADEQUATE SLEEP HUGIENE

Sleep is essential for overall health, including gut health. Aim to get a t least 7-8 hours of DEEP, UNINTERRUPTED SLEEP. Also, try to establish a REGULAR sleep schedule to help regulate your body’s CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS.

If you have trouble FALLING ASLEEP or even staying sleeping, consider making changes to your sleep environment such as a new mattress, or temperature changes to your bedroom.

Gentle stretching or practicing relaxation technique before bed is helpful.

 

EXERCISE – NOT TOO MUCH!

Regular exercise can also support gut health by reducing INFLAMMATION and promoting A HEALTHY MICROBIOME. Aim to get at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise most days of the week and try to incorporate a variety of activities, such as cardio, strength training and yoga.

 

REDUCE ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION

Alcohol is a TOXIN, and while usually tolerated by a healthy gut, may not be the best choice.

 

In conclusion, healing a LEAKY GUT requires a comprehensive approach that includes identifying and removing trigger foods, consuming a nutrient-dense whole whole-foods diet, supplementing with gut-healing nutrients, reducing stress, getting enough sleep, exercising regularly and seeking professional help when necessary.