What Is The Root Cause Of Leaky Gut?

The Main Causes Of Leaky Gut Are Food, Toxins, Infections + Stress.

With gut health being a super popular topic, you may have heard of a condition called Leaky Gut Syndrome. Also known as intestinal permeability, a leaky gut can be involved in a whole heap of seemingly unrelated health problems and can make you more likely to develop an autoimmune disease. If you’re not familiar with leaky gut, here’s what you need to know about discovering your root cause and and why it happens.

What is Leaky Gut?

The intestinal lining is made up of a single layer of specialized epithelial cells and facilitates absorption of nutrients. It is also a barrier to potentially harmful substances passing through the digestive tract, such as toxins, microorganisms, and other antigens. When exposed to certain environmental triggers, the epithelium can be adversely affected, resulting in a condition known as intestinal permeability or leaky gut syndrome.

What Happens With Leaky Gut Syndrome?

One of the underrated roles of the gut involves forming a barrier between the intestines and the rest of the body.

Normally, the cells in the intestinal walls help to keep things tight. Properly digested food is usually absorbed through the cell wall without issues, but when the tight junctions between the gut lining cells begin to loosen, a pathway between the cells opens up, and exposes your immune system (over 80% of your immune system is located in your gut) to a variety of metabolic toxins. This activates an immune response that targets food particles and pathogens, but may also attack healthy body cells as well. Compounding factors such as infections and undigested food can change the dynamics of your gut lining and this allows the intestinal walls to be breached more easily. This is the beginning of food allergies and potential autoimmune conditions.

When this happens, the gut is considered “leaky”. Toxins, bacteria and undigested food particles can pass freely through the intestinal walls and into the bloodstream. Here they are seen as foreign threats by the immune system and attacked. This causes inflammation and can produce an immune response. The end result? A leaky gut can go hand in hand with a heap of symptoms and many of these aren’t gut related. From brain fog to low immunity and joint pain, a leaky gut can be hugely debilitating.

This cascade of events is what triggers autoimmunity.

Leaky Gut + Autoimmunity

If the assault on your GI tract continues, your immune system will continue to create more inflammation to attempt to get rid of the “invader” material (undigested food, toxin, stress, etc). Eventually, it cannot keep up with the demand and will continue to send inflammation even without a threat being present. This leads to autoimmune conditions as your own tissues and organs become the target of your own immune system.

Your immune system will begin producing antibodies against the foreign substances in your blood—the problem is many of the invaders look very similar to your body’s own cells.  Because of this, your immune system will start sending out antibodies to attack your own tissues. This is called “molecular mimicry.” Depending if there is a “weak link” in your immune system-this is where the mimicry would take place and begin to target those tissues, such as, thyroid, joints, colon, brain, skin, adrenals, sinuses and more.

Symptoms of Leaky Gut

Your gut is intertwined with several body systems beyond the digestive-it also involves the immune, hormonal, neurological systems, etc. The symptoms go beyond just the digestive with leaky gut.

  • Asthma
  • Autoimmune disorders-rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, lupus, psoriasis, Hashimotos + more
  • Cognitive issues, such as memory problems or brain fog
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia
  • Thyroid issues
  • Digestive problems-bloating, constipation, diarrhea, gas, indigestion, Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
  • Insomnia
  • Joint pain
  • Migraines + Headaches
  • Mood disorders-ADD, ADHD, anxiety, or depression
  • Food allergies or intolerances
  • Hormonal imbalances, PMS or PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome)
  • Nutrient malabsorption + resulting deficiencies
  • Seasonal allergies
  • Skin problems-acne, eczema, rosacea + others
  • Obesity, weight gain, or difficulty losing weight

What Can Cause Leaky Gut Syndrome?

There can be a pretty long list of an underlying root cause linked to a leaky gut. A few common factors can include:

GI Issues: If your gut health is already poor and you have a low diversity of gut bacteria, it can make you more likely to experience a leaky gut.

Diet: Poor diet can be a trigger for leaky gut in itself and some vitamin deficiencies can be involved in increasing intestinal permeability. Vitamin A and vitamin D are two nutrients that are super important for maintaining a healthy gut barrier. In rats, vitamin A deficiency had negative effects on the gut barrier and in mice, a lack of vitamin D had similar effects.

Inflammatory foods damage the intestines and cause leaky gut, gluten in particular. Other top culprits are conventional dairy, soy, grains, gums, processed foods, excess sugar, alcohol and fast foods.

Even people who eat a healthy, balanced diet can have a leaky gut too. Lectins can potentially be a problem. These are proteins found in legumes and grains, which can bind to cells in the intestines and disrupt the gut barrier. According to studies on rats, lectins can have an effect on intestinal permeability. Gluten and dairy can also be culprits. Gluten can raise levels of a protein called zonulin, which is hugely important for maintaining healthy tight junctions in the intestines. When zonulin levels are high, these tight junctions are more likely to be compromised and increased gut permeability is more likely. And if you have celiac disease, there’s even more potential for a leaky gut.

We can’t get by without mentioning that excess alcohol is a common root cause of leaky gut. An occasional drink is one thing but overdoing the martinis will promote leaky gut and health issues.

Existing health problems: If you have certain health conditions, there can be a strong link to a leaky gut. This includes Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, asthma and cancer.

In patients with chronic fatigue syndrome, a leaky gut is thought to be a major culprit for symptoms. It may even be a factor in obesity, with several studies showing a link between obesity and increased gut permeability.

Infections: Infections involving candida and H. pylori can be involved in leaky gut. Both have potential to pass through the gut barrier and make leaky gut more likely. Yeast, parasites, and viruses are other possibilities

Medications: Steroids, over-the-counter painkillers, PPI’s to reduce stomach acid and antibiotics are just a few of the medications that can contribute to a leaky gut. Taking these types of medications for long periods of time can make this even more likely. With NSAIDs, the gut can become leakier within 24 hours. If you can avoid taking these medications too regularly, it can help to avoid increased gut permeability. Also, some drugs have inflammatory fillers such as gluten, corn, or soy.

Hormonal imbalances: An imbalance of hormones can weaken the integrity and prevent regeneration of the gut lining. Imbalances in estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, thyroid hormones, and stress hormones all contribute to leaky gut.

Chronic stress: According to research, chronic stress can increase the potential for a leaky gut by damaging the gut lining by raising or depleting stress hormones. Studies on rats have also shown a strong link between stress and intestinal permeability. Keeping stress levels under control is super important for reducing potential for a leaky gut.

Environmental toxins: Toxins have been shown to degrade the gut lining. The toxins in our environment are everywhere; there are so many to discuss that I will leave this topic for another post. It really gets a bit overwhelming!

Vitamin D deficiency: Deficiencies can make the intestinal lining more vulnerable to damage. Fat soluble vitamins A, E, and K are also vital to gut health.

Intense exercise: Regular exercise can be super important for keeping your gut healthy but there’s a fine balance. Strenuous exercise can have the opposite effect and increase the potential for a leaky gut.

Several studies have shown a link between exercising intensely and increased intestinal permeability, even for athletes. In a study involving cyclists, exercising at 70% maximum capacity led to a “leakier” gut and more food proteins entering the bloodstream. Moderate exercise is a great move for a healthy gut barrier. Just don’t overdo things!

Addressing Leaky Gut

Test

Zonulin

Our digestive system is designed to work in a delicate balance – we need enough zonulin being released to allow appropriate nutrients into your bloodstream and to allow certain molecules to pass out of your intestines into your bloodstream. Zonulin is a key bio-marker for intestinal permeability and is also the only regulator of intestinal permeability that is reversible. Think of the intestinal lining as a wall of tightly joined cells that open and close as needed. Zonulin is the “key operator” that opens the tight junctions between cells to open when needed and to stay closed when needed. Test for zonulin levels in a GI stool test or in a GI comprehensive plan.

Restore GI Health

6 R Program

A properly functioning digestive system is critical to good health.  The 6R Program restores your GI tract by normalizing digestion, absorption, assimilation and restoring leaky gut, helps you detoxify, and allows the body to rebalance immune function and inflammation. 

Nutrition

Leaky Gut Diet

  • Fermented Veggies-Sauerkraut, kimchi + kvass are excellent sources
  • Raw Cultured Dairy (if no allergy)-Pastured kefir, yogurt, butter + raw cheese are some of the best probiotic foods
  • Coconut Products-medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) in coconut are easier to digest than other fats so they work well for leaky gut
  • Sprouted Seeds-chia seeds, flaxseeds and hemp seeds that have been sprouted are great sources of fiber that can help support the growth of beneficial bacteria (not to ingest if you have serious leaky gut-need to do some repair work initially)
  • Healthy fats-avocados, eggs + ghee
  • Omega-3 Fats-anti-inflammatory foods like grass-fed beef, lamb + wild-caught salmon
  • Organic fruit-1-2 servings/day

Supplements

  • Probiotics-Lactobacillus casei, Saccharomyces boulardii, Biffidobacterium + Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG
  • Digestive enzymes/bitters + Hydrochloric acid
  • Glutamine
  • Quercetin
  • Marshmallow root
  • Deglycyrrhizinated licorice
  • Slippery elm
  • Turkey tail
  • Vitamins A + D
  • Zinc
  • Colostrum

As you see there is so much you can do to improve leaky gut, and in turn, your overall wellbeing. It may take a couple of months to a year to allow your gut to heal. However, if you are intentional on what you eat and work together with a licensed practitioner for professional recommendations regarding the root cause of your health issue, you can improve your leaky gut a lot quicker! Any wellness plan needs to be individualized specifically for you and this is done with testing and your medical history; don’t go in guessing. Once you begin to make small lifestyle changes the benefits will leave you feeling physically and mentally strong and balanced!

Grab a complimentary copy of my Immune Boosting Foods guide here.

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