Leaky Gut: What is it and what it means for your health?

Think (or know) you have a “leaky gut”? Trying to heal your “leaky gut”?

So many people are these days due to digestive issues and knowing the importance of the digestive system and our overall health.

The intestinal barrier plays a critical role human health and disease. It allows for the absorption of nutrients from the food we eat, while at the same time, it protects against the entry of allergens, as well as bacteria, fungi, and parasites. Essentially, it plays the role of a gatekeeper. When this barrier malfunctions, it can contribute to many health issues.

In this post you will learn…

• What is a “leaky gut?”
• What issues can a leaky gut contribute to
• How to heal and seal the gut
• What contributes to a leaky gut

What is a “leaky gut?”

Leaky gut is actually intestinal permeability if you want to be technical. But either way it can be caused by numerous things and can contribute to chronic health conditions.

When working properly, our intestinal lining forms a tight barrier that controls what gets into the bloodstream. It can also open when we need to allow nutrients through but then should close right back up to prevent toxins from escaping into the body.

When the lining of your gut isn’t working properly all kinds of molecules and particles can make their way into your body where they aren’t supposed to be. Bacteria, toxins, viruses, yeast, parasites, food, and metabolites can escape and contribute to inflammation in the body and trigger an undesirable immune response. The intestinal lining is the first line of defense for our immune system. So it is important that it is working properly.

A “leaky gut” can contribute to issues like:

• Autoimmune diseases such as hashimotos, graves disease, endometriosis, eczema/psoriasis, celiac disease, crohns disease, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and more
• Depression, anxiety, or other mental health problems
• Skin issues including acne
• Weight gain
• Ulcers
• Diarrhea or constipation
• IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)
• SIBO
• Allergies
• Chronic inflammation
• Joint pain
• Thyroid issues
• Chronic fatigue
• Hormone imbalances
• AND MORE

How to heal and seal the gut?

Increased intestinal permeability is almost always caused by something else that’s further upstream, meaning that it comes before intestinal permeability and it’s the underlying cause of intestinal permeability. So leaky gut IS NOT THE ROOT CAUSE, rather the result of other problems going on within the body. The more we can get to the root of the problem, the more effective the intervention will be and the longer term the result will be.

So if we’re just suppressing symptoms or dealing with manifestations of problems, it’s not only going to be less effective, this whatever we’re doing isn’t going to last for as long because we haven’t actually addressed the underlying cause. So with intestinal permeability, if you remove the triggers what’s causing leaky gut the first place—like you fix the diet, you treat the gut infections, the patient starts managing their stress—in many cases you won’t need to even address intestinal permeability because it will take care of itself. 

One of the first steps in healing the healing and sealing the gut is to REMOVE (or at least reduce) the triggers. You can’t heal your digestive system if you still have gut infections, still eat lots of processed foods, are eating foods that are inflammatory for you and your gut, take medications that disrupt the gut, are stressed, or are exposed to lots of toxins.

One of the biggest things I have learned over my decade in the health industry is that you can’t simply supplement yourself out of gut issues. The reasons the gut becomes dysfunctional runs DEEP and most people aren’t properly addressing the root causes. Long term solutions take a multifactorial approach, time, patience, and persistence.

The solution to your gut problems (or health problems for that matter) goes way beyond running labs and taking supplements. Because biochemical interventions don’t address the CAUSES. You stop a flood if you haven’t turned off the water first.

One key first step when it comes to healing your gut and sealing a leaky gut is to eat to reduce inflammation, specifically thinking about the small intestine. The small intestine is more fragile and prone to damage which results in leaky gut. Most people don’t really understand what this really means or think it is a one size fits all approach. Even “healthy” foods can be causing inflammation if the gut and immune system are dysfunctional. It is also very possible for foods that are promoted as anti-inflammatory to actually be inflammatory. It depends on your gut. No one gut is the same. What to eat can definitely be confusing because there are so many different opinions but the best diet will ALWAYS be the one that works for YOU!

What contributes to a “leaky gut?”

Ultimately gut issues, like leaky gut, happen over time due to impaired digestion. But what causes impaired digestion? It is often a combination of physiological and psychological factors that cause us to become a weak host.

• Adverse childhood events (ACES)
• Ongoing psychological distress in adulthood
• Hurtful/fearful life events
• Trauma of all kinds
• Inflammatory dietary triggers
• Environmental toxins
• Lack of joy and fulfillment in one’s life
• Poor lifestyle habits
• Poor quality sleep
• Hidden infections
• AND MORE

I always describe it as a domino effect. One thing gets out of whack and then it creates more problems and if not resolved can then lead to even more and more issues. Ever wonder why we start to accumulate new symptoms over time?

When digestion becomes impaired, foods that are not optimally digested will harm us. They will start to rot and ferment in the gut. I have heard from countless women that they eat a “health diet” but still have symptoms they can’t get a hold of. Even a healthy diet can cause problems if we aren’t breaking it down, digesting it, absorbing it, and assimilating it.

This compost pile happening in the due due to compromised digestion can then allow undesirable microbes to set up camp in the digestive system. Toxins will start to accumulate. Now the gut lining will become damaged and contribute to what we know as “leaky gut.”

So the first step in healing and sealing the gut is not to take a probiotic, supplement or follow a bug killing protocol. The first step is to eat to reduce inflammation (which is different for everyone) and work on improving digestion overall while bringing the nervous system into balance.

Related Article: Your Autonomic Nervous System: A Missing Piece to Your Health Journey

So to truly address your health (gut symptoms present or not) then the goal is to build your resilience and work towards becoming a strong host while also eating foods that will help to heal and seal the gut. The more you can address, the stronger you can become!