What comes to mind when you hear the term “LEAKY GUT”?
You might get an image of guts leaking all over the place when you hear it, but technically, it’s more accurately termed “intestinal permeability” in the scientific literature. And despite what the Medical Medium says (lol), it’s a real condition, although your conventional doc may not have heard about it – yet.
What this image from the Institute of Functional Medicine represents is a tiny section of the inside lining of the intestines. A healthy gut lining will have long, uniform villi (the tiny fingerlike projections extending from the cells that line the gut) and the base cells will be tightly joined with no gaps in between. A “leaky gut” lining will look more like the image above with irregular, blunted villi and gaps between the cells that line the gut wall.
This damage can be caused by a number of things like triggering foods, medications, alcohol, toxins, stress – anything that causes an immune response or inflammation.
What effects can intestinal permeability have on you? Where to start?!
Not only can this cause gut discomfort, gut imbalances, malabsorption of nutrients from all the healthy food you eat and all the supplements you take, but it can also lead to autoimmune disease, mood disorders, hormonal imbalances, skin issues, sleep issues, performance issues, metabolic dysregulation…you name it!
When Hippocrates said, “All disease begins in the gut.”, he wasn’t kidding.
That’s why in functional medicine, we have a focus on healing the gut – usually first – because if you can’t absorb nutrients and if what you eat “leaks” into your system where it doesn’t belong, your health will suffer.
So how do you fix a leaky gut?
The good news is, we are self healing beings. The lining of the gut replaces itself about every 3 days… and so, IF YOU STOP TRIGGERING IT, it will heal.
To help things along, most functional practitioners follow the 4R protocol which involves these steps:
- REMOVE – Remove all triggers like I listed above. If you’re not sure what’s triggering symptoms, we usually start with an elimination diet for 2-4 weeks and remove the top triggers like gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts, corn, sugar, alcohol and caffeine. In this phase, you may also introduce antimicrobial herbs to help kill off any bacterial or yeast overgrowth.
- REPLACE – A common cause of leaky gut and gut imbalances in general is weak digestion, so we use things like Apple Cider Vinegar, bitters or digestive enzymes to replace digestive fire. I also stress parasympathetic eating – or eating in a relaxed state to optimize digestive function.
- REPAIR – Once the onslaught is at bay and you’re able to break down your food properly, we work on patching up the lining with nutrients like glutamine, glycine, collagen and essential nutrients for cellular function to aid the healing process. This GI REVIVE formula has it all. Bone broth is a great adjunct during this phase as well.
- REPOPULATE – To bring more balance to the bacterial and yeast microbiome that must live in harmony in the gut (and elsewhere), we use probiotics and beneficial yeast to repopulate with healthy strains.
If you suspect or want to rule out leaky gut, visit a functional medicine or integrative practitioner (like me! or the docs I work with at CNHS and Crossroads Physical Therapy). Although there is functional testing that can be done, it usually is quite costly, so we can use other signs and symptoms to get to the root cause and treat the gut or advise accordingly. Please reach out if you have any questions or go here for more info.
BE WELL and Have a blessed holiday season!
Love,
Ev
