Do You have a Leaky Gut
Asking someone if they have a leaky gut is more than likely a type of question that you would not get everyday. However millions of people have a leaky gut which creates chaos throughout the body. A leaky gut, or also known as intestinal permeability, may be the reason why so many people have migraines, digestive problems, inability to digest dairy, a reduced immune system, and the like.
What is Leaky Gut Syndrome:
A leaky gut is when your brush border that lines your small intestine becomes weakened due to internal stress. Your brush border as the picture shows (think of it as shag carpeting) is your buffer between your intestinal wall and your general blood circulation. Another way to picture your brush border or what it does is to think of a screen door. A screen door allows air to pass through but limits bugs and unwanted particles from getting into your home. Same as your brush border. It allows good nutrients to go through into general circulation and keeps the bad things from entering. When chronic stress, reactive foods, parasites, poor gut health, and the like are prevalent the screen door essentially becomes weakened (think of holes in the screen door allowing bugs to come in).
Your brush border is made of many different parts. Two of the main parts are the villi and micro villi. These look like little fingers as shown in the diagram. These villi release enzymes such as lactase to breakdown lactose found in milk. They also release enzymes that breakdown sugars and much more. Ever wonder why you use to be able to have dairy then as you get older you can't tolerate it? Your villi and micro villi have lost the function to be able to break these compounds down.
The Process:
When we eat it sends a chain reaction signal throughout our digestive track. Our digestion starts in the mouth which then relays signals to our entire digestive track to start the process. If you eat calmly it sends one message, if you are eating under stress or in a rush it sends another signal telling our body how to react. Basically when we eat our food it goes through the stomach, large intestine being broken down by acid and enzymes which then gets into the small intestine for more breakdown of acid, bile, enzymes, etc. Proteins are broken down into amino acids, fats are broken down into free fatty acids and carbs are broken down into sugars. Once they are broken down the brush border allows them to pass through and go into general circulation to be processed by the body.
The Problem:
The problem arises when the proteins, fats, and carbs are suppose to be broken down. If your brush border is impaired and you have holes in your screen door (so to speak) full proteins, fats, and carbs can go into general circulation. Your body does not recognize these full forms and signals your immune system to attack them. With them in general circulation your immune system begins its attack as mentioned. The major problem that comes is that your immune system cannot differentiate between these foods your muscle tissue, and your joints because they look similar to your immune system. A leaky gut can and does lead to autoimmune diseases. It also creates an unpleasant environment in your small intestine increasing the chances of good and bad bacteria imbalance, parasite infestation, candida overgrowth, and much more. A leaky Gut also taxes your adrenal glands which sets off another chain reaction of stress in your body.
How Do You know if you Have a Leaky Gut?
Symptoms of a leaky gut can be vague at best. Migraines, joint pain, muscle aches, digestive problems, irritability, foggy thinking, autoimmune complications, are a few symptoms that are associated with a leaky gut.
What to do?
There are several steps to take to heal the brush border. But the main steps are to:
1. Reduce the further blunting of the brush border by getting tested for food sensitivities. Get off the wrong foods and get on the right non offensive foods.
2. Test to see the condition of you mucosal barrier with a in home test kit. I recommend the #304 by Bio Health for more details.
3. Repair your brush border through supplementation (mucosal repair, pro-biotics, fish oil, etc). I can point you in the right direction.
4. Revive your gut health through a very dedicated approach to a Metabolic Typing Diet, and reduction in stress.
Although there are far more details in a Leaky Gut, I wanted to hit on some of the main points without getting down into the details. Get in touch with me if you want to learn more in depth about Leaky Gut or testing.
James
What is Leaky Gut Syndrome:
A leaky gut is when your brush border that lines your small intestine becomes weakened due to internal stress. Your brush border as the picture shows (think of it as shag carpeting) is your buffer between your intestinal wall and your general blood circulation. Another way to picture your brush border or what it does is to think of a screen door. A screen door allows air to pass through but limits bugs and unwanted particles from getting into your home. Same as your brush border. It allows good nutrients to go through into general circulation and keeps the bad things from entering. When chronic stress, reactive foods, parasites, poor gut health, and the like are prevalent the screen door essentially becomes weakened (think of holes in the screen door allowing bugs to come in).
Your brush border is made of many different parts. Two of the main parts are the villi and micro villi. These look like little fingers as shown in the diagram. These villi release enzymes such as lactase to breakdown lactose found in milk. They also release enzymes that breakdown sugars and much more. Ever wonder why you use to be able to have dairy then as you get older you can't tolerate it? Your villi and micro villi have lost the function to be able to break these compounds down.
The Process:
When we eat it sends a chain reaction signal throughout our digestive track. Our digestion starts in the mouth which then relays signals to our entire digestive track to start the process. If you eat calmly it sends one message, if you are eating under stress or in a rush it sends another signal telling our body how to react. Basically when we eat our food it goes through the stomach, large intestine being broken down by acid and enzymes which then gets into the small intestine for more breakdown of acid, bile, enzymes, etc. Proteins are broken down into amino acids, fats are broken down into free fatty acids and carbs are broken down into sugars. Once they are broken down the brush border allows them to pass through and go into general circulation to be processed by the body.
The Problem:
The problem arises when the proteins, fats, and carbs are suppose to be broken down. If your brush border is impaired and you have holes in your screen door (so to speak) full proteins, fats, and carbs can go into general circulation. Your body does not recognize these full forms and signals your immune system to attack them. With them in general circulation your immune system begins its attack as mentioned. The major problem that comes is that your immune system cannot differentiate between these foods your muscle tissue, and your joints because they look similar to your immune system. A leaky gut can and does lead to autoimmune diseases. It also creates an unpleasant environment in your small intestine increasing the chances of good and bad bacteria imbalance, parasite infestation, candida overgrowth, and much more. A leaky Gut also taxes your adrenal glands which sets off another chain reaction of stress in your body.
How Do You know if you Have a Leaky Gut?
Symptoms of a leaky gut can be vague at best. Migraines, joint pain, muscle aches, digestive problems, irritability, foggy thinking, autoimmune complications, are a few symptoms that are associated with a leaky gut.
What to do?
There are several steps to take to heal the brush border. But the main steps are to:
1. Reduce the further blunting of the brush border by getting tested for food sensitivities. Get off the wrong foods and get on the right non offensive foods.
2. Test to see the condition of you mucosal barrier with a in home test kit. I recommend the #304 by Bio Health for more details.
3. Repair your brush border through supplementation (mucosal repair, pro-biotics, fish oil, etc). I can point you in the right direction.
4. Revive your gut health through a very dedicated approach to a Metabolic Typing Diet, and reduction in stress.
Although there are far more details in a Leaky Gut, I wanted to hit on some of the main points without getting down into the details. Get in touch with me if you want to learn more in depth about Leaky Gut or testing.
James
