Leaky Gut: What Is It? How to Heal?

A dear acquaintance just revealed that he has inflammatory bowel disease. That together with the past week loaded with patients who suffer from symptoms of hyperpermeable gut suggests today's topic.

What Is Leaky Gut?

Leaky Gut Syndrome is a group of problems associated with increased intestinal permeability. This group is far ranging and includes:

- inflammatory and infectious bowel diseases
- food allergies and their accompanying triggered conditions such as irritable bowel, eczema and urticaria
- chronic inflammatory arthritis
- skin conditions like acne, psoriasis and dermatitis herpetiformis
- chronic fatigue
- chronic hepatitis
- pancreatitis and perhaps pancreatic cancer

Increased gut permeability or hyperpermeability is either a primary cause in the evolution of each condition, or may be a secondary result of it but then causes immune activation, liver dysfunction, and pancreatic insufficiency, creating a vicious cycle. Unless tested, the hyperpemeability often is unrecognized. We have safe, non-invasive, and inexpensive tests to check for this – the tests make it possible for clinicians to look for the presence of altered intestinal permeability in their patients and to assess objectively the efficacy of treatments.

There are four vicious cycles to leaky gut: allergy, malnutrition, dysbiosis and hepatic stress.

What Triggers Leaky Gut?

Leaky Gut is triggered by substances that damage the integrity of the intestinal mucosa, harming the binds between epithelial cells and increasing passive absorption. Here’s the list of bad players:
- Infectious (viral, bacterial, protozoa/parasites)
- Alcohol
- Stress, stress and more stress
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as advil or ibuprofen or their newer cousins
- Low oxygen in the bowel (such as after surgery or shock)
- Reactive oxygen metabolites (a.k.a., rust)
- Other drugs

How Can You Test?

Testing is relatively easy. You get a kit from an integrative lab or our office. You drink a lactulose/mannitol cocktail (volume depends on your test kit), which is made of innocuous sugars that are not metabolized by humans. Most normal people absorb 14% (range 5-25%) of mannitol but <1% style="font-weight: bold;">


How to Heal?

More on this later, but we have a new protocol that is a powerful, proven combination of nutrition, enzymes, permeability factors, antioxidants, fiber and probiotics. If you test positive for leaky gut, try the protocol for 3 months, then retest. We have been amazed by the healing and reversal in our patients. Both Dr. Charlotte Massey, ND and I are experienced with managing and reversing Leaky Gut. Call us for more information.