What Is Leaky Gut?

Gut Health

By Mel Bateson

The first time I heard the term Leaky Gut, I had images. They involved watery brown stuff, and a bum. Both gross and funny, I thought I had best educate myself here, if for no other reason than I did not want my juvenile brain to be correct.

A leaky gut – officially termed intestinal hyperpermeability – occurs when there are leaky junctions instead of tight ones in the intestines. The gaps between the cells lining within the intestine get ever so slightly wider. These small increases in gap size result in a much broader range of compounds – from partially digested food (think strands of five or ten pearls), to microbes and toxins – being able to pass through the gut wall (dry retching, yet?). This then puts the immune system on red alert, as it identifies these larger molecules as invaders, resulting in an inflammatory response.

Inflammation is important – it aids in the healing of damaged tissue. When we have leaky gut, however, inflammation becomes chronic and results in tissue damage. Having a leaky gut means you may potentially end up with inflammation in any part of your body, depending on your personal and family history, your environment and your genetics.

You may get inflammation in your big toe (gout), it could be in your fingers (arthritis), it could be in your brain (depression or dementia) or it could be the trigger for an autoimmune cascade, resulting in conditions such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (an underactive and/or overactive thyroid), multiple sclerosis, diabetes, lupus, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and more. Migraines and seasonal allergies such as hayfever are commonly linked to leaky gut, and syndromes such as chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia are also believed to involve a leaky gut. Bloomin’ HECK, that’s a whole lot of discomfort that we have the absolute power to avoid and heal!

Potential Signs And Symptoms Of A Leaky Gut:

Allergies, including hayfever
Asthma
Bloating
Brain fog
Burping
Chronic or recurrent headaches
Constipation, diarrhoea, or alternating between the two
Difficulty gaining weight
Difficulty losing weight
Fatty liver
Fluid retention
Food intolerances
Gas
Heartburn/reflux
Hives
Increased visceral (abdominal) fat
Joint pain
Migraine
Muscle pain
Period pain
Skin rashes

Research tells us that gluten causes the cells lining the gut wall to release an enzyme called zonulin, which breaks apart tight junctions, thus making a gut leaky. As a result, gluten is now considered a ‘gateway allergen’, as it opens up the immune system to overactivity from foreign particles entering the bloodstream. Zonulin also increases blood-brain barrier permeability, allowing otherwise denied particles to enter into the brain’s blood supply, which is clearly not ideal for optimum brain function.

How To Diagnose A Leaky Gut?

The Lactulose and Mannitol Challenge for Intestinal Permeability, which really rolls off the tongue, said no one ever, is the basic test to determine if leaky gut is present. One urine specimen is taken from a 6-hour urine collection after an individual consumes a solution of the sugars lactulose and mannitol. The metabolites in the urine indicate the permeability of the gut wall. In layman’s terms, you get to drink sugar and alcohol to see if your intestines leak. Frankly, I’m thinking that convincing a person to take this test would be somewhat easier than say, running the case for a colonoscopy. This is a win, win scenario!

That said, if you have any food sensitivities (as determined by blood testing) or dysbiosis (determined by stool testing), it’s highly likely that you have a leaky gut. Practitioners typically recommend using stool testing, as it indicates what needs to be done to help repair the gut, whereas the urine test is limited to telling you there is problem, without providing clues for a solution.

So How Do You Get A “Get Leaky Guy”?

Several factors cause increased permeability of the gut wall, including:

Stress
Lack of sleep
Some medications
Toxins
Giardia infections
Coeliac disease
Inflammatory bowel disease.

When it comes to diet, foods that are particularly high in starches, especially processed ones, and sugars can disrupt our gut bugs. When our gut flora is out of balance, the protection normally provided by gut bugs is compromised, and as such the integrity of the gut wall may be breached.

What Damages Our Gut Bacteria?

Poor digestive health of your mother
How we are birthed
Whether we are breastfed or not
Soy or cow’s milk fed at birth instead of breast milk
Germ phobia i.e. lack of exposure to animals, and the overuse of hand sanitizers and antibacterial soaps
Antibiotics
Aspirin
Antacids
Painkillers
Laxatives
NSAIDS, BCP and other drugs
Laxatives
Progesterone
TNF inhibitors
Rupatadine (anti-histamine)
Meat products containing antibiotics and growth hormones
Wheat and gluten – intensely genetically modified and crossbred in the last 40 years, significant changes in amino acids and gliadin protein, creates inflammation and damage.
Food intolerances to gluten, dairy, eggs and grains
Sugar
An overabundance of carbohydrates

Sugar and processed food are not only terrible for your energy and brain function, they also feed non-beneficial microbes in your gut, causing bacterial overgrowth. Limit sweets to more natural options like beautiful berries, as these are low-sugar, and be mindful of how many starchy carbs you’re eating in a day