WHAT IS A LEAKY GUT?
Leaky gut is not exactly what the name may imply. Some hear this term and get a visual of their guts leaking out of their bodies. Leaky gut is the condition in where your small intestine begins to form small tears and holes in its lining. These holes and tears allow food particles, toxins and other harmful, undigested matter to slip through the protective layer of the gut and enter the bloodstream.
HOW DO YOU GET A LEAKY GUT?
Leaky gut occurs over time when chronic inflammation disrupts the integrity of the intestinal wall. Inflammation is caused by poor diet, dehydration, alcohol, exposure to toxins, chemical pollutants, medications, NSAIDs, antacids, unknown/undiagnosed allergies and food intolerances.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF LEAKY GUT?
The symptoms of leaky gut include chronic digestive issues (constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating), chronic fatigue, skin problems (rashes, bad acne, rosacea), yeast infections, diagnosed food allergies or intolerances, chronic headaches or migraines, hormonal imbalances, and so on. More than 75% of your immune system resides in the gut, so when it becomes compromised, there is a good chance of developing an autoimmune disorder or disease.
5 STEPS TO HEAL LEAKY GUT:
DIET
Diet is the first step in healing leaky gut, and should always come before anything else. This is because inflammatory foods are the leading cause of leaky gut. I usually get clients to go on a rotation diet and also couple this with paleo foods which is perfect as it eliminates nearly all inflammatory foods, which also simultaneously eliminates potential allergens as well. The main things to watch out for are gluten, grains, dairy, hydrogenated oils and sugar. But it’s important to remove other things such as dairy, soy, nightshades and GMO’s to be sure those are not conflicting allergens causing inflammation and leaky gut.
HYDRATION
Drinking enough water is critical to every system of the body. However, it’s not just how much water you drink but the quality of water you are drinking. Choose waters that have a total dissolved solids score of 300 ppm (parts per million) or more. These hard waters have higher mineral contents such as magnesium, potassium, and calcium. The higher content of minerals, the more your body will absorb the water. Ever notice that the more you drink, the more you find yourself visiting the bathroom? This is because you are not absorbing the water. So essentially you may be drinking a lot of water but still be dehydrated! Get a good filtration system at home, avoid drinking out of plastic bottles and look for the TDS score (total dissolved solids) usually marked on the bottom or side of the label. Mineral water and Artesian water is best! I know this sounds a lot, I usually use a glass bottle and add a pinch of himalayan salt to increase mineral content.
MOVEMENT
Without movement, there is no circulation and without circulation there is no elimination. Toxins get trapped in the body and inflammation builds up. So get moving! How you move depends on you, however. The best ways to use movement and exercise for healing are tai chi, yoga, Zone exercises (targeted breathing exercises that build strength), walking, hiking, and/or swimming! If you are still suffering from a thyroid disorder, inflammation or joint pain,it is very important to avoid high intensity workouts and exercises. The same holds true if you have been told you need to reduce your stress load. The more stress you put on your body, the worse your condition may become. For example, if you struggle with hypothyroid, have tapped adrenals and live a stressful lifestyle, then it is a very bad idea to sign up for a half marathon. Even if your fitness level is already advanced, think of this as starting over. You may see your body and easily feel your abilities with muscle and movement, but what you can’t see or feel is how your glandular system is struggling to recover and subsequently stealing energy and vitals from your organ system. If you really love running or weight training, choose only one or two days a week to do it and limit it to 30 minutes per workout. High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a good way to get an intense workout doing your favourite activities without taxing the body.
BREATHING
The way you breathe has substantial effects on your body, such as aiding digestion, increasing circulation, improving sleep quality, and reducing your levels of stress. It can help you focus and also perform better in any activity, sport or exercise. It’s very likely that you may not be breathing correctly. Most people stop breathing properly in childhood! This is due to poor posture (sitting all day, lack of exercise, tv’s and video games), stress or trauma to the body and poor diet. Yes, poor diet! When you do not eat well, your digestion slows down due to inflammation. The inflammation can cause irregular bowel movements which can cause pain and alter your posture, thus limiting diaphragmatic activation. It’s all a vicious cycle! So ask yourself, does your belly rise before your ribs expand during inhalation? If not, begin practising proper breathing techniques right away. Now think about this: every vital organ of the body is located ….where?….In the core (torso). Your digestive system is located...where? Now, where do the mechanics of breathing occur? In the core also. So if our breathing mechanics are wrong, what do you think that does to our vital organs and our digestion? It constricts them, traps them, limits circulation to and from them.
SUPPLEMENTATION
Supplements can help to heal leaky gut and are a great aid in improving digestion, but they should only be added when you have included and practised the first four steps. Supplements can be a huge waste of money and forethought if your diet is not dialled in, movement and exercises are not consistent and/or appropriate for your needs and lifestyle, and hydration? If you are dehydrated, then you certainly will not be absorbing these supplements either. So once you have a good plan going for diet, movement, hydration and breathing, there are some good supplements to help heal the gut. Great places to start are quality digestive enzymes, l-glutamine to help heal the lining of the gut, sachromyces bouldari to help kill off candida and yeast promoting bacteria. Also, think of food as a supplement! Many foods are better than others in healing the gut. Those include fermented foods, such as sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar, lemons (add to your water), and bone broth. Those should be two big staples in your diet!
1.BITTERS
Digestion starts in the mouth. We have enzymes in our saliva that help to break down sugars in the foods we eat. This is why you need to chew your food to begin the process of digestion. Once food passes through the esophagus and into the stomach, the acidic environment of the stomach churns, and further breaks down the proteins in food. However, most people have chronically low stomach acid. The stomach needs to be very acidic, 1.5-3.0 on the PH scale.
Do you feel like food is just sitting in your stomach? Are you “turned off” by eating meat? Do you get bloated after meals? Struggling with acid reflux? These are all signs of low stomach acid. If undigested food is passing through the stomach due to low stomach acid, this can lead to more digestive trouble in the intestines.
The first supplement I recommend for people struggling with low stomach acid is called bitters. What are bitters? Bitters is a tincture that tastes bitter in flavour. Bitters are associated with healthy digestion. Our ancestors consumed bitter tasting foods all the time: dandelion greens, bitter roots, bark. In fact, most wild foods do have some bitterness to them. Nowadays we consume mostly sweet and savoury foods. Due to the high consumption of processed foods, we are not regularly getting “bitterness” in our diet. Bitters stimulate the flow of saliva, therefore more enzymes to break down food. Bitters also stimulate the production of digestive juices, including HCL (stomach acid). One dropper of bitters on the tongue before meals tells your body to wake up! and get ready to digest food. Therefore, I recommend bitters to my clients before even introducing HCL (stomach acid) supplements.
2.DIGESTIVE ENZYMES
When dealing with food sensitivities and intolerances associated with leaky gut, the best thing to do is to remove the offending foods (grains, dairy, and soy being top offenders). However, we also want to give our digestion a break, and help with some intestinal healing. This is where digestive enzymes come into play! Digestive enzymes taken with meals helps to break down food more thoroughly, and play a proactive role in healing leaky gut associated with Autoimmune Disease. Digestive enzymes begin to work in the stomach, and continue to break down food in the small intestines. This is critical, as undigested proteins can easily pass through the small intestines when the gut is leaky. The small intestines do produce some enzymes. However, anything that disrupts the small intestines, also disrupts the production of enzymes. If you are struggling with leaky gut and inflammation, you are likely not producing enough enzymes to thoroughly digest foods. Therefore taking digestive enzymes with every meal, will allow your small intestines to begin healing and absorbing more nutrients from the foods you are consuming. The enzymes will work synergistically with your own enzymes, and healing can begin.
3. L-GLUTAMINE
When you get further down in the digestive process, small intestinal healing is necessary for nutrient absorption, and decreased inflammation associated with Autoimmunity. L-Glutamine is an essential amino acid for leaky gut, and small intestinal repair. L-glutamine “heals and seals” the hyper permeable junctions in the small intestines, and helps to develop a protective layer of mucous as well. It is a great supplement for repairing gut damage. However, l-glutamine does not work overnight, so it is an important supplement to be on it for the long term. One bonus? L-glutamine also helps with sugar cravings when switching to a caveman/woman lifestyle! I recommend my clients take 1 tsp dissolved in water on an empty stomach, 2-3 times per day.