What is Leaky Gut?
If you have had ongoing stomach and intestinal issues, you may have heard your doctor or someone online mention leaky gut. You probably think – “no way that sounds gross! I don’t have a leaky gut!”
The Issue
Leaky gut is caused by pores of your intestinal lining. Overtime, with strain and other issues like diet, your intestinal tract can become more porous. This means that the tiny pores throughout the lining are now becoming more open allowing waste and toxins to leak. This is referred to medically as Hyperpermeable Intestines or leaky gut.
Immune System Issues
One of the first things that may clue you to have leaky gut issues is your immune system. You may get sick more often, have bowel issues, or have ongoing issues with digestion. This is because of how your intestines work. The lining actually provides a barrier to keep your immune system safe from toxins as they exit the body. If the toxins are leaking out of the now porous areas of the lining, then you are leaching that fluid into your system. It is coming in contact with your immune system and causing you to be ill more often with reduced chances of getting better or moving on from the illness itself.
Foods Are Not the Cause
You may be under the misconception that it is the foods you are eating that are causing all the intestinal problems and leakage. The truth is that isn’t the case at all. The foods are simply leaking out. If you are thinking about diet change then know that the diet changes you can make to improve the issues are simply to maintain what is leaking in your system from being more harmful and to give a more gentle food to your intestinal tract. Food can help, but it wasn’t too many fatty or acid based foods that caused leaky gut.
Inflamed Bowel Syndrome
One of the first signs that you have leaky gut is inflammation in the bowel. This inflammation can first be misdiagnosed as a symptom of Crohn’s Disease. You will notice that you are having some pain in your bowels, sensitivity to the area, and overall pain and discomfort. If you are having this symptom it is a sign that something is wrong, regardless of it being leaky gut or not. If it is related to leaky gut you will have other symptoms alongside this and all of them are due to the leaking of the toxins into your system causing havoc on the rest of your body.
Increased Food Sensitivity
Everyone has some type of food sensitivity. They may not like hot foods, overly spicy foods, certain flavors, and certain textures. This becomes a sign of leaky gut when you start noticing it isn’t just your personal likes and dislikes and it is overall affecting your body as a whole. You may start noticing that pizza, for example, is irritating your stomach to a drastic level. That means you may be having adverse bowel issues such as constipation lasting more than one day or you may feel like bile is building up from it more than normal. These are signs that something is not processing right with your intestines and could be related to leaky gut issues.
Malabsorption
If you take supplements or vitamins daily and you have noticed that you are not getting the same benefit or feeling from them, this could be a sign of leaky gut. What this means is that the vitamins and supplements you are taking are actually not being processed properly and are leaking out with the toxins. Your body isn’t being given the chance to absorb them properly and therefore it may seem like you need to take more or change brands. When you do this often, you may start thinking they aren’t working anymore. This is usually referred to as malabsorption and is directly related to leaky gut.
If this sounds like what you are going through, consider contacting your physician to find out more and to see what can be done about your overall situation.