I gave a talk on GUT Health at Coco Wealth of Health last week and it was so nice to have a enthusiastic audience. As a follow on, I thought I’d do a few blog entries on ‘leaky gut’. If you are saying ‘Leaking WHAT’, then you are in the right place and keep reading ….
Leaky gut, also known as increased intestinal permeability, is a digestive condition in which bacteria and toxins are able to “leak” through the small intestinal wall. There is quite a bit of scientific evidence that leaky gut does exist and may be associated with multiple health problems.
You can think of the digestive system as a barrier to the outside world. When we eat something, we chew, then down along the oesophagus into our stomach where its churned around, next stop our small intestines. The walls of the small intestine act as barriers, controlling what enters the bloodstream to be transported to your organs. There are small gaps in the intestinal wall called tight junctions which allow water and nutrients to pass through, while blocking the passage of harmful substances. Intestinal permeability refers to how easily substances pass through the intestinal wall.
When the tight junctions of intestinal walls become loose, the gut becomes more permeable, which may allow bacteria and toxins to pass from the gut into the bloodstream. This phenomenon is commonly referred to as “leaky gut.” This can can cause widespread inflammation and possibly trigger a reaction from the immune system. Some symptoms of leaky gut syndrome include bloating, food sensitivities, fatigue, digestive issues and skin problems
Medical professionals are still trying to determine what causes leaky gut syndrome. An unhealthy diet, long-term NSAID use, stress and chronic inflammation are some factors that are believed to contribute to it.
Leaky gut syndrome is not an official medical diagnosis. Nevertheless, there are steps you can take to improve your gut health. In the next few blog posts I will go over some of the top foods that help the body heal and seal a leaky gut. Food is medicine and we can use various foods to heal leaky gut.
It is important to know that everyone is different and may respond in their own unique way to the various foods listed. What is one man’s medicine can be another individual’s poison. If you see unwanted symptoms, than stop eating that particular food.
Tomorrow join me as I talk about about Bone Broth
