All this talk about Gut Health and curious if you might be one of the many individuals struggling with it? Some key terms you might have heard being discussed are “Dysbiosis” or “Leaky Gut” and the hosts of symptoms that come along with it.
So let’s dive in on exactly what these hot topics of health are referring to and how they can be handled holistically!
What is Leaky Gut?
“Leaky Gut” refers to increased permeability in our digestive tract. This occurs when there is loosening of the tight junctions between the cells that line the small intestine making it more permeable or ‘leaky.’ This can allow unwanted particles through into the bloodstream.
How do you think our body responds to that?
Symptoms show up differently in every patient, but we understand it can affect multiple areas of the body:
- Digestive: bloating, constipation, diarrhea
- Skin: eczema, acne, rashes
- Neurological: brain fog, headache, fatigue
- Musculoskeletal: joint discomfort
- Immune: autoimmune diseases
What Causes Leaky Gut?
- Diet: Let us reflect on the idea that our gut lining is exposed to everything we swallow. This might include your medications, alcohol, unclean drinking water, and of course our highly inflammatory Western diet.
- Stress and Sleep: Chronic stress- an increasingly common issue for people nowadays- reduces digestive enzymes needed to properly break down food, injuring our gut as a result. Poor sleep contributes to this stress and gut dysbiosis.
- Dysbiosis: Intestinal dysbiosis is the microbial imbalance of the gut. There will be too many harmful bacteria and too few beneficial bacteria. This is of concern since good bacteria play a role in the immune mechanisms of the gut. Dysbiosis also increases the production of a protein, zonulin, that regulates the opening of the tight junctions between the intestinal cells- “leaky gut.”
- Environment: When we are exposed to environmental toxins such as heavy metals, pesticides, smoke, and chemicals, this increases inflammation and oxidative stress. A healthy gut helps defend against these factors, but when these toxins increase, the gut is disrupted and becomes leaky
How Do I Get Diagnosed? Functional Testing
Tests such as mucosal barrier assessments, stool analyses, and food sensitivity panels can help us identify the extent of gut anatomy dysfunction, the gut flora profile, and specific food triggers that are contributing to inflammation and permeability. These functional tests help practitioners create protocols tailored to the patient for more effective healing and a better understanding for everyone! Partnering with a Functional Practitioner if you are experiencing symptoms that may be pointing towards negative gut health could be of great benefit to your overall health and happiness.
Our staff member, Camille Fishell, has completed a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Certification to come alongside patients struggling with disease and coach them back to balance. If you are interested in completing the functional gut health labs-Mucosal Barrier Assessment, Stool Analysis, and Food sensitivity panel- she can go over these results and help identify healing opportunities and underlying causes of some of your health complaints.
How to Help Support a Leaky Gut:
Fortunately, there are strategies that can be implemented to support a leaky gut and improve overall health.
We like to follow the ‘5 R’ approach:
Remove
food intolerances and sensitivities as well as inflammatory foods such as artificial additives, refined sugars, and seed oils
Replace
or support our digestion through increasing pancreatic enzymes, bile acids, or hydrochloric acid (HCl) levels.
Reinoculate
or replenish good bacteria in our gut. This is where probiotics are useful! (Hint* switching up your probiotic every 6 months will create more diversity in your beneficial bacteria- giving you better results!)
Repair
the intestinal lining by increasing the supporting nutrients such as collagen, L-gluamine, and colostrum. When diet alone isn’t able to meet your nutritional requirements, then high-quality nutritional supplements can be helpful!
Rebalance
in order to keep the gut healthy long-term. Lifestyle changes with an emphasis on regular stress reduction are key! This can include implementing an anti-inflammatory diet with variety, getting at least 8 hours of sleep every night, moving your body daily, reducing NSAID use, and implementing more self-care practices.
SUPPLEMENTS TO SUPPORT!
- L GLUTAMINE
- GLUTASHIELD
- GI REVIVE
- ORTHODIGESTZYME
- OPTIZYME
- PROBIOTIC DAILY SUPPORT
- OTHOBIOTIC
- ENTEROBIOTIC S-IGC AND SBO