You may be familiar with this story. You walk into your allopathic general practitioner’s office with severe digestive problems, joint pain, emotional issues, insomnia, and more. You continuously get bloodwork done for everything from Lyme disease to hormone disorders, but the tests always turn out negative. You’re simply told to get your stress under control and sleep a bit more. Not super helpful.
There are countless testimonials of people taking their health into their own hands and discovering that a number of foods and lifestyle choices are leading to their symptoms. This is because they have a condition known as “leaky gut syndrome.”
Due to our country’s nutritionally depleted soils, use of round up and pesticides over the years, overly processed and modified foods, and more, many individuals have developed this condition. In this article, our integrative medical clinic shares the signs of leaky gut syndrome and what you can do about it.
What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?
Leaky gut, more specifically ‘intestinal hyperpermeability’ occurs when there is damage to the small intestine that leads to undigested food particles, toxic waste, and other large molecules leaking from the intestines into the blood stream. This can result in an autoimmune response from the body, meaning an inflammatory or allergic reaction such as:
Migraines
Irritable bowel syndrome
Eczema
Fatigue
Food sensitives
Rheumatoid arthritis
Skin issues
When you’re dealing with leaky gut, the cells in your intestines are unable to create the necessary enzymes to support the digestive process. This prevents your body from absorbing the necessary nutrients, leading to hormones imbalances and immune issues.
What Are the Causes of Leaky Gut
More often than not, leaky gut is caused by poor diet and chronic stress. Your body may view certain foods that you consume consistently as foreign invaders. Many people have issues with foods such as gluten, corn, soy, dairy, alcohol, and caffeine. Consuming these foods may put your body in defensive mode and lead to an array of undesirable symptoms. Also, if you are eating in a sympathetic state, your digestion will be impaired.
Leaky gut may additionally be caused by taking certain medications, including antibiotics, steroids, or even over-the-counter pain relievers.
These can all aggravate the intestinal wall, damaging the protective layers of the digestive tract and eventually leading to intestinal permeability.
Symptoms to Look Out For
You shouldn’t self-diagnose if you think you have leaky gut syndrome, as its symptoms can mimic those of other diseases. However, it is never a bad idea to make lifestyle changes that would support the healing of leaky gut.
Signs to look for:
Chronic diarrhea, constipation, gas, or bloating
Nutritional deficiencies
Weak immune system
Headaches, brain fog, memory loss
Excessive fatigue
Skin problems such as acne, eczema, or rosacea
Cravings for sugar or simple carbs
Arthritis or joint pain
Depression, anxiety, ADD, ADHD
Autoimmune issues like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, celiac disease, or Crohn’s
If you think you’re suffering from leaky gut syndrome, schedule an evaluation with Dr. Damon at Seed and Soil Wellness as soon as possible, so you can start healing!
Tips to Heal a Leaky Gut
The most effective way to begin healing your leaky gut is by changing your diet and getting rid of foods that your body perceives as toxic and reacts to with an inflammatory response. Unless you’ve taken a food sensitivity test and know exactly what your body does and doesn’t like, we recommend starting with the basics.
Cut out the following:
Gluten
Dairy
Soy
Refined Sugar
Caffeine
Alcohol
Corn
Refined Oils (Industrial Seed Oils)
If this feels too drastic, you can always cut out one at a time. Eliminating all of these foods at once will be more intense at the start but more effective and impactful. Additionally, you should add certain foods in to support your gut. Healthy fats such as ghee, coconut, butter, lard, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and flax oil are all restorative foods for your gut. A probiotic will help bring healthy bacteria back into your microbiome. Within a few months, you will likely feel like an entirely new person!
There are many other steps we can take to begin healing your leaky gut, but you will need a thorough evaluation to move in the right direction for your body. Schedule your appointment at Seed and Soil Wellness today!
Replenish Your Gut with Seed & Soil
Many healthcare providers don’t acknowledge leaky gut syndrome as a diagnosable condition. Healing your gut through the food you eat does nothing to help the pharmaceutical industry financially, so keep that in mind when selecting a healthcare provider.
Regardless of whether you are suffering from leaky gut or not, you can likely benefit from the recommended lifestyle changes. If you want to truly understand your health and the steps you need to take to heal, reach out to Seed and Soil Wellness!