5 reasons why you should care when your gut is leaking
Wait!?! What?? My gut is leaking? How? Yeah, you heard that right. “Leaky Gut Syndrome” is a thing. What does it mean, you ask? Let me try to explain this in simple terms. Our lining of the small intestines is made up by tight junctions that only let small particles through, such as broken down food, to enter the blood stream. In Leaky Gut Syndrome, also called Intestinal Permeability Syndrome, our lining becomes damaged by inflammatory substances or oxidative stress, which causes the tight junctions to widen and undigested food particles, toxic waste products and bacteria to leak through into the blood stream. The foreign substance can then evoke an autoimmune response in the body including inflammation, allergic reactions and much more. As a result of Leaky Gut, damaged cells in your intestines don't produce the enzymes needed for proper digestion. Therefore, your body is neither able to break down your food properly anymore nor can it absorb essential nutrients.
Ok but why should you care? Here are 5 reasons why I think you should care:
1. First of all, you don’t want anything to leak into your bloodstream that’s not supposed to be in there in the first place. Your liver will try and get rid of the incoming toxins, undigested food particles, allergens, pathogens and other waste products but over time will not be able to deal with the workload (sounds familiar?) and over time all these substances will accumulate in the body and cause more inflammation.
2. If you experience any of the following symptoms, raise your hand: digestive complaints (you know constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating…), headaches, brain fog, skin issues, fatigue, anxiety, depression, joint pain, sugar cravings, food allergies or sensitivities… the list goes on. Chances are that you raised your hand which puts you at a greater risk of having or developing Leaky Gut. Fact is that many people don’t even know that they are dealing with Leaky Gut until it leads to many other health problems.
3. Speaking of which. Studies show that Leaky Gut can lead to chronic disease. Crohn’s Disease, adrenal gland concerns like Hashimoto’s, and other autoimmune diseases that include fibromyalgia, lupus, and multiple sclerosis may develop when increased intestinal permeability gets worse. If you have already been diagnosed with Leaky Gut or suspect you may have it, focusing on healing the gut and reversing your symptoms is your best bet for it not developing into an autoimmune disease or other chronic conditions.
4. Common triggers are often traced back to our Western modern life: foods high in refined sugars and oils, highly processed and inflammatory foods, preservatives and other additives, not enough fruits and vegetables, certain medications and stress, may it be emotional, mental or physical. However, other specific digestive concerns, such as Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), candida overgrowth or parasites can also play a role in Leaky Gut.
5. You may say “ok, I’ll just take some probiotics then, that’s good for my gut, right?” Well, yes but here is the deal. If we keep bombarding our body with substances that are toxic and harmful to the body, it won’t be able to heal itself. It’s like a wound trying to heal itself. If you continue to poke around in an open wound, it will never get the chance to heal. Imagine your microbiome (all your wonderful bacteria in the gut) like a beautiful garden with lots of plants and flowers (these are the good guys) and some weeds (these are the bad guys). To keep your garden alive and healthy, you not only need to nourish your garden with seeds that turn into beautiful flowers but also make sure that weeds do not take over your garden. Knowing that will help in long term healing.
When in doubt, heal the gut…
It’s important to understand that these symptoms, as the ones mentioned above, are not normal. If left untreated, you may be dealing with more serious health problems in the near future. Wherever you are on the spectrum, it is always good to start taking care of these weeds and nourishing the flowers in your garden.
If you want to learn more about leaky gut and how to support your microbiome, please drop me a line at hello@cabbageandbeets.com!
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