The term “leaky gut” is heard more frequently these days. Have you heard it? Do you know what it is? No, your intestines aren’t leaking into your abdominal cavity! Leaky gut is also termed intestinal permeability and it refers to the loosening of the tight junctions of the cells in our intestinal wall. Loose junctions allow partially undigested food particles to gain direct access to your bloodstream. Because they are only partially digested, they are not in the form that the body can use and recognizes and it sets off the intruder alert calling our immune system into action. What happens in the gut should stay in the gut! We can develop food sensitivities or allergies to foods we used to be able to enjoy without any reaction. Leaky gut can also lead to the development of a host of health issues.
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, was known to say “all disease starts in the gut”. The reason this is true is that we absorb the majority of our nutrients in the small intestine and if we are unable to properly absorb those nutrients, we start to see degradation of health. Additionally, 70% of our immune system is housed in our intestines. Not only do we need a proper balance of bacteria (probiotics), but chronic or underlying inflammation can cause an exaggerated immune response which potentially could lead to the development of autoimmune conditions. Inflammation occurs from exposure to toxins, foreign invaders and cell injury.
Improving your gut health will always leads to improved health overall…but how do you LOVE YOUR GUT? There is a four step process:
- REMOVE: (1) Any foods that you may react to especially gluten and dairy; (2) remove any pathogenic bacteria/fungus/parasites. There are tests we can run to determine what we are dealing with.
- REPLACE: Hydrochloric acid in the stomach for proper protein digestion and digestive enzymes to support the intestines and ensure you are breaking down your foods as completely as possible.
- REPAIR: Damaged tissues and heal tight junctions with nutrients like L-Glutamine, Aloe Vera, Collagen (bone broth best), Deglycyrrhized Licorice Root, N-Acetyl Glucosamine, Quercetin, and Zinc. We may also need to add antifungals dependent upon what comes back on your tests.
- REINOCULATE: Probiotics – these should have as many different strains of good bacteria as possible and the dose per serving should be in the BILLIONS.
