Has someone you’ve known been experiencing symptoms of diarrhea, constipation, headaches, fatigue and joint pain, and the underlying root cause has not been diagnosed? Then they may have a syndrome, or a condition, called leaky gut or ‘increased intestinal permeability’. Leaky gut is a condition which develops small holes and cracks in the lining of intestines, allowing the bacteria and toxins to enter into the bloodstream [1].

My goal with this article is to give you an overview of leaky gut. This overview will introduce the leaky gut and will explore some of the health problems that can be caused by this condition. 

I persistently get the following different questions about leaky gut in my practice:

1. “What is leaky gut?”
2. “Do I have a leaky gut?”
3. “I think I have a leaky gut but really what is it and how do I know I have it?”

Introduction: Overview of the Series of Articles on Leaky Gut:

I’m going to write a series of articles to breakdown different areas in order to answer all the questions about leaky gut. Half of my clients that consult me have already done research and they really feel that the signs and symptoms that they’ve been dealing with are rooted in leaky gut. Whereas, the other half may have just been referred to me and they’re coming in and saying “I don’t know, tell me! I need to know because these signs and symptoms have to go”. Leaky gut in itself, as the name portrays, is a leaking gut. So, what’s leaking and where is it going and why does it cause problems? These are the key questions this article will answer.

 

The Gastrointestinal (GI) Lining and the Leaky Gut:

You might have already guessed that leaky gut has to do with your intestinal tract. Your gastrointestinal (GI) tract starts from your mouth and goes all the way through. However, what we’re going to focus on is just the stomach region. This is the region, the small and large intestine, where your microbiome – gut bacteria is housed [2]. 

When you look at your GI tract in general, it has layers of lining, which forms a barrier. It has a mucosal layer, which is covered with villi; it has another layer housing probiotics or your microbiome [3]. All of these layers are layers of defense which are acting as a barrier for your bloodstream [4]. These layers each serve a different purpose and there are multiple purposes. We, in general, want the GI to be semi permeable allowing certain elements to pass through into our bloodstream [5]. We want vitamins and minerals to go through, we want water to go through, we want all the good stuff to go through. We want our bloodstream to carry these important elements out to the different organs of the body. 

However, the problem starts when our GI lining ends up being classified as leaky gut. This is when those defense mechanisms get contaminated by what gets taken into your body [6]. These contaminants can be taken in from synthetic supplements you take, water you drink, air you breathe and junk food that you eat. The body is not designed to digest these foreign particles as they are not natural to the body; it doesn’t know how to get rid of them from the system [7]. Furthermore, if you do not have sufficient fiber and clean water in your diet to help with the digestion process [8], the GI system finds it hard to get rid of these substances.

The undigested particles have weight. As they move down the gut, they can essentially develop holes in the GI lining. This is one of the ways leaky gut is developed. I’m going to have another article in which I will lay out multiple ways that leaky gut can be caused. For instance, systematic inflammation can also cause leaky gut [9]. 

 

Problems Associated with Leaky Gut:

When leaky gut develops, it causes multitude of problems. The defense mechanisms are broken down and foreign particles and toxins are able to get through the GI lining into the bloodstream [10]. 

I will explain with the example of skin, which too is semipermeable [11]. The skin is your first line of defense against the foreign particles in the outside world [12]. It allows essential vitamins to pass through into the body. For instance, if you’re using a lotion with a lot of vitamin E, the vitamin E goes into the body and you’re going to have an elevated level of vitamin E. On the contrary, your skin stops larger particles, pollutants and smoke from getting into the body. 

Conversely, when skin gets a cut which is not taken care of, you can get an infection. It carries unwanted and undesirable foreign particles into the bloodstream [13]. 

Leaky gut situation is quite similar. There is a factor that is causing distress to the GI.  The factors may range from inflammation to anxiety or stress [14]. These factors break down the line of defense which then lets particles that you normally do not want in your bloodstream to pass through to your bloodstream [15]. This results in a number of different illnesses, ailments, infections [15].

The bloodstream takes those unwanted particles to different parts of the body. The underlying immune system tries to protect you in multiple different ways, causing various symptoms. Therefore, your overall health really comes down to the health of your gut [16]. These lines of defense can make or break your health.

 

Conclusion:

Have you ever been through a lot of gut pain or a lot of inflammation? 

If you have had such problems, there are chances that you have Leaky Gut. If you have been wondering what leaky gut is, what are the lines of defense for your bloodstream and how the health is affected if those lines of defense are breached, then this overview of leaky gut should have given you a basic idea. 

The good news is, leaky gut can be reversed and it can be built back and restore your health. If you want to learn more about leaky gut, follow my social media where you can ask questions; or set up a free 15 min exploration call through calendly.