Section 1 of a 2 Part Series
When it all works properly, your gut is the keystone of health. When it breaks down, watch out!
What’s A Leaky Gut Got To Do With It?
Your gut is designed sort of like a scrunched up shag carpet. The carpet’s individual shags are covered with small protrusions called villi. These are topped with lots of microvilli, something like frizzies on the carpet shags. Inside each shag is a system of capillaries ready to transport nutrients the villi and microvilli grab and absorb.
The spaces between the shags are held tightly together by spanning and anchoring proteins, working together to uphold the integrity of the tight junctions. They prevent unwanted material from passing through—unless the system breaks down allowing the junctions to widen.
For more information about how a leaky gut works—or doesn’t work—read the related article, The Disease Your Health Care Provider Doesn’t See, on this website.
Signs Of A Leaky Gut
If you’re reading this because you’re thinking you have a leaky gut, you might also be wondering how you can know. There are a couple of tests for leaky gut.
The table below gives some common indicators. A few signs might point to the onset of leaky gut. If several signs are present, a leaky gut is likely indicated. Consulting a health care professional, who is knowledgeable about leaky gut, is a good idea
Signs You Could Have A Leaky Gut
Gut
- Bloating
- Gas/Flatulence
- Loose stools
- Constipation/Diarrhea
Mood and Brain
- Depression/Increased Level
- Anxiety
- Erratic Mood
- Difficulty Concentrating
- Feeling Foggy
- Forgetfulness
Other
- Fatigue, Low Energy
- Inflammation/Aching
- Food/Other Allergies
- Can’t Lose Weight
- Sudden/Growing Intolerance To Some Foods
- Candida Overgrowth
- Skin Eruptions
- Weak Immune System
- Dry, Brittle Hair & Nails
- Pale, Soft, Oily Stool
Ignoring A Leaky Gut Is Hazardous To Your Health
Left untreated, leaky gut could lead to serious health issues including:
More Than Treating Symptoms
Restoring a leaky gut requires lifestyle changes along with providing gastrointestinal support.
Our Leaky Gut Defense works in concert with a total wellness program that includes all the following.
- An elimination diet (also called exclusion diet)
- An alkalizing, whole food eating plan
- Gastrointestinal support
- Reducing stress
- Allowing time to heal
Goals Of The Elimination Diet
The elimination diet serves two vital purposes:
1) To identify which foods contribute to your leaky gut
2) To create the healing environment your body needs by removing offenders
There are lots of elimination diets, and it can get a little confusing. Different diet sources might seem to contradict one another. And, some people react to foods that don’t bother others.
Continue on! Click to read part 2 of this series:
Learn the 3 categories of elimination diets, and more on the total wellness program.
Legal Disclaimer
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Pure Therapeutics products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease*
Sources::
Multiple Sclerosis Journals. Joscelyn, J; Kasper, LH. (2014, July, Vol: 20 issue: 12, pp. 1553-1559). Digesting the Emerging Role for the Gut Microbiome in Centeral Nervous System Demyelination..
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1352458514541579
Wikipedia. (2017, July). Intestinal Villus.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intestinal_villus
Huffington Post. Chen, J., MD. (2013, June). Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice (DGL): Gut Benefits and Beyond
www.huffingtonpost.com/julie-chen-md/dgl-supplements_b_2976260.html
University of Wisconsin Integrative Medicine. Dept of Fam Medicine. Handout. Elimination Diet.
fammed.wisc.edu/files/webfm-uploads/documents/outreach/im/handout_elimination_diet_patient.pdf
WebMD. Reviewer: Robinson, J., MD. (2015, October). Food Allergies and Food Intolerance; Reviewer: Robinson, J., MD. (2016, November). What’s an Elimination Diet?.
webmd.com
Wikipedia. (2017, June). Food Allergy.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_allergy
Journal of Environmental and Public Health. Schwalfenberg, GK, Univ. of Alberta. (Vol. 2012, Article ID 727630). The Alkaline Diet: Is There Evidence That an Alkaline pH Diet Benefits Health?
hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2012/727630/
Journal of Renal Nutrition. Passey, C. (2017, May. Vol 27, Issue 3, pp 151–160. Reducing the Dietary Acid Load: How a More Alkaline Diet Benefits Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease.
jrnjournal.org/article/S1051-2276(16)30188-1/fulltext#sec12.1
National Center for Biotechnology: US Nat’l Library of Medicine. Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. Kelly, JR, et. al. (2015, October). Breaking Down The Barriers: The gut microbiome, intestinal permeability and stress-related psychiatric disorders.
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4604320/