What is Leaky Gut Syndrome
Leaky gut is an incredibly common condition that is often a driving factor behind many other conditions including, allergies, autoimmune disease, hormonal disruption and weight problems to name a few. The term ‘Leaky gut’ means that the membranes of the digestive tract become open and porous, which lets undigested food, toxins and bacteria pass into the system.
This causes significant irritation to the immune system which is always on alert in this area to protect the body. Another common feature of leaky gut is dysbiosis, or the overgrowth of ‘bad’ bacteria in the digestive tract. Bacteria can give off toxins and chemicals which cause the membranes of the digestive tract to become more porous in the first place.
This causes significant irritation to the immune system which is always on alert in this area to protect the body. Another common feature of leaky gut is dysbiosis, or the overgrowth of ‘bad’ bacteria in the digestive tract. Bacteria can give off toxins and chemicals which cause the membranes of the digestive tract to become more porous in the first place.
Symptoms
Best described when the lining of your Gut becomes red and inflamed, which leads to the formation of small holes in the intestine, allowing wastes, toxins and nutrients to escape from the gut and then enters the blood stream causing symptoms such as
- Excess gas
- Bloating
- Food sensitivities
- Diarrhoea/ constipation
- Burping/ reflux
- Skin disorders
- Weakened immune system
- Candida
- Urinary Tract Infection
What causes Leaky Gut?
- Stress
- Diet
- Lifestyle
- Alcohol/ smoking
- Lack of exercise / excessive exercise
- Illness or infection like a gut bug or parasite
- Toxin overload
- Overuse or misuse of medications
- Recurrent Antibiotic use
- Chronic stress
- Chronic Fatigue
- Food Allergies/Sensitivities
- Joint Pain
- Imbalanced gut bacteria
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Medications: antibiotics, Oral Contraceptive Pill, Steroids, Chemotherapy (to name a few)
Other diseases associated with Leaky Gut.
- Crohn’s disease
- Ulcerative colitis, ulcers
- Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
- Dysbiosis (imbalance of microbes/bacteria)
- Compromised microbiome (gut environment)
- Celiac disease
- Autoimmine Disease
- Dysbiosis
- Fibromyalgia
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Food allergies
- All Autoimmune disease – Psoriasis, hypothyroidism (Hashimoto disease), hyperthyroidism (Graves disease), metabolic syndrome, diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS), Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus), Rheumatoid arthritis. Up to 80 autoimmune conditions.
- Pain and inflammation.
- Lectins and lipo-polysaccharides.