Leaky Gut
What is leaky gut?
Your digestive tract, starting with your mouth and proceeding to the stomach, small intestine,and then on to the large intestine is where food is broken down into small nutrients that are absorbed by the body.
You can think of the mucosal lining of your small intestine as a living filter that works much like a cheesecloth. Allowing only very small particles to be absorbed. The small pores where nutrient particles are absorbed are called tight junctions.
Sometimes these tight junctions get damaged and then resemble something more like a screen door with much larger pores. These larger pores now allow undigested food and sometimes bacteria and viruses to be absorbed.
These larger undigested food particles are viewed by the body as a foreign invader and are attacked by the body's immune system. When this scenario continues over time your immune system becomes fatigued.
A few common symptoms seen with leaky gut include:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
- Fibromyalgia
- Food Sensitivities
- Thyroid problems
Some of the causes of leaky gut are things that damage the tight junctions.
A few of these include:
- Stress
- Excessive Sugar
- Excessive Alcohol
- Nutrient Deficiencies
- Inflammation
- Yeast Infections
- Bacterial Infections
- Viral Infections
A few diseases associated with Leaky Gut include:
- Diabetes
- IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)
- Chrons Disease
- Celiac Disease
We can help you find out if you have Leaky Gut and we can help you repair the tight junctions to resolve your leaky gut problem rather than just treat the symptoms.
