Our bodies are truly magnificent things. It does wondrous things everyday like fight sickness causing germs and turn the food we eat into energy. Our stomach, for example, is lined with a permeable wall that covers more than 4,000 square feet of surface area. Our intestinal lining controls what enters our bloodstream. When working properly, it helps us absorb vital nutrients and allows water to pass through. It acts as the gatekeeper to keep good things in and bad stuff out.
Leaky Gut Syndrome
However, when this wall isn’t working properly, our gut lining becomes more permeable and might allow the “bad stuff” like bacteria and toxins to pass through to dangerously make their way into our bloodstream. This is called “leaky gut syndrome”. Weak points in our intestinal wall can serve as entryways for these invaders to cause all sorts of havoc on our bodies such as bloating, gas, cramps, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Contrary Claims
Leaky gut is not a recognised medical diagnosis and very few medical studies even mention leaky gut syndrome. Nevertheless, there exists medical terms such as “increased intestinal permeability” or “intestinal hyper-permeability”. Both are connected with multiple chronic gastrointestinal conditions such as Celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and irritable bowel syndrome. So, while leaky gut syndrome is still a topic for debate among the health community, increased intestinal permeability is already a recognised medical term.
How do you know if you have leaky gut syndrome? Your symptoms might start at the most obvious place, your tummy. Here are a few other symptoms of leaky gut syndrome.
Some Symptoms of a Leaky Gut:
- Gastrointestinal Issues - this is the most obvious symptom as it starts directly from the digestive system. Digestive issues such as the ones mentioned earlier: chronic diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, gas, cramps, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), can be caused by a leaky gut.
- Food allergies - food sensitivities or food intolerances can also be a symptom of leaky gut syndrome. If you suddenly find yourself allergic to foods that had been a regular part of your diet, like dairy, soy, sugar, caffeine and gluten, you might have leaky gut syndrome. A leaky gut allows food proteins to cross the stomach walls and bring about the production of antigens as an immune response giving you an allergic reaction to food.
- Autoimmune disease/response - a leaky gut allows particles to escape to your bloodstream. If your body views these particles as invaders, it will send out waves of inflammation to attack these invaders. Once your immune system becomes over-stressed, it can develop into a full blown autoimmunity and lead to autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, lupus, psoriasis, or celiac disease.
- Hormone imbalance - a leaky gut can affect your hormonal balance by disrupting estrobolome, the gut bacteria that metabolise estrogens and can cause hormonal problems that are associated with PMS, menopausal hormone swings, and PCOS.
Leaving your leaky gut untreated can place you at risk of developing the disease associated with these symptoms.
Take digestive enzymes
Fruitful Digest contains 7 plant based enzymes designed to help strengthen and nourish your digestive system. It helps to relieve gas & bloating caused by certain foods, heal a leaky gut and support IBS. Also recommend a probiotic daily.
