Leaky Gut: What’s Causing It and How to Repair It

A leaky gut, also known as intestinal tract permeability, occurs when the digestive tract is damaged causing food particles to enter the bloodstream, creating inflammation and other symptoms. The good news is that there are ways to heal it. Eating the right types of food is key to repairing your gut, as well as raising energy and efficiency and improving cognitive function.

The microbiome is an environment of living microorganisms in your gastrointestinal system, and these little critters typically work to your advantage. The germs in your digestive tract do a multitude of positive things, such as clear up your skin and help you recover from autoimmune issues. They can even influence how you view the world and your mental health.

What’s the catch? Every intestine has "good" and "bad" bacteria, and both play important roles. The key is to keep a healthy balance between the two for an optimal mind and body.

A balanced microbiome can help in preserving your health condition by producing, absorbing, and processing vital nutrients like vitamin K and B vitamins.

A healthy gut flora can also nourish the cellular lining of your intestinal tract, as well as train your immune system to identify beneficial and harmful bacteria. It also maintains energy balance by controlling genes responsible for energy consumption and fat storage.

A well-balanced gut microbiome means better fat metabolism, but there's more. Your gut bacteria are also key players in the gut-brain axis, a messaging system that manages your satiation, food consumption, sugar and fat metabolic process, and insulin secretion - as well as bone metabolic processes. Overall, your gut microbiota can do a lot - if they are behaving. 

What if they aren’t? You may feel weak, tired, irritated, and moody. It's a delicate balance. The microbiome can be altered negatively with modifications in diet, times of sickness, periods of drinking alcohol or taking drugs, episodes of extreme anxiety, weight loss or gain, age, and new or toxic environments.

Why Unbalanced Gut Microbiome is a Problem

Research shows a relationship between an imbalanced gut microbiome (dysbiosis) and chronic illnesses typical in Western cultures. In the case of a leaking gut, an out-of-balance digestive tract microbiome can lead to leaks – the little openings where undigested food can pass directly into the bloodstream.

Bits of food – especially soy, gluten, and also casein – are composed of proteins with similar structure to some glands and organs in your body. When they escape the intestinal tract, they set off immune feedback that can cause your body to attack itself. This is what is called an "autoimmune reaction," and it ain't fun.

The movement of microorganisms as well as toxic substances from the digestive tract into the body is avoidable, and yet a root cause of persistent illness in modern-day society. So, how can we prevent leaky digestive tract?

Preventative Steps

The foundation of a healthy digestive tract is food. A nutrient-dense diet regimen without toxins and energy-zapping additives is by far the most effective in improving a leaky gut..

Consuming a Western-style diet for just one day can adversely alter your intestinal microbiome. Whole vegetables, minimal fruits, and also good quality fats and healthy proteins, on the other hand, will optimize your immune and metabolic health, and prevent gut inflammation. 

In some cases, a leaky gut can cause loss of focus, weight gain, and it can lead to more dangerous issues like autoimmune diseases. A good way to fight these symptoms is with nutrient-dense, low-toxin, anti-inflammatory foods.

Here's what you should do:

• Stop eating sugar: 
• Sugar creates systemic swelling, is harsh on the intestine cellular lining, and feeds bad bacteria. Sugar also causes the overgrowth of yeast, which creates inflammation of the gut lining and can cause bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine.
• Opt for a more varied diet: 
• Eating a variety of veggies, fats, and healthy proteins introduce not only good germs, but also a variety of microorganisms that boost your microbiome and sustain intestinal integrity, and the structure and function of a healthy intestine.
• Stay away from "anti-nutrients": 
• Food contaminants like mold and mildew, oxalates, phytates, and lectins can cause inflammation and limit your absorption of important vitamins and minerals. In some instances, these compounds can also add to serious gut and autoimmune issues. These anti-nutrients come in grains, vegetables, and even nuts. Oxalates are in lots of otherwise healthy and balanced foods like spinach, kale, and broccoli. Not everybody reacts the same to oxalates, so test your reaction to high-oxalate foods. As a whole, source your food carefully and consider soaking and sprouting your seeds and nuts as it helps reduce phytate acid.
• Get rid of grains: 
• Grains have many gut-aggravating lectin and phytates and may include difficult-to-digest healthy proteins like gluten. As soon as your digestive tract is healed, you can test tiny quantities of fermented, soaked or sprouted grains, like white rice, gluten-free oats, buckwheat, or quinoa.
• Go local & neighborhood fresh: 
• There is no better method to source nutrient-dense foods. And due to the fact that our digestive tract microorganisms come from our soil, eating premium, natural fruit and vegetables is vital to long-lasting gut wellness.
• Pick your fibers carefully: 
• Depending on the seriousness of your leaky gut or intestine dysbiosis, it may be a good idea to limit or completely avoid starchy vegetables or those with prebiotics. Fiber, as well as prebiotics, are fantastic for feeding good germs in your digestive tract, but they can also feed the bad guys. If you deal with digestive bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), you'll want to treat that prior to bringing in a heap of prebiotic and fibrous foods.
• Ditch drinking: 
• Alcohol lowers microbial variety and also triggers swelling of the digestive tract cellular lining. When you're trying to heal, stay off the sauce.
• Fermented foods may be your friend: 
• Although these foods are abundant in probiotics, fermented foods like sauerkraut, kombucha, and pickles can additionally cause a histamine response in specific people. Fermented foods like yogurt or kefir are high in probiotic germs that can be valuable to the gut if you can tolerate dairy products.
• Avoid conventional milk or eliminate all dairy products: 
• Dairy consists of the protein A1 casein that's rough on your gut and can cause allergies and sensitivity. 75% of the world is unable to handle lactose, the sugar in milk items. And because industrial pasteurization decreases vital enzymes integral in milk products, lactose is even more challenging to absorb.
• It's a good idea to use grass-fed natural, raw milk, or yogurt from A2 cows. Skip it completely if you think you're sensitive to dairy. Another option is to incorporate whey into your diet. NutraV Grass-Fed Seabuck Protein comes from grass-fed cows and is a perfect addition to your daily routine to prevent or heal leaky gut.

Supplement Support!

Here are several of my favorite supplements to assist with digestive tract recovery and create a healthy and well-balanced digestive tract microbiome:

Prebiotics: Prebiotics feed intestinal germs that manufactures short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), which is beneficial to colon health. Resistant starches like banana flour, plantain flour, cassava, and raw potato starch are fantastic in little amounts.

Digestion enzymes: There are enzymes produced by your salivary glands, small intestine, pancreas and stomach that assist you in absorbing food properly. The production of these enzymes normally decreases with age and can be more restricted when gut health is compromised. Attempt to get rid of enzyme restrictors like grains as well as legumes from your diet plan and replace them with digestive enzymes from foods like pineapple, avocadoes, raw honey, etc

Betaine HCL: Betaine HCL may help you with digesting fats and proteins if you have low stomach acid due to persistent anxiety, age, or autoimmune disease.

Activated Charcoal: Activated charcoal is an old and proven remedy. It takes in endotoxins that trigger stomach conditions and gets rid of toxic substances from refined, low-quality foods. Take it whenever you feel like you’re not getting enough nutrients from your food.

Collagen: Collagen is a protein that makes up a majority of the connective tissue in your body, including your joints, hair, skin, as well as nails. Collagen and soups of bone broth supply you with amino acids that assist with tissue repair in the intestinal tract.

L-Glutamine: This anti-inflammatory amino acid promotes healing in the intestinal tract while promoting muscular tissue repair and brain wellness.

Plantbiotic: A blend of plant-based botanicals developed to provide full spectrum gut support and can help cleanse bad bacteria, while supporting vitality and organ functions. A balanced microbiome is important to keeping gut health, thus getting rid of the right ratio of bad bacteria can repair leaky gut. 

Watch Out for Histamines

Some probiotics, like sauerkraut, consist of histamines that can cause migraines, itching, and rashes. They can also enhance systemic inflammation in specific people. If you experience symptoms after eating probiotic foods, it's best to skip them. 

A Special Note for Moms

The digestive tract microbiome is established as soon as a baby is born. After birth, the microbiome is cultivated through diet and also the baby's interaction with the world. Nursing gives infants prebiotics that assist their intestine microbiome, and high-grade, natural foods are key for digestive tract health and wellness and a resilient immune system as they age.

Stress Relief

Besides a healthy diet, stress and anxiety management also heals and supports your intestine flora. Research studies reveal that stress and anxiety affect the brain-gut axis and reduce hydrochloric acid creation (gastric juice that breaks down food), nutrient absorption, digestive enzyme production, oxygenation, and blood flow to the intestinal tract. Eat well and de-stress for optimal gut health.

Watch Out for Antibiotics

Antibiotics are frequently over-utilized in Western medicine. These meds don't simply kill pathogenic microorganisms, but they also get rid of a host of various other important microorganisms along with them. Prevent the excessive use of prescription antibiotics, and switch to natural alternatives. Nutrav.com has a variety of supplements made from clean ingredients that will not only help improve your gut health, but your overall wellness as well.