Bloated, gassy, sore, cramped, swollen, struggling with ‘unexplainable’ symptoms? Running to the toilet, or unable to get off it? According to one survey, more than half of Americans struggle with digestive discomfort and gastrointestinal symptoms on a daily basis without seeking help – whilst 20 million suffer from chronic digestive disease.
Many of these symptoms, although classified under a condition such as IBS, poor digestion or fatigue, begin with a leaky gut – but leaky gut can have a huge impact on our health in many other ways, too. So what is leaky gut, how can it affect health and what can you do to treat it effectively?
What is leaky gut?
Leaky gut, or leaky gut syndrome, is a term used to describe a compromised gut lining, where vital nutrients and toxins are leaked into the blood stream. You’ll find lots of definitions of leaky gut online, some simple, others more complex – but the best way to describe it in quick, easy and memorable terms is with Dr Taz’s analogy. Visualize for a moment your gut as a laundry bag which has holes poked through the fabric. Over time, these holes start to allow items of clothing to spill out – in the case of leaky gut, these represent nutrients and toxins which escape the digestive tract, triggering an inflammatory response which causes the body to fight against itself.
Signs and symptoms include:
*Bloating
*Gas
*Diarrhea
*Constipation
*Uncomfortable and tired after eating
*Itchy skin and rashes
*Swollen, painful joints
*Brain fog
The influence of leaky gut is responsible for many digestive symptoms – but it goes way beyond that. In her practice, Dr Taz has often been able to link anxiety, depression, autoimmune disease and hormone imbalance back to the development of a leaky gut.
There was once more scepticism amongst medics surrounding the evidence behind leaky gut and its effect on the body as a whole, but now more are coming to realize that this is something we need to collectively address, even if they don’t fully understand the causes, triggers or treatments of leaky gut just yet.
Over in the integrative and holistic medical space, however, leaky gut has been identified and treated for some time. So although a diagnosis of leaky gut can be concerning, the good news is that we now know how to effectively heal and treat it. To understand how to reverse leaky gut, we first need to establish why it is happening.
Why does leaky gut occur?
As touched on above, leaky gut can come about through a variety of different factors. Which ones influence leaky gut the most will depend on your individual health, diet, toxic load and physical fitness.
It’s no surprise that the majority of our population are dealing with leaky gut when we take a look at the major contributing factors within our modern lifestyles. Chronic stress, daily exposure to toxins and poor diet all lead to a leaky gut – which simply gets worse over time.
How can we treat leaky gut?
Treating leaky gut requires a multi-faceted and consistent approach. You can see results quite quickly – but it’s important to keep it up and continue to support your gut health in the long-term.
Steps to take include:
* Taking supplements to support the gut such as collagen, glutamine and pre- and pro-biotics (you can find many of the ingredients to soothe and heal leaky gut in our Belly Fix blend)
*Add ginger to your diet to stimulate digestive enzymes and bile production
*Up your intake of fiber – flaxseed, chia seeds and psyllium husk are great sources
*Consume more healthy fats and MCT (Medium Chain Triglycerides) – avocado, oily fish, nuts and seeds
*Increase antioxidants to address inflammation and oxidative stress on the body as a result of leaky gut
Accompanying this, it’s crucial to drink plenty of water and eat a balanced, healthy diet. Over-reliance on processed, refined foods can really throw the gut off balance and impact on digestion.
Want to learn more about treating leaky gut? Take a look at Dr Taz’s YouTube video on healing leaky gut syndrome naturally here.
