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Leaky Gut Syndrome

The repercussions of gut dysbiosis! So often overlooked! So rarely taken into account. An important mechanism by which gut dysbiosis undermines health and promotes illness is its effect on the intestinal lining.

Before we look at the effect of gut dysbiosis on the gastrointestinal lining, however, let's consider the vital tasks that a normal, healthy gut wall performs:-

Firstly ... it acts as a barrier to toxic substances and foreign proteins. Food proteins are usually broken down to their component amino-acid 'building blocks' which are then absorbed and reassembled into proteins useful to the body.

Secondly ... it transports vital nutrients through to the body. For example, carrier proteins are attached to vitamins and minerals to transport them into the bloodstream to be distributed throughout the body.

Thirdly ... the mucous lining of the gut is an immune sensing device. Mast cells that lie below the surface of the gut lining are capable of responding to bacteria, viruses, parasites and other antigens. The gastrointestinal tract, in normal circumstances, learns to tolerate antigens that are presented regularly. Oral tolerance to food is learned by infants as solid foods are introduced. In the best case tolerance to regularly eaten food endures throughout the life of the individual.

However, an overgrowth of harmful intestinal bacteria and yeasts (fungal-type dysbiosis) can have a particularly damaging effect on the lining of the gut, making it porous and leaky. This allows partially digested foods to get through, causing immune reactions and damaging other parts of the body.

Also, alcohol and caffeine can exacerbate leaky gut. So can steroids, including the 'pill' and hormone replacement therapy. Non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin or ibuprofen may also increase gut permeability. Intestinal parasites can certainly cause leaky gut. Current research is suggesting that some vaccinations, such as the measles vaccine may increase gut permeability.

So, as the condition of the intestinal lining deteriorates, malabsorption follows. The production of carrier proteins, for example, is hindered preventing vital nutrients like magnesium and zinc from being absorbed.

Apart from the direct symptoms of digestive disturbance in gut dysbiosis (such as indigestion, bloating, wind or abdominal pain), fatigue, headache, memory loss, poor concentration, and irritability are common.

In what conditions is leaky gut implicated?

A healthy balance of gut flora and a normal gut wall are key to a healthy immune system. Disordered intestinal flora and a leaky gut wall, therefore, can contribute to many diverse diseases in other parts of the body.

Inflammation ... Research suggests that many conditions involving inflammation of the gut (such as Ulcerative Colitis), are associated with the overgrowth of unfriendly intestinal bacteria and yeasts and the consequent damage to the gut wall.

Allergy and food intolerance... As incompletely digested foods leak through the gut wall they cause immune reactions. Food proteins affect distant tissues (in the lungs, eyes, nose, skin etc.) This can contribute to, for example, asthma, eczema, allergies, food intolerance, and hypersensitivity to food additives or chemicals. It can even result in a constantly running nose!

Autoimmune disorders ... This is where the body starts reacting to it's own tissues. There is evidence that such disorders may be associated with leakiness of the gut and its consequent failure to provide a healthy immune barrier.

Mental/behavioural ... Research into autism has suggested some interesting connections between leaky gut and brain function. Imperfectly broken-down fragments of wheat and milk protein, absorbed into the bloodstream through a leaky gut wall, can cross into the brain. These protein fragments act rather like opiates on the brain, contributing to some of the behavioural and emotional problems associated with autism. They may even affect the proper formation of brain cells during early development.

Finally, gut dysbiosis and leaky gut have another devestating consequence. It disrupts essential fatty acid metabolism.....

 

Read more about this in the article:-

Essential Fatty Acids
The disruption of these vital fats is just one of many interrelated imbalances within the human body that are being exacerbated by an increasing number of nutritional and environmental factors.

 

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Note: Biolab Medical Unit offer a urine-based diagnostic test for leaky gut to patients referred by their doctor.

 

 

 

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" If the gut is not healthy,
neither is the rest of the body."

(Paul Shattock,
University of Sunderland)

 
 

 

 

work through this series of short articles
which provide some insight
into underlying causes of ill-health

1. Health in isolation
Isolated people, cut off from modern foods, enjoyed remarkable health, together with surprising resistance to infection and degenerative disease.

2. Emotional as well as physical
Happiness as well as health shone out of a primitive community. A scientist's quest to demonstrate the effect of their diet upon their emotional health.

3. Health before birth
Old hospital birth records convinced the Medical Research Council that what a woman eats when she’s pregnant can affect the health, not only of her children, but of her children’s children.


4. The Saccharine Disease
One of the most original thinkers of the twentieth century brought about a major revolution in scientific thought. He insisted that a condition common to many health problems is the most dangerous cause of disease in westernised countries.

5. Disease begins in the gut
A Russian scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize for his research on the internal eco-system of the body. Current research is confirming this as an important factor in inflammatory disease, autoimmune disorders, chronic fatigue and certain cancers.

6. Leaky Gut
One of the repercussions of our modern diet is its effect on the intestinal wall. This has consequences that can undermine health and promote disease.

7. Essential Fatty Acids
The disruption of these vital fats is just one of many interrelated imbalances within the human body that are being exacerbated by an increasing number of nutritional and environmental factors.

8. Deficiencies and anti-nutrients
The idea that anyone who eats a reasonably well-balanced diet can't be deficient is a dangerous fallacy. Modern agriculture, food processing, dietary choices and environmental factors have created widespread shortages of nutrients vital to the health of the body and the brain.