5 Causes of Leaky Gut and How to Fix It

Leaky gut (also known as intestinal permeability) is incredibly common digestive condition that can lead to all sorts of painful symptoms. Some of the most common symptoms of leaky gut include stomach aches, GERD, reflux, bloating, inflammatory bowel disease, and other digestive issues. Some of the long term implications are things like irritable bowel syndrome, celiac disease, crohn's disease, food allergies, and a host of other health conditions. Many autoimmune diseases trace their roots to a compromised intestinal wall. All that to say, it is not something to ignore! If we don’t figure out the root causes of leaky gut, it can lead to serious medical conditions.

What exactly is the gut? Think of the gut, or GI tract, as the total pathway all of your food goes down. It begins with your mouth, then travels through the pharynx (throat), esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine (colon), rectum, & anus. That’s a lot of components. Gut issues occur when any one of those parts is damaged or not doing its job properly. When we eat harmful substances or have a poor diet this can lead to chronic inflammation and nutritional deficiencies.

Over time our bodies can develop an immune response or allergic reaction to these inflammatory foods. This causes our gut lining to break down. If it goes unaddressed, it can lead to a serious medical condition like rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, or ulcerative colitis. Other less severe issues like joint pain, chronic stress, hormonal imbalances, and skin problems - these are all symptoms of leaky gut syndrome.

I created a 30 minute webinar that you can download for FREE if you want to learn more.

Here are 5 causes of leaky gut that you may not be aware of and a few tips on how to combat it so that you get your system functioning as it should.

5 Main Causes of Leaky Gut

1. Eating processed foods – Most of the food we eat is processed in some way. But the main foods to watch out for are those that have been altered so much that the original ingredients of the food are almost non-existent compared to all of the additives; things like hydrolyzed proteins, modified starches, colorants and flavorings. These are very common in energy drinks, packaged chips and cookies, and even lots of protein bars that we think are healthy! Processed foods are incredibly low in nutrients and have extremely negative effects on our gastrointestinal tract and overall health.

Our gut becomes inflamed when our body isn't fed foods high enough in vitamins and mineral content. That's nothing to ignore. Inflammation is a defense response in our body against injury. The word inflammation comes from the Latin word "inflammatio," which means fire. When we eat processed foods, it is like we are setting our gastrointestinal tract on fire!

Gut inflammation keeps the rest of our body from performing the processes it needs to, things like balancing hormones and regulating adrenals. This starts a vicious cycle. Because of the broken-down systems in our body, our gut then fails to manufacture the correct digestive enzymes it needs to break down food. This creates greater risk factors of bacteria overgrowth, worms, and candida.

So, it might be time to say goodbye to some of those foods you love but are leading to big problems in the digestive system.

2. Eating fast food – if you thought processed foods were bad, they are nothing compared to fast foods, a common staple in the standard American diet. I get it. Every time I pass by a Taco Bell, something deep in my soul cries out for a crunchy taco supreme with half mild sauce, half hot on it.

But here's the deal: most fast food items are incredibly high in sodium and low in fiber. When we eat these foods, they increase food sensitivities by creating gaps in our intestinal lining. This leads to constipation because of the lack of hydration, vitamins and mineral value of these foods. Time to find a different route home that's at least a few blocks removed from The Bell. No "fourth meals" people! It will wreak havoc on your digestive tract!

3. Too much sugar – Sorry sugar addicts. An overconsumption of sugar creates insulin resistance and blood sugar dysregulation, which causes your body to hold onto the wrong type of fats. That doesn’t mean all sugar is inherently “bad”. We actually need a certain amount of sugar for our system to function properly. But, as with everything we eat, moderation is critical. Eating excessive amounts of refined sugar can cause harm to every system in our bodies, especially the endocrine system, nervous system, and our gut microbiome.

If you crave sugar throughout your day, that likely means you have a blood sugar imbalance and mineral imbalance, meaning, you aren’t eating the right foods at the right times.

4. Parasites – 'I might have parasites?! Yuck!' Parasites are actually a lot more common than you think. They are in public pools, drinking water, and restaurants. Most of my clients have some type of parasite when we run a GI Map. Parasites destroy the walls of your intestine, leading to Gut Permeability. Gut Permeability causes low acidity in your stomach acid, which leads to GERD and reflux.

Parasites can also cause diarrhea and/or constipation, which means toxins are not properly exiting your body. Your intestinal barrier is meant to have tight injunctions, keeping the good in and the bad out. A parasite compromises the integrity of your intestinal wall. When that happens, undigested food particles get through and into our bloodstream. Our body has an allergic response and instead of flagging the food as fuel, it flags it as poison.

5. Stress – This one may sound quite odd. I can't tell you the amount of conversations I have with people who are like 'what does stress have to do with my poop problems?' Believe me, stress lowers your body's ability to go into what we call rest and digest, which is necessary for breaking food down and maintaining your immune system.

Our bodies were designed to enter into a restful state while we eat so that it is prepared to break food down. When we are in a stressed mode, our body does not create the correct enzymes and gastric juices to break our food down and extract the correct nutrients out. This is why you feel really full and bloated after you eat.

'Yikes, that all sounds intense, but it’s right on the mark for me. What do I do about it?' If you feel overwhelmed by all of this, you are not alone. I have celiac disease, and my daughter has Crohn’s disease. As someone who experiences the realities of autoimmune disorders, I know first hand how challenging it can be when your gut is not functioning as it should and other major health conditions accompany it. I am here to help. Schedule a complimentary 20 minutes with me HERE.

In the meantime, here are 3 of my recommendations on the best way to address leaky gut and Inflammation in the bowels.

Treatment for leaky gut is very specific to each person and requires support, but here are some things you can try on your own to help.

Treatment for Leaky Gut

1. Go on a Leaky Gut diet – Changes in diet are necessary for any intestinal permeability treatment. There’s no quick fix for this, it requires you to make some lifestyle changes. The good news is: making these changes will allow you to be one step closer to a healthy gut. First, eat foods that are whole, foods that have fiber, and foods that are organic. You need to eat at least  6-8 cups of vegetables per day (the whole rainbow – carrots, celery, kale, collard greens, broccoli, arugula, beets, grapefruit, dandelion roots). Also try to incorporate as many fresh fruits as you can.

Your diet should also include bone broth. This can be very hard. I know it’s no fun to change your diet, but when it comes to having a healthy gut, there is just no magic pill. You really have to adjust your lifestyle. I personally like to juice my vegetables as I find it much easier to get them all in my body each day when I do that.

2. Take a Probiotic Supplement – There are specific probiotics for leaky gut symptoms that you can take. I recommend Megaspore. Spore-based probiotics are soil-based microorganisms that are formed from spores and found in dirt and vegetation. These probiotics are naturally-occurring, good bacteria that  support health in several ways. Remember, there are bad bacteria, and there are healthy bacteria. Probiotics are the good gut bacteria! (by the way, you can click here to order with my 15% discount.) 

There are lots of probiotics out there. It can be very overwhelming. I talk about why spore-based probiotics are the way to go in my leaky gut webinar, but one of the reasons is that they are not dairy-based. Lots of probiotics are, but if you have a dairy allergy as a result of intestinal permeability, the probiotic might have a negative effect on your progress.

3. Take a Leaky Gut test – To support my clients, I use a GI map with 89 intestinal markers that tell us if they have parasite activity, worms, or candida, all of which lead to a leaky gut or intestinal permeability. You can spend all day trying new diets, investing hundreds of dollars in supplements, but if you have a parasite, you will just chase your tail. That is why my motto is, "test don't guess”.

I hope you found some helpful info here! I strive to be an advocate for your health and I am here to help. If you want to jump on a 20 minute call, I can hear more about your specific symptoms and give you some unique tips. If you aren’t ready for a face to face, I highly recommend you watch my 30 minute Leaky Gut Webinar. It is full of info, and will also help you get a feel for my personality and what I do, to see if I might be a good fit to walk alongside you in this journey.

Talk soon,