The Fact This is True Really Stinks

I wish what I was about to write wasn’t true.

But, sadly, it is.

Despite the fact that I’ve been writing about it for years, the condition I refer to as “leaky gut” is not recognized as a disease.

It’s as if the medical community doesn’t want to recognize the very real problem of leaky gut (AKA intestinal permeability) exists.

The truth of the matter is we’ve known for centuries that many of the medical conditions we experience originate in the gut.

Even the ancient Greeks knew this (and they had a term for it; hypochondriasis).

So it’s shocking that more people in the medical community don’t take leaky gut more seriously.

I believe if you can balance your hormone levels, improve blood sugar levels, eat a diet high in healthy fats and relatively low in protein and carbs…

And FIX Leaky Gut…

You stand to be one of the healthiest people on the planet.

In 2 seconds I’m going to help you accomplish this by giving you a list of ingredients that are ideal for healing a leaky gut.

But first, let’s talk about why the medical establishment thinks the way they do about leaky gut.

Is This Proof The Medical Establishment Doesn’t Want to Accept Leaky Gut as a Real Condition?

If you were to ask most physicians about leaky gut, they’d probably cast a sideways glance your way.

This might even be true if you asked them about “intestinal permeability.” Which is the more accurate biological description of leaky gut.

The concept of leaky gut doesn’t get much attention in mainstream, Western medicine, primarily because most doctors are too close to something I call “symptom treatment.”  Meaning they won’t take a step back to realize a lot of the things patients are visiting them for are downstream manifestations of a damaged gastrointestinal tract.

But, it’s not to say they’re not aware of how the gut operates and aren’t taught about how the gut works to influence health.

Almost all of them know 80% of your body’s immune system is in your gut.

And even famous physicians, like Marcelo Campos, MD who writes for Harvard Health, have an understanding of what leaky gut is.

Campos writes:

“Inside our bellies, we have an extensive intestinal lining covering more than 4,000 square feet of surface area. When working properly, it forms a tight barrier that controls what gets absorbed into the bloodstream. An unhealthy gut lining may have large cracks or holes, allowing partially digested food, toxins, and bugs to penetrate the tissues beneath it.

This may trigger inflammation and changes in the gut flora (normal bacteria) that could lead to problems within the digestive tract and beyond. The research world is booming today with studies showing that modifications in the intestinal bacteria and inflammation may play a role in the development of several common chronic diseases.”

And while he understands how leaky gut works (and so do other physicians) leaky gut doesn’t receive much attention.

Why?

Probably the most reasonable cause is we haven’t spent nearly enough time researching leaky gut in clinical settings.

That, and there are so many different things that can cause leaky gut it’s tough to pin down what to study (from the long list of 80,000 industrial chemicals present in the environment, to the foods we eat, the stress we’re subjected, along with genetics).

Plus, because leaky gut is often only addressed by integrative and functional MDs and not by many general practitioners. It’s not something the average MD is trained to treat. Which means they’re not talking about it with other physicians and the medical community at large isn’t focused on it.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that in many cases, fixing leaky gut isn’t all that difficult. Primarily because healing the gut is taken care of with a good diet, some simple supplements, the elimination of problematic chemicals and the like.

Since I’ve written about what causes leaky gut before, I’ll focus this article on some of the things you can do to protect your body from leaky gut.

Simple Steps You Can Take to Heal a Leaky Gut

If a physician has said you have leaky gut, or you believe you do (or aren’t sure but don’t want to take second chances) here are a few things you can do to help heal yourself.

1 - Balance gut bacteria:

The bacteria living in your gut play a big role in the health of your gut. Many people have an overgrowth of bad bacteria.

Which is why it’s a good idea to take probiotics.

When bad bacteria overpopulate your gut it means that food isn’t broken down properly, which can lead to intestinal permeability. Another thing that happens when bad bacteria are in abundance is after they eat they release toxins into your gut. These toxins destroy the lining of your gut, which leads to undigested bits of food making their way into your gut.

A good probiotic supplement, along with prebiotics (types of fiber found in foods that good bacteria feed on) are needed to kill those bacteria.

And once the bad bacteria are under control a leaky gut stands a chance of correcting itself.

2 - Switch to natural cleaning products and organic foods:

Natural cleaning products for your body along with organic foods are beneficial for gut health.

While many chemical agents can harm your gut, these are the kinds of chemicals that you come into contact with daily. Therefore, it’s a great idea to not use cleaning agents that could harm your gut; just like it’s a good idea to not eat foods which have pesticides on them (and that kill good bacteria in your gut) daily.

By going more “natural” I believe you have a very good chance of fixing your leaky gut.

3 - Take a supplement that heals your gut lining:

The entire premise behind leaky gut is after the lining of your intestine is damaged it leads to undigested food and toxins escaping into your body where it causes problems.

Any idea what the damaged lining mentioned above is made of?

Mucosa, or mucus.

While mucous is a gross thing to think about, when it comes to the lining of your gut that slimy excretion is essential to keeping toxins in food locked inside your gut.

Along with probiotics, taking a supplement known to increase how much mucous your body makes is a great idea.

The top 3 supplements for this are L-glutamine, N-acetyl glucosamine and citrus pectin.

Let me explain how these function to protect your gut.

L-glutamine:

L-glutamine is an essential amino acid. is one of the best supplements for your gut lining.

As researchers writing for the Journal of Epithelial Biology & Pharmacology noted

“A significant body of evidence indicates that glutamine preserves the gut barrier function and prevents permeability to toxins and pathogens under various conditions of gastrointestinal mucosal injury.

Glutamine is considered the most important nutrient for healing of ‘leaky gut syndrome’ because it is the preferred fuel for enterocytes (intestinal absorptive cells,) and colonocytes (epithelial cells of the colon).”   

N-Acetyl Glucosamine: 

You probably recognize the word glucosamine since it’s used in conjunction with chondroitin to help lubricate stiff and painful joints.

N-acetyl glucosamine helps to support your body’s reaction to inflammation. And studies show that when n-acetyl cysteine is included in your diet it has the power to take down inflammation in the gut which allows the gut to heal and mucosa to release more mucus.

Citrus Pectin:

If you’re a food canner, or if you’ve ever had jello, then you’ve eaten pectin.

Pectin comes from the skins of fruits like apples and many citrus fruits.

It also helps to “firm things up”.

Studies show it helps to tighten up the lining of your intestines which helps not just with keeping your intestines healthy, but also assists in keeping you regular.