How To Heal A Leaky Gut & Improve Digestion With Collagen
A leaky gut causes all kinds of havoc in the body. But did you know that collagen can heal a leaky gut?
Did you know that problems like frequent headaches, acne, and constipation are caused by whats called a leaky gut? Your gut health affects more than just how your stomach feels.
If you arent able to absorb the nutrients from your food, even a nutritious diet wont make you healthy. Collagen can actually help to seal the holes in your gut so that youll feel better.
Heres how collagen can help improve digestion and heal a leaky gut:
- Your gut lining is made from collagen
- All the folds that keep your food inside are formed by collagen
- When the folds separate, undigested food particles leak out into the bloodstream
- A vitamin C deficiency keeps the body from producing collagen and leads to gaps in the gut
What is Collagen?
Collagen isnt just used for making your skin look younger and more glowing. Collagen is actually a major building block of your body.
It is a complex long-chain protein that is made up of 19 different amino acids. Your skin, bones, muscles, tendons, joints, and even your intestinal wall are made up of collagen.
This type of protein acts similar to a net that holds together the structure of your body. The word collagen actually comes from the Greek word kòlla and the French suffix -gene that means glue producing.
The collagen in your gut doesnt just decrease as you age. There are other reasons that you can develop a leaky guteven at a young age.
Collagen Helps Hydrate The Digestive Tract
The gut needs water to help move things along, which is one good reason why drinking water throughout the day is so important .
Healthy collagen is considered a hydrophilic molecule, mainly because of its unique relationship with sugar molecules in a process called collagen glycation . The collagen-sugar matrix is attracted to water as well as acidic substances.
When foods with collagen in it or collagen in supplement form are ingested, water begins to surround it, and this water can pass through the GI tract easier. This whole process helps with the breakdown of carbohydrates and other proteins and, thus, leads to better nutrient absorption and better health.
What Should I Eat For A Healthier Gut
As we mentioned, your diet is the key to both your gut health and overall health. Highly processed and sugar-filled foods break down collagen, contribute to excess body fat, diabetes, high cholesterol, and can cause skin issues such as acne and dull, dehydrated skin.
Eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, and healthy fats and proteins can improve your collagen levels, boost your mental health, give you glowing skin, strengthen your immune system, and improve your quality of health overall.
The easiest way to eat for a healthier gut is to ensure you cut out processed foods. Some people find that going gluten-free and dairy-free significantly improves inflammation and bloating in their bodies.
Try and eat a diet that is mostly composed of vegetables and fruits, with the addition of lean meats and seafood, or other sources of protein if you are vegan or vegetarian.
One of the best things you can consume for a healthier gut is bone broth. Bone broth is made from simmering the bones of cows or chickens with other herbs, spices, and vegetables to create a superfood broth. People commonly include garlic, rosemary, ginger, carrots, onions, and more to create the broth. The broth takes all day, and sometimes overnight, to create. That way, the broth will be densely packed with nutrients and flavor. Bone broth is similar to collagen in that it heals the intestinal wall and improves the function of the gastrointestinal tract.
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Collagen Can Boost Amino Acid Production
The major theme across the GI-tract with collagen supplementation is the abundance of amino acids.
As our production of collagen decreases in our twenties, so does some production of non-essential amino acids. This means that, although we can produce them naturally, we arent always making as many as we need.
Our regular diet can help make up for some of these, but the best way to know you are getting all your needed amino acids by taking collagen daily. Not just for leaky gut symptoms, but for overall health.
Collagen protein has an impressive amino acid profile of 19 different types. With the introduction of more amino acids into our bodies, our digestive system gets much healthier. The healthier our body is, the better it begins to work. All of that is to say that as we improve our health with collagen, our bodies will start to pick up their natural production of amino acids to keep us healthy.
What Are The Signs Of Leaky Gut Syndrome
Leaky gut is the spillage of toxins into the blood. This spillage can comes from candida overgrowth in the body. So, the symptoms of leaky gut syndrome can be associated as the symptoms of yeast overgrowth. These include skin infections, digestive issues like bloating, chronic fatigue, headaches, autoimmune diseases, diabetes, and hormonal imbalances. Other symptoms may include thyroid conditions, joint pain and arthritis, and ADD or ADHD. If youre experiencing any combination of these, it may be time to look into your leaky gut diet.
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Does Collagen Help With Leaky Gut
Collagen is one of the most abundant proteins in our body. Taking a collagen supplement for leaky gut is an excellent option because it is packed with amino acids that can maintain and repair cells. Being resistant to elastic stretch is another way collagen reduces the chance of leaky gut syndrome. Body Kitchen has developed a science-backed formula called Digestive Balance this particular formula contains refined collagen di-peptides as well as 5 Billion CFU of probiotics to support digestive health. You can take this powder with you anywhere without worrying about refrigeration, which makes them easy to carry with you while you travel.
How Is Leaky Gut Syndrome Diagnosed
The doctor may conduct any or all of the following three tests to diagnose leaky gut syndrome:
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L Glutamine Or Collagen For Leaky Gut
l glutamine or collagen for leaky gut syndrome.
The study, published in the journal Gut, found that the gut microbiome of patients with leakiness was different from healthy controls. The researchers found a higher level of bacteria in patients who had a leakier gut than healthy people. They also found higher levels of a protein called Bifidobacterium longum, which is associated with gut health. B. longus is also associated in some studies with a lower risk of developing leakily-narrowed gut.
It Aids Collagen Synthesis
While our bodies naturally produce collagenas we age, our ability to do so declines and so we must ensure we consume enough of the amino acids required to build, store and synthesise collagen. Noshing on protein-rich foods regularlysuch as animal proteins, eggs and dairywill ensure that we receive these critical amino acids that are required to support collagen synthesis, however a collagen supplementsuch as The Beauty Chefs DEEP COLLAGEN marine collagen powderis another simple way to amp up your amino acid intake and boost your collagen levels.
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How Collagen Helps To Restore Balance In The Gut
When it comes to the health of our gut, balance is key. Years of processed foods, stress and a few late nights will eventually wreak havoc on our precious gut biome. This little ecosystem is a place where the right balance of bacteria results in looking and feeling fantastic. But if bloating, weight gain and that foggy feeling are drowning out your ability to listen to your gut instinct, its time to get serious about your gut health.
Helps To Balance Bacteria In Digestive Tract
One of the main advantages of taking probiotic supplements is that it helps restore gut bacteria’s balance. This is especially beneficial in preventing harmful bacteria from staying in your gut and causing inflammation. Probiotics can also be used to target bad bacteria in other areas of your body by significantly improving your immune-response defense.
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Whats The Deal With Gluten
The integrity of the gut lining is maintained by tight junctions between the epithelial cells, called desmosomes. When the gut becomes more permeable , these junctions loosen up, which allows larger molecules to pass through, like undigested food, foreign particles, microbes, etc.
One of the most powerful triggers that opens up these tight junctions is the ingestion of gluten, even in those who dont have celiac disease. So gluten and gliadin not only run down the villi in the small intestine with repeated exposure, which can lead to malabsorption, nutrient deficiencies, and indigestion, but they also trigger the opening of these tight junctions, allowing foreign particles to pass through and creating a continuing inflammatory response in the body. As time goes on and the gut lining is continually exposed to gluten and gliadin, and other substances are allowed to pass through the intestinal lining, the more food sensitivities one will develop. Even if someone did not previously have sensitivities to those undigested foods, once they pass through the gut wall and enter the bloodstream, the body makes antibodies to them. Just like with gliadin exposure, the next time you eat that food, the body already has antibodies against it, which triggers the immune system and mounts an inflammatory response.
Best Collagen For Gut Healing
There are at least 16 types of collagens that have been identified but the most common ones are type I, II, and III. Most of the collagen supplements are made from pigskins and cattle hides and consists of type 1 and 3. But what is the best collagen for gut healing which I consider having the whole thing, in other words, include all collagen types as possible in your one meal.
Why? When you include all or most of the connective tissues in one meal such as cooking chicken soup then you are getting more of a complete meal than using just a collagen supplement.
So your gut is likely to be more nourished thus healing leaky gut faster. As I mentioned before, I use collagen supplements as my second choice when I need to but I do my best to have collagen from the animal Im cooking and believe that will benefit you too.
Here are a few reasons I consider meat broth to be considered as the best collagen for gut health: Cooking meat will provide :
- -More types of collagens
- -Proteoglycans
- -Peptidoglycans
And who knows what other nutrients in a meat stock that we havent discovered yet. Thats why I suggest that having the whole animal with some veggies in a soup is the best collagen gut healing and maintaining gut health after the healing has been accomplished.
Other than the purpose of healing the gut when you consume a meal like that it is very enjoyable and satisfying.
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Additional Dietary Tips For Healing Leaky Gut
While adding collagen to your routine can play a key role in healing leaky gut syndrome, it likely wont reverse your condition all on its own. Because one of the leading causes of leaking gut is poor diet, many people need to make some serious diet changes to heal leaky gut.
Here are some additional dietary tips for restoring your gut health:
- Go low-carb: By following a Paleo/Keto diet that is lower in carbs, moderate in protein, and high in fat, youll eliminate inflammatory foods, including grains, legumes, sugar, and dairy.
- Eat whole, unprocessed foods: Your gut can become damaged when you eat a processed diet thats high in sugar. One of the best ways to support your gut health is to cut out refined sugar and refined carbs like pasta, breads, and cereal.
- Eat good fats: Healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids and monounsaturated fats, such as extra-virgin olive oil, help decrease inflammation throughout the body, including the gut.
- Add fermentable fibers: Fermentable fibersfound in foods like artichokes, onions, garlic, and plantainsfuel the growth of beneficial gut bacteria and help heal increased gut permeability.
- Include fermented foods: Fermented foods are rich in probiotics, which help restore a healthy gut microbiota and intestinal barrier. Some good options include unpasteurized sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, yogurt, and kefir.
Leaky Gut The Hype About Hyperpermeability
You may have heard the term Leaky gut being batted around, but what does it actually mean? Is it really a thing?
Yes it is a thing! Leaky gut is the colloquial term used to describe the increased permeability of the gut wall, or intestinal hyperpermeability.
One of the most important functions of our gut is its essential role as a barrier to the environment. This structural barrier encompasses an epithelial layer, and a mucus layer which our intestinal microflora adhere to. The top layer contains tight junctions, which regulate the movement of water and other small molecules in and out of our digestive tract, opening and closing when required. 1 However, certain factors can also unfavourably open, and disrupt these tight junctions, such as infections and inflammation, as well as foods, such as those containing gluten.
How do you know if you have leaky gut? Without testing , it is difficult to know for sure, but there are certain symptoms and conditions that are associated with it. Because the functioning of this barrier is vast, and involves regulating our metabolism, immunity, digestion, absorption, nervous and endocrine function,2 disturbance to this barrier has been linked to many health conditions, such as allergies3, autism and autoimmunity4, to name a few. You may also suffer with diarrhoea or constipation, frequent headaches, food intolerances, skin rashes or other skin-related problems, recurrent infections or problems with memory and concentration.
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I Took Collagen For 4 Weeks: Here’s What It Did For My Skin
I made my first bone broth five years ago in the throes of a full-fledged cold. Instantly, I was hookedthe warm, savory comfort of the broth sliding down my aching throat and the promise of the healing powers that have helped people for hundreds of years. I became a bone broth convert and spent several years making my own broth and buying my friends slow cookers for their birthdays so they, too, could experience its benefits.
And then I moved from London back to New York, and the weather became a whole lot less broth-friendly, especially in the summer, where the soupy humidity felt distressingly similar to the liquid in my cup. My batches of broth became once-a-month affairs, and then even less frequent. It’s hard to say whether my health sufferedmy anxiety is the main reason I’m interested in gut healing, and it’s tangled up in so many different factors. I felt less vibrant and healthy, just not quite enough to go through the effort of making more broth.
Does Collagen Help Digestive Issues
Yes, collagen helps digestive issues. Here’s how it helps the issues we mentioned above:
IBS / Leaky gut syndrome: When it comes to leaky gut and IBS, amino acids are essential. More specifically, the amino acid glutamine is needed to repair and heal the gut wall. Glutamine is an amino acid found in collagen. It has been found that those with lower collagen levels are more likely to have digestive imbalances.
Aids in digestion: When collagen is ingested, it becomes surrounded by water and stomach acid. It is a hydrophilic molecule, which means it attracts water molecules and acidic molecules. As it moves through the GI tract, it assists with breaking down proteins and carbohydrates and therefore helps move food through the GI tract more smoothly.
Repairs the gut lining: An important aspect of healing and repairing your intestinal lining is collagen synthesis. If there is damage, new muscle cells are made. There is a spike in collagen production when new muscle cells are generated, suggesting that collagen is important for repairing damage.
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Hydrolyzed Collagen Or Peptides Which Is Better
When browsing collagen, youll see words like hydrolyzed, peptides, bovine, marine, and sometimes gelatin. It can get confusing fast, especially since theres so many collagen products on the market. So lets break down what some of these terms mean.
Hydrolyzed collagen, collagen peptides, and collagen hydrolysate are all 3 names for the same product. Full length collagen is broken down into collagen peptides through a process called hydrolysis, so collagen peptides are frequently also referred to as hydrolyzed peptides, or just hydrolyzed collagen.
Gelatin is collagen that has undergone partial hydrolysis, so it will gel when mixed with water. Gelatin is a great way to boost collagen levels and has many beneficial amino acids, including glycine.
Bovine collagen is sourced from cows, while marine collagen is sourced from fish.
Because its an animal product, purchase from reputable manufacturers and retails as much as possible, and be wary of big box warehouses that may lack quality and ingredient standards.
A Clean Collagen Supplement You Can Trust
Importantly Gut Collagen meets the highest purity standards, as not only is it independently 3rd party verified gluten, dairy and soy free, but it is also free of GMOs, nuts, fish, shellfish, eggs, corn, starch, yeast, artificial colors and flavors.
Perhaps even more importantly, since this is a bovine-based product, is that it is also hormone, antibiotic, BSE, TSE and MSG free.
With a smarter, cleaner and more gut-focused formula, I believe this is the best collagen supplement for gut health.
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