Learn More About Your Gut Health
Are you ready to FINALLY understand the root cause of your health problems…
- Are you tired of trying multiple antibiotics & getting the same results?
- Are you tired of seeing multiple doctors & to only be told the same things over & over?
- Do you have digestive, weight, or immunity problems?
Say YES to any of these?
Don’t wait any longer to take the first step in truly understanding your health.
How To Eat For Leaky Gut
Cleaning up your diet can really help heal your leaky gut because some foods youre eating may inflame your gut.
Though there are many possible healing diet options, the most important strategy for using diet as a therapy is to focus on real foods and to listen to your body, not what everyone else is saying.
That said, the following diets may be supportive for you while healing leaky gut:
| Diet |
Leaky Gut: What To Eat Or Avoid
Leaky gut syndrome is a condition thats thought to affect millions of people, many of whom dont even know it. The good news is following a leaky gut diet can help overcome this condition.
From the sound of it, you might think leaky gut syndrome only impacts digestive health, but in reality it can lead to many other health conditions. For example, according to recent research, the cause of your food allergies, fatigue, joint pain, thyroid disease and autoimmune conditions may be a leaky gut.
What is the fastest way to treat leaky gut? Following a healing leaky gut syndrome diet is one of the best strategies for getting your body back on track.
In this article, I outline specifically how a leaky gut diet works, so you can break through some of the stubborn health problems youve been struggling with.
Also Check: Bananas Cause Bloating
Eat More Healthy Fats
N-butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid, helps feed the cells that line the gut and help them heal. Your gut bacteria can produce more n-butyrate if you feed them soluble fibers in fruits and vegetables. You also can get n-butyrate in the form of Ghee, which is clarified butter. Another source of healthy fat is coconut oil, which contains medium-chain fatty acids that are good for the gut!
Leaky Gut Syndrome Explained
If youve been struggling with GI issues or have noticed some systemic symptoms that negatively impact your life it could be leaky gut syndrome. Its very possible that this condition will be affecting many individuals each year, and with the proper treatment, they could restore a better quality of life.
For now, you can take steps to improve your gut health and decrease the risk of leaky gut syndrome by following some of the steps mentioned. By reducing inflammation, transforming your diet, and adding a wide range of beneficial supplements you could eradicate your symptoms and feel like your best self. If you feel you need help on that journey, our Integrative Nutrition Team treats both local and virtual patients. Wherever you are, were there too. Just or, you can start by filling out the form below.
You May Like: Bananas Bloating
Using The Wrong Diagnostic Tests
There is a test available that shows whether an individual has intestinal permeability. It works by measuring levels of two indigestible sugars, mannitol and lactulose, in the urine. Most physicians do not use this test and research shows that it is not very reliable. As we mentioned earlier, there is no evidence that intestinal permeability causes any disease be wary of anyone who claims that it does. Some unscrupulous individuals are even selling these tests to consumers online. Using this test to diagnose leaky gut syndrome would be like ordering a test to look for blood in the stool of someone with IBD and using a positive test result to prove that the bloody stools caused some other mysterious disease that in turn caused the IBD. We already know that bloody stools are a symptom of Crohns disease or ulcerative colitis, just as we know that intestinal permeability is a symptom of some diseases such as Crohns disease and celiac disease.
Proponents of leaky gut syndrome might also misuse tests that look for bacterial, fungal, or viral infections, or tests that measure immune function, to diagnose the disorder, when there is no evidence that the results are in any way related to this baseless syndrome.
Do I Need A Supplement
According to research published in the journal Frontiers in Immunology, there is some evidence that probiotics can improve the function of your gut and even help reverse leaky gut, but long-term studies are still needed. There is not a single study to date suggesting that probiotics are harmful.
Probiotic supplements are more like a fertilizer that communicates to your existing gut bacteria. It can regulate the pH and cross-talk to other bacteria, increasing short-chain fatty acids which is the food for the gut cells and help regulate inflammation and the immune system of the gut, says Dr. La Vella. Transitioning away from processed foods and toward whole foods is usually enough to keep your gut healthy.
Herbal supplements may be helpful in certain situations, but arent necessarily a quick fix.
I think of supplements as medications there is always a risk and a benefit. I prefer to think about restoring ecosystem balance rather than supplementing to cover up a bad dietary or lifestyle choice, says Dr. La Vella.
Also Check: Does Famotidine Cause Constipation
What Causes Leaky Gut
The exact cause of leaky gut is a mystery.
However, increased intestinal permeability is well known and occurs alongside several chronic diseases, including celiac disease and type 1 diabetes .
Zonulin is a protein that regulates tight junctions. Research has shown that higher levels of this protein may loosen tight junctions and increase intestinal permeability (
Furthermore, low levels of healthy gut bacteria may have the same effect. This is called gut dysbiosis .
Summary
The exact cause of leaky gut remains a mystery, but certain proteins like zonulin and markers of inflammation provide some clues. Other potential causes include long-term NSAID use and an imbalance of gut bacteria known as gut dysbiosis.
As leaky gut syndrome isnt an official medical diagnosis, there is no recommended treatment.
Yet, you can do plenty of things to improve your general digestive health.
One is to eat a diet rich in foods that aid the growth of beneficial gut bacteria. An unhealthy collection of gut bacteria has been linked to poor health outcomes, including chronic inflammation, cancers, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes .
The following foods are great options for improving your digestive health:
Summary
A diet that promotes digestive health should focus on fibrous vegetables, fruits, fermented vegetables, cultured dairy products, healthy fats, and lean, unprocessed meats.
See Their Real Stories From Our Gut Health Test Below
“I Was Having Really IntensePain From My GI Issues.”
“I’ve Known For Quite A WhileI’ve Needed To Take A Gut Health Test.”
“The Test Results Have Given MeGood Guidance On What to Eat!”
“The Biome DataThryve Provides Is Amazing!”
The biome data that thryve provides is amazing! With this data, I can form my own conclusions about what I need. I’ll definitely be coming here regularly to see how my biome changes.
Ryan M. | 10.08.20 |
Verified purchase
“The Test Helped Me Make The Right Decision To Improve My Health”
I combined my thryve recommendation where I saw my gut was a mess as I suspected after years of antibiotics with a couple of fecal microbiota transplants from microbioma.org stool bank and my UC started to finally improve after years and years of expensive and harmful drug treatments. Thank you all guys, your test helped me make the right decision to finally improve my health.
Tom Perkins | 07.25.20 |
Verified purchase
“Learned What To Eat That Would Maximize My Gut Health”
Helped me figure out what to eat that would maximize my gut health. Decided to go vegan and ordered daily harvest every 3 weeks so I cut the cost, time, energy.
Cathleen C. | 08.31.20 |
– “All Disease Begins in The Gut.- Hippocrates –
Our gut health program gives you insights into your gut health and recommends personalized foods for you to enjoy and avoid. We then customize a probiotic formula just for you to replenish the good bacteria and remove the bad.
Your Privacy
You May Like: Allign Probiotic
And Heres How I Recommend You Tackle This Diet
- For starters, grab my free leaky gut recovery guide to see my top 7 recipes. During my times of poor gut health Ive simply rotated amongst these 7 meal ideas. Theyre easy to cook, taste amazing and require very few ingredients.
- Fish and meats are your new BFF. This is where the majority of the flavor in the leaky gut diet comes from. Take the advice below in idea #14 seriously, and try to buy high quality meat and fish as much as possible.
- Focus on green and colorful vegetables. Obviously some of you will suffer from leaky gut syndrome so badly that even many vegetables out there will irritate your gut to no end. In which case simply eat what your body responds best to.
- Some* starch is okayin vegetable form that is. Depending on how you react try to eat some starchy vegetables like sweet potato, yam, yucca etc. I find the mouthfeel and way they fill me up to be most satisfying. And they really round of dishes made with the 2 food groups above. *Keep an eye on max serving size recommendations in the image above.
- Everything else. Nuts, eggs, many nightshades , low sugar fruit etc can all have their place in your leaky gut diet too, but theyre not for everyone. And as I explain below in idea #22, some of you may really need to limit serving size significantly and test these to see if they make sense for you.
No matter how good your diet is though, I highly recommend you take 1-2 digestive enzyme capsules before each meal per point #7 above.
IDEA #8
Nutrient Insufficiency And Low Stomach Acid
If we arent absorbing the foods were eating, this can cause inflammation in the gut. This can range from not chewing foods well to having low levels of stomach acid, which doesnt allow us to properly break down and absorb the foods were eating. Pathogens can sneak into the gut that usually would be killed off by a low stomach pH, which can upregulate Zonulin protein, and undigested food particles begin to sneak through the gut lining.
Also Check: Will Taking Colostrum Heal Leaky Gut
Identify The Foods You Should Avoid:
While you take the time to consume the right kind of food, it is equally important to avoid eating certain foods to improve your gut health. Some foods come with higher possibilities of causing inflammation in the body. Such foods can also negatively affect healthy bacteria while promoting the growth of unhealthy gut bacteria responsible for many chronic health conditions. In order to ensure that this does not happen, it is vital to avoid consuming excess junk food, foods containing artificial sweeteners, refined oils, sugary beverages, processed food, and alcohol. All these foods can harm healthy gut bacteria and compromise the guts protective lining. It is also vital to stay away from wheat-based products like wheat flour, cereals, pasta, and bread, which can also trigger symptoms of an unhealthy gut. Also avoid eating foods such as oats, triticale, seitan, bulgur, rye, and barley frequently. Eating a lot of grain foods that contain gluten is very problematic as well.
In addition to that, it is best also to stay away from processed foods, processed meat, baked foods, and snacks. Processed meat foods include hot dogs, bacon, deli meats, and cold cuts. Baked goods include pizza, pastries, pies, cookies, muffins, and cakes. Snack foods to stay away from consist of the following pretzels, popcorn, muesli bars, and crackers. Sauces like salad dressings, teriyaki, soy, and hoisin sauce ideally have to be avoided as well.
This Condition Is Not Typically Diagnosed But Could Be Affecting The Health Of Many People
This article has been archived. We will no longer be updating it. For our most up-to-date information, please visit our digestive health information here.
My body never completely bounced back after I had my first child15 years ago. I’ve told myself that my symptoms were part of being a busy mom: fatigue, digestive problems, joint pain, insomnia, low libido, even mild-grade depression. Many moms I know suffer the same ailments, or worse. They’ll subside at some point, I told myself. My health care provider tested me over the years for various medical conditionsfrom anemia and thyroid disorders to mononucleosis and Lyme disease. The tests always came out negative. “You just need to sleep more and manage your stress better,” he told me.
I found an answer four months ago when I went to see Willie Victor, a nutritionist in Mill Valley, California, whose practice is based on the healing properties of food. She asked me to keep a food diary and take a blood test for food allergies and sensitivities.
The results were shocking. It turns out I was “highly sensitive” to a number of foods that had been a regular part of my daily dietdairy, soy, sugar, caffeine and gluten.
10 signs you have a leaky gut:
According to Dr. Leo Galland, director of the Foundation for Integrated Medicine, the following symptoms might be signs of leaky gut:
Recommended Reading: Why Does Lettuce Give Me Diarrhea
Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth
The term bacteria historically had a bad rap but, research has made it quite clear that bacteria can be our best friend! In fact gut flora accounts for much of our immunity20, like microscopic security guards protecting our body.
But, just as a couple of bank robbers can overpower all of the harmless workers and customers, bad bacteria, too, has the power to disrupt our entire digestive ecosystem and throw our gut out of balance. This can prevent good bacteria from doing their job and lead to digestive conditions such as leaky gut itself.
So a condition like small intestinal overgrowth 21 is a good indicator that you might be suffering from leaky gut22.
Thankfully, unlike leaky gut there is a simple breath test for SIBO23. Its not simply, does this person have halitosis?, which is, the technical and fancy word for plain old bad breath?.
Instead, its the same test used to check for IBD and other GI disorders24.
All you need to do is consume a sugar-based solution and then breathe into a test tube or balloon-style device. You can even do this at home and send the results in.
Basically what theyll then look for is the level of certain gases like methane and hydrogen in your sample, which are produced by certain bacteria. Too high and you could have bacteria overgrowth in the small intestine, ie SIBO.
What About Old Fashioned Food Intolerance Tests
My big problem with them is that they often come back positive for just about everything Ive already listed under the banned foods list above, as well as countless other good foods, and are often temporary intolerances resulting from the fact that your gut is hyperpermeable .
So instead of getting old fashioned food intolerance tests, I personally believe youre better off doing an elimination diet per the above ideas, healing your gut and then gradually and one by one reintroducing foods to see how your now-healed gut deals with them.
i.e. doing an elimination & reintroduction diet .
No doubt you will find it far more tolerant!
If you really do want to get tested for intolerances/allergies, then my best advice is to speak with a functional doctor.
They can work 1-1 with you to piece together your overall health history and current state of affairs, and from there decide what is the best leaky gut syndrome treatment plan.
But that said, always keep an eye on the economics of testing, because getting a battery of tests done, followed by a $1000+ bill is sure to cause stressand ironically more leaky gut.
You May Like: Does Spicy Food Cause Heartburn
Limit All Cow Milk Based Dairy
So there are 2 reasons to consider avoiding this bad boy of gastrointestinal health.
For starters, cows milk comes packed with lactose. This is the milk sugar that the majority of us struggle to digest23. It is a high FODMAP ingredient too. So if youre on a low FODMAP diet, it is out as well.
Secondly and less importantly normal cows milk also comes with another potentially troublesome sidekicka protein called A1 Casein24. It often does not play well with our guts, especially in the early healing phases.
In response to both issues above you can consider lactose free milk, but then you have the casein problem, or you can consider A2 Casein milk, but then you still have the lactose problem.
All a bit confusing I know. So my approach in the first 30 days of a gut healing diet is simply no cows milk dairy, eg milk, milk chocolate, ice cream, cheese etc.
White Blood Cells & Leaky Gut
Before we go any further, you need to understand that the #1 cause of leaky gut is low-grade stealth infection.
Without going into the entire immune system, here is a simple look at how you can use your white blood cell markers as part of your assessment to diagnose your own leaky gut.
White Blood Cells measures the total number of white blood cells or leucocytes. The main function of the white cells is to defend against foreign invaders and infection. This is mainly accomplished by production and transport of antibodies and by phagocytosis. Several types of cells contribute to this total count and those are discussed below. Elevations can indicate infection, inflammation, tissue damage, trauma, stress or a leukemia. Decreases can signal bone marrow disorders, massive infections, autoimmune disorders and general immune system weakness.
Optimal range is 5,000 7,500/uL
Lymphocytes protective especially against virus and cancer, lymphocytes are derived from either bone marrow B cells for humoral immunity/formation of specific antibodies or the thymus T cells for cellular immunity/direct contact with pathogens. T cells are mobilized by interleukin 2. In general high values suggest defensive activity, particularly against viruses, while low values are seen with low protein, compromised immune function.
Optimal range is 30 35 %
Optimal Range is 50 60 %
Optimal Range is 0 1 %
Optimal Range is 1- 3%
Optimal Range is 1-5%
You May Like: Peanut Butter And Heartburn