Main photo by Simone van der Koelen on Unsplash
The gut is the center of your immune system, and a leaky gut can lead to anything from irritable bowel syndrome to anxiety. Leaky guts are common in people that have autoimmune disorders and other chronic illnesses. Did you know that there are many supplements that can help repair a leaky gut? You will learn more about them below!
What Is Leaky Gut?
There are many ways to define a leaky gut, but the easiest way is that it creates small holes in your digestive system. The mucosal lining of your stomach and intestines should keep everything inside its proper place, but people with a weak immune system often have problems with their gastrointestinal tract allowing undigested food particles into the bloodstream. This can lead to a lot of problems and is often associated with autoimmune disorders.
What Are The Causes Of Leaky Gut?
There are many causes of leaky gut, but some common ones include:
Stress
When you are stress, your body releases cortisol and other hormones that can weaken the gut lining. Although stress is a natural response to protect yourself, it doesn't help if you are under chronic stress.
Poor Diet
When we eat processed foods or too much sugar, we put more pressure on our digestive system than it can handle. One of the biggest problems with processed foods is that they contain harmful chemicals and pesticides. When our digestive system tries to process all of this, it can lead to a leaky gut.
Lack of Sleep
Sleep deprivation puts stress on your entire body, not just the gastrointestinal tract. This means you are more likely to have problems even if you think one cause has nothing to do with the other. Although it's not easy, getting enough sleep helps your digestive system function properly.
Alcohol Use And Abuse
Alcohol use is very bad for the digestive tract. It can lead to inflammation, decrease your immune system response, and disrupt normal gut bacteria. When this happens, it leads to a leaky gut that doesn't function properly.
Prescription Medications
Some prescription medications are intended to increase stomach acidity, which can cause damage over time if you take them for too long. Other medications can actually cause inflammation and make it difficult to heal a leaky gut.
Sugar Intake
Sugar is a big problem with a leaky gut because it feeds the bad bacteria in your digestive system. They produce toxins that can weaken and damage the mucosal lining of your stomach. Sugar also interferes with absorption, which means you have to take more supplements than required when trying to repair a leaky gut.
Heavy Metals
If you have ever been exposed to heavy metals, such as mercury and lead, it is likely your body has a hard time detoxifying them. If they aren't properly eliminated from the gastrointestinal tract or liver, they can cause inflammation, leading to a leaky gut.
Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)
People with SIBO often have difficulty absorbing nutrients which can lead to malnutrition and other health problems. When bacteria are overgrown in the small intestine, it can cause inflammation, leading to a leaky gut. This also contributes to the malabsorption of food particles into the bloodstream.
If you are suffering from any chronic illness or autoimmune disorder, you should be aware of the possibility of a leaky gut. You can heal it on your own with diet and lifestyle changes or take supplements to repair a leaky gut.
Top 6 Leaky Gut Supplements
There are many supplements to help heal a leaky gut, but these are the top five.
L-glutamine
This suppresses appetite and stops excess calorie consumption. It helps repair the mucosal lining of your digestive tract while also supporting immune system health, cognitive function, and healthy metabolism.
Glutamine is an essential amino acid that you can get from foods like grass-fed beef or organic chicken as well as bone broth made from scratch using only organic ingredients free of pesticides, hormones, and GMOs.
Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV)
This is a delicious beverage that soothes an irritated digestive tract while also keeping the gut flora in balance to prevent harmful bacteria from overpopulating your intestines. ACV contains pectin, which strengthens intestinal walls, prevents toxins from entering the bloodstream and lowers blood sugar levels.
Turmeric
This is a natural anti-inflammatory that helps heal the intestinal lining of your digestive tract as well as reduce pain and swelling associated with autoimmune conditions. Its active ingredient curcumin also has antioxidant, antiseptic, and antibacterial properties making it an effective tool for fighting infections from food poisoning or other microbes in your gut.
Probiotics
Taking a probiotic supplement daily is one of the best things you can do for your digestive health. Probiotic bacteria repair the stomach lining by producing substances that strengthen and repair intestinal walls. They also produce B vitamins to support energy metabolism as well as anti-inflammatory compounds such as short-chain fatty acids, lactic acid, and hydrogen peroxide, which reduce inflammation in your digestive tract.
Digestive Enzymes
These support enzymes found naturally in your body digest proteins, carbohydrates, and fats. They also help you absorb all the nutrients found in healthy foods that contain these macronutrients, so they positively impact your health rather than harm it. Digestive enzymes also break down proteins found in grains, legumes, and vegetables, which can cause inflammation if they aren't properly broken down.
Omega 3 Fatty Acids
These support your metabolism as well as reduce inflammation, pain, and swelling associated with autoimmune conditions. They also help balance hormones which can lead to weight loss over time. Food sources of omega-three fatty acids include wild Alaskan salmon, chia seeds, and flaxseeds that you grind fresh before eating or use in a recipe like these tasty, gluten-free flaxseed meal waffles.
These are just six of the top supplements to repair a leaky gut. Many others can be found online or at your local health food store where you'll find expert advice about how to select products with superior ingredients free from fillers and chemicals that make them worth every penny.
Symptoms Of A Leaky Gut
There are many symptoms of leaky gut, and they vary from person to person. The main thing is that you know if something isn't right with your body because many people go undiagnosed for years as the damage continues deep into their bodies' tissues and organs.
Chronic Inflammation
Leaky gut causes chronic inflammation throughout your body because it allows toxins, microbes, undigested food particles, and other unwanted substances into the bloodstream. This leads to autoimmune diseases like Hashimoto's thyroiditis or rheumatoid arthritis, in which your immune system begins attacking its own cells instead of foreign invaders. It also leads to skin conditions such as psoriasis or eczema and even asthma.
Stomach Pain
Stomach pain is a common symptom of a leaky gut because undigested food particles entering the intestinal tract can cause irritation or even infection in some cases. This is a sign that you need to repair your gut.
Bloating and Gas
Another common symptom of a leaky gut is bloating or gas, but this time it means something else entirely. When the tight junctions in the small intestine are damaged, food becomes trapped as undigested matter along with toxic waste products from bacteria fermentation which begins to accumulate. This buildup creates a bloated feeling and signals the need to cleanse your gut of these toxins, undigested food particles, and microbes.
Diarrhea or Constipation
Some people with leaky gut have diarrhea because they are losing too much water from their bodies as well as important electrolytes such as potassium, sodium, and chloride. This is because the tight junctions in their small intestine are disconnected.
On the other hand, constipation can occur when undigested food particles and toxins get stuck somewhere along the digestive tract leading to a backup of waste matter that never reaches its final destination. Although this may seem like clean living, it actually prevents your body from eliminating wastes, leading to weight gain and other health problems.
Weight Gain or Loss
People with leaky gut find that they are always hungry because undigested food particles stimulate the release of appetite-increasing hormones making it impossible to feel full even after eating large amounts of unhealthy foods which leads them to eat more than usual, thus gaining weight. Leaky gut can also cause weight loss and many other symptoms such as fatigue, brain fog, and joint pain.
How To Prevent Leaky Gut
To prevent leaky gut, eat a clean diet that is free from refined sugars, processed foods, and conventional dairy products. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, especially after exercise or during hot weather conditions. Exercise at least three times per week for 30 minutes each time as it reduces stress which can make leaky gut worse by causing inflammation in the intestinal wall leading to increased permeability.
Stress reduction is important for preventing leaky gut because it causes inflammation in the intestinal wall leading to increased permeability. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which are stressors that can make your condition worse, or reduce consumption of them if you know they cause problems for you. They should be limited to one cup of coffee per day at most.
Take supplements like L-glutamine, licorice root extract, and deglycyrrhizinated licorice (DGL) to repair the intestinal wall. You can also take zinc carnosine, an amino acid that helps fight infections by reducing inflammation in the small intestine.
Some of these supplements may cause adverse reactions if you take them with other medications, so consult healthcare professionals to ensure you do not make things worse.
Make sure to eat probiotic-rich foods like kimchi (fermented cabbage), sauerkraut (fermented vegetable dish), and kefir (a drink made from fermented milk). You can also eat prebiotics which are components of food that probiotics need to grow. They include garlic, leek, onion and asparagus, bananas whole grains, and Jerusalem artichokes, which are high in fructooligosaccharides (FOS).
