10 Tips for Healing Leaky Gut

“10 Tips for Healing Leaky Gut” begins with understanding what leaky gut syndrome is and why it matters. The condition involves damage to the intestinal lining that increases permeability of the gut barrier, one of the immune system’s primary defenses against pathogens, toxins, and dietary antigens entering via food and drink. Under healthy conditions, intestinal epithelial cells are tightly apposed and connected by tight junctions that restrict the passage of unwanted substances into the bloodstream. This barrier can be compromised by a range of factors, including a poor diet typified by high processed carbohydrates and hydrogenated oils; individual food sensitivities; gut-irritating foods such as grains, legumes, dairy, and alcohol; low gastric acidity; chronic psychological or physiological stress; hormonal imbalances; and a variety of medications, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), antibiotics, steroids, contraceptives, and certain chemotherapeutics. Additional contributors include chronic endurance training or overtraining, exposure to environmental toxins, infections and parasites, and disruptions in the composition or function of the gut flora.

What is Leaky Gut?

When the lining of the intestine is damaged, the junctions between the cells are widened and begin to allow substances into the bloodstream that usually would not be permitted to pass through the barrier.  These substances include undigested food particles, toxins, microbes, waste, and larger-than-normal macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats).

When these substances pass directly into the bloodstream, it provokes an immune response that can lead to food sensitivities, systemic inflammation, autoimmunity, and a variety of diseases.  Conventional medicine recognizes that increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut) exists, but it does not recognize the role that it plays in overall health and the development of the disease.

Healing Leaky Gut Syndrome

Unfortunately, there is not a simple, quick way to heal a leaky gut. Because so many different causative factors can be involved, healing a leaky gut requires an individualized approach and takes commitment, time, and effort. Although each gut healing journey may differ, the following tips will help you address the root cause of the leaky gut syndrome, instead of masking the symptoms. Here are 10 tips for healing leaky gut.

Eat a whole food, nutrient-dense diet that excludes foods that irritate the gut

It is critical to eliminate all processed foods and eat real food, nutrient-dense diet that eliminates foods that are known to irritate or damage the lining of the gut. Foods that irritate the intestinal barrier and can lead to inflammation include grains, legumes, dairy products, processed foods, refined sugars, and alcohol. The Paleo diet is a great framework for a whole food, nutrient-dense diet, as it eliminates these irritating and inflaming foods. I usually start with a Paleo nutrition template and then build upon it to suit the needs of my client. If a client is having autoimmunity issues, I may recommend the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol. Depending on the client’s symptoms, I may suggest a modified version of the GAPS diet. With any healing dietary approach to leaky gut syndrome, I do not recommend the popular “80/20” approach to healthy eating, as your commitment needs to be 100% to allow the intestinal lining to heal.

Make sure digestion is working

You can follow a perfect Paleo diet, but if you aren’t digesting food properly, it won’t help you much. You are not just what you eat, but you are what you eat and are able to digest. Supporting digestion often involves addressing low stomach acid and ensuring healthy liver, gallbladder, and pancreas function.

Discover and eliminate underlying food sensitivities

The best way to discover food sensitivities is to eliminate a suspected food for a period of time (I usually recommend at least 30 days) and then try to reintroduce it. Often, transitioning to a regular Paleo diet will be enough to discover common underlying food sensitivities. However, if people are still experiencing issues on the Paleo diet, the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol can help to identify additional sensitivities to nightshade vegetables, egg, nuts, seeds, and all dairy (including the ghee and butter that is often included on the Paleo diet).

The GAPS diet is a strict elimination diet that can help identify sensitivities to various foods when used appropriately. In particularly challenging cases in which clients do not respond to dietary elimination techniques, mediated-release testing (MRT), a type of food sensitivity blood testing that is able to pinpoint which foods may be causing a subtle immune response in the body, may help.

Find ways to reduce and eliminate stress

Finding methods to reduce and eliminate stress is a priority for healing a leaky gut. I tell my clients to find a little bit of time every day and spend it doing something that they enjoy doing for themselves. Prayer, meditation, yoga, moderate exercise, adequate sleep, regular massage, and acupuncture also help with stress relief.

Consume gut-healing foods and nutrients

If you have a leaky gut, I recommend drinking bone broth daily.  Bone broth is a superfood that contains numerous minerals and amino acids that provide the building blocks for replenishing intestinal cells and help to calm inflammation in the digestive tract. Other gut-healing nutrients include Vitamin A (especially high in organ meats), Vitamin U (found in sauerkraut), and glutamine (an amino acid).

Balance the gut flora

To promote healthy gut flora, I recommend including appropriate amounts of fermented foods in your diet each day. At times, it may be appropriate to include a probiotic supplement, but I usually start by recommending a whole food approach first. For people who have severe gut dysbiosis that does not respond to other approaches, I believe that fecal transplants are worth investigating.

Discover and eradicate gastrointestinal infections

Gastrointestinal infections sometimes result from an imbalance of gut bacteria. There are natural, holistic ways of eradicating some gastrointestinal infections, but I recommend working with a practitioner that has experience in this area.

Consider the use of gut-irritating medications

Any prescription and over-the-counter medications should be evaluated for their potential to have a negative impact on the intestinal lining. Before stopping the use of any prescription medication, though, you should first consult with the prescriber.

Reduce exposure to environmental toxins

There are several steps you can take to reduce the toxins you are exposed to on a daily basis. A few ideas include avoiding second-hand cigarette smoke exposure (or quitting smoking if you are a smoker), choosing organic foods instead of conventional, replacing conventional cleaning products with homemade or “green” products, using glass food storage containers instead of plastic, buying BPA-free canned products, and using natural beauty and skin care products.

Get enough sleep and avoid overtraining

The body views both lack of sleep and overtraining as a type of chronic stress. It’s essential to ensure that you are getting enough sleep for your body, meaning you should wake up feeling rested and alert. Additionally, avoid overtraining and replace chronic endurance activities with weightlifting or high-intensity interval training, which has a less negative impact on the intestinal lining.

The bottom line is that healing a leaky gut is not a simple process and it does require a multi-faceted approach. However, if you are committed and willing to put in the time and effort, you will be rewarded with improved health!

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