Could your health be affected by leaky gut? Part- 2 How can you test and fix it?

Identifying the presence of a leaky gut can be life changing to many people as it could be the root cause of most health symptoms. To help you identify if this is an issue, I have sorted out a few clues that point to having a leaky gut.

5 Clues that you have a leaky gut:

1. Presence of Autoimmune disease
2. Tired and achy and overstressed
3. Bloating and anxious
4. Overweight/ Insulin sensitivity and blood sugar issues /high cholesterol
5. Antibiotic use, Drugs

How to find out for sure?

Leaky gut is usually missed by standard practitioners as it does not show on standard blood tests, endoscopy or colonoscopy. It can present as a spectrum from mild- moderate or severe and never as black or white.

These tests below are relatively new and probably will get better by the next decade.

1. Urine Test: This is a specific test for leaky gut which tests for 2 sugars-for Mannitol and lactulose. Lactulose is not permeable through the lining and a presence of it in the urine, suggests leaky gut.  Likewise, Mannitol is a nutrient that passes through the lining into blood. The absence of mannitol suggests there is damage to the lining causing nutrient deficiency.
2. Breath Tests: This measures the fermentation of undigested sugars in the intestines. When the intestinal cells are damaged and not digesting sugars well, those sugars may be fermented by bacteria and product gases that can be measured in your breath.
3. Blood tests: Certain proteins called actomyosin and zonulin that are released from a damaged gut lining can be measured in blood through specific labs.

These tests can be costly and time-consuming. Considering all that and as an alternative, I find there is one simple test that both provides information about leaky gut and helps us figure out how to address it. That is- IgG and IgA food sensitivity test. That’s because when the body is producing antibodies to food, we know the intestinal lining must be leaky. I also find that the number and type of reactive foods can help us identify the presence and severity of the leakiness.

What do we do next with all the information?

It can be quite confusing for you to determine if you have a leaky gut just with the symptoms and what tests to go for.

Therefore, it would be important to work with someone who can not only diagnose the exact nature of your condition and know how to treat it appropriately, but also provide you with the tools and resources to enable you to bring back your health.

What can you expect during your appointment with me? 

1. Determine whether your symptoms have their origins in leaky gut through carefully selected tests.
2. Design a natural remedy plan that will reverse your symptoms and restore your quality of life.
3. Provide you with all the tools you need to implement your remedy plan easily.
4.  Design a long-term lifestyle and dietary regime to make sure your symptoms don’t return, and to help and you stay healthy after you have recover.

My approach to fix Leaky gut

Although no one protocol fits everyone, Here’s a general plan that I start. The first step is to remove offending cause that damaged the lining in the first place through proper testing. These offending factors can be certain foods, environmental or psychological stress, bacteria, parasites, candida etc. Additional tests like thyroid, autoimmune tests, stool analysis etc may be required based on the condition to catch an overall picture.

The next step would aim at healing the intestinal lining and allowing the repair processes to begin. This is through carefully selected nutrients, herbs along with a proper diet and making specific changes to daily lifestyle patterns.

Supplements and Nutrients that I use include,

1. A non-allergenic protein shake that has nutrients and herbs that is shown to decrease inflammation, support metabolism and heal the digestive tract.

2.An enhanced intestinal support formula that is researched to support the intestinal repair and healing. Some of the herbs and nutrients that help are licorice, slippery elm, etc .

3.Multi strain probiotics

4.Digestive enzymes

How long does it take to heal?

It requires diligence, consistency and may take from few months to years. Leaky guts definitely heal as I have seen patients in my practice reporting gradual decrease in symptoms and overall improved health.

So, take charge of your gut today!

Have a question or an experience to share? Leave a comment in the section below.