I definitely know a thing or two about gut health, a lot of which has come from my own personal experience, trial and error.
When I look back on my childhood, right up until my early twenties, I think ‘Geez, I wish I knew then what I know now’. But better late than never! I was a sugar and gluten fiend! (I don’t use that term lightly). And guess what I experienced on the daily? Chronic hay fever, food intolerances, eczema, animal allergies, and candida symptoms, just to name a few. But of course I thought all this stuff just ‘happened sometimes’, which was usually the answer I got from my GP.
Are you familiar with the term Leaky Gut? If not, it probably conjures an image not too far from the truth.
Leaky Gut Syndrome is a term used to describe ‘hyper permeable intestines’.
This is just a fancy medical expression that means your intestinal lining has quite literally become leaky. Small (and not so small) holes have developed. The unfortunate result of this is undigested food molecules and other ‘bad stuff’ (yeast, toxins, and all other forms of waste) that your body normally doesn’t allow through, can now flow freely into your bloodstream.
Leaky Gut Syndrome is a term used to describe ‘hyper permeable intestines’.
When functioning optimally, your gut lining is there as a protective barrier between your stomach and your blood stream. The outer layer (epithelial cell wall) is held together firmly by tight junctions. At the tips of these tight junctions is something called microvilli. These are finger like protrusions that only allow properly digested food particles to enter the blood stream in the form of mucous.
The junctions should stay tightly closed during digestion, only allowing fully digested particles through to the blood stream.
Think of them as bouncers out the front of a club in Ibiza on a Sunday morning. If these junctions start to loosen, large undigested molecules of food can get through, which is not okay. Your immune system is like WTF? and has to start gearing up to protect you from these foreign invaders. It does this by creating antibodies, and also inflammation.
If your tight junctions start to loosen, large undigested molecules of food can get through, which creates inflammation.
If antibodies are created against certain unrecognisable molecules, food intolerances will develop.
If you’re someone who reacts to certain types of food, even seemingly healthy food, don’t blame the food, blame your leaky gut. Repeated exposure to things that cause your immune system to activate, means there are other functions being left by the wayside. This includes things like filtering blood, calming inflamed areas of the body, fat burning, muscle building, and detoxification, just to name a few.
Strangely enough, when I completely turned my nutrition around (mostly paleo style eating) and used supplements geared toward healing the gut lining, most of these symptoms completely vanished. So when I talk about this topic, I speak with conviction because I’ve been on both sides of the fence.
Read Part 2 of this series where we look at the main culprits that cause Leaky Gut Syndrome.
We can help you improve your gut health through our Blood Chemical Analysis. Read more about it and book a consultation today.
