What is a LEAKY GUT and how is your HEALTH affected by it?

The holidays are upon us and most of us enjoy the multitude of festivities, lavish parties, getting together with our friends and family and most of all we LOVE LOVE the decadent food and beverages that bewitch us at these occasions. e problem is years of decadent behavior and self- indulgence combined with environmental toxins and food products laden with steroids and pesticides have slowed our bodies down and created a host of health issues that most of us are unaware of.

Leaky Gut Syndrome is very common in this day and age. It is the cause of much of our modern autoimmune diseases, such as:

  • Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis
  • Asthma
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Addison’s disease
  • yroid dysfunction
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Lupus

Other conditions that can possibly arise as a result of a leaky gut include: IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), allergies, food sensitivities, acne, eczema, psoriasis, attention de cit disorders, yeast, malnutrition and estrogen dominance (as a result of hormonal imbalances).

To define Leaky Gut, it is first important to mention that our gut, a hollow tube that passes from the mouth to the anus, has the all-critical job of preventing foreign substances from entering the body. e digestive tract has tiny porous openings between the cells (called tight junctions) so that nutrients can be absorbed from our food. If the pore-like structures open too wide, toxins from the gut can flood into the bloodstream, overwhelming the liver and causing allergies and a whole host of other ailments.

Another important function of the gut is to host 70% of the immune tissue in the body. Problems occur when either one of these protective functions of the gut is compromised. Hence, a Leaky Gut is a gut that becomes inflamed and in turn becomes porous, allowing large food proteins, bacteria, fungi, metals and toxic substances straight into our bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, our immune system is the last line of defense to deal with these substances and it will eventually get overwhelmed if a Leaky Gut is not repaired.

There are many factors that cause or worsen Leaky Gut Syndrome:

  • Stress and lifestyle factors (eating on the run/ fast foods)
  • Alcohol and ca eine irritate the gut wall; this includes colas (regular and diet), chocolate, co ee, and cocoa.
  • Chemicals found in processed and fermented foods (i.e. dyes and preservatives), wine, vinegar, soy sauce, tofu.
  • NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti-In ammatory drugs)
  • Antibiotics (causes overgrowth of yeast in the gut due to immune suppression),
  • Antacids/ proton pump inhibitors (Nexium®, Protonix®, Prilosec®, etc.)
  • Too many prescription drugs can slow the liver from performing proper metabolism resulting in toxins recirculating in the blood)
  • A diet high in re ned sugars and other carbohydrates (i.e. candy, processed foods, cookies, white bread, sodas)
  • A diet high in gluten (i.e. oats, barley, rye, wheat; dairy items with malt avorings in milk shakes and hot chocolate, processed cheeses and ice cream; meat dishes that include breadcrumbs, our, pasta, or
    lunch meat; soup or soup bouillon; sauces, salad dressing and gravies with a our base)
  • Ingestion of animal products that have been given hormonal and antibiotic treatments
  • Contaminated foods where E. coli can develop due to poor food handling or foods contaminated by parasites (i.e. pork, chicken, fresh water and hatchery fish)

How do you know if you have a Leaky Gut? Symptoms can vary from person to person depend- ing on the level of damage and the tissues being affected:

  • Chronic diarrhea and constipation are signs of inflammation of the intestinal walls from a Leaky Gut.
  • A poor immune system will result when your body tries to wage war on itself and ignores all the virus and bacteria we come in contact with on a daily basis, allowing you to get sick more often.
  • Skin rashes are your body’s way of trying to dump the toxins through the skin perforations.
  • Headaches, brain fog, excessive fatigue and memory loss are a result of the in ammation of tissue and toxin build up.
  • Yeast (candida) overgrowth will cause cravings for sugar and carbohydrates leading to weight gain, gas, bloating, and anxiety.

One little known role of the gut bacteria is to assist in converting inactive thyroid hormone T4 into the active form of thyroid hormone T3. Ap- proximately 20% of T4 is converted to T3 in the GI tract so poor gut function can lead to poor thyroid function thus the extra weight you’re carrying won’t come o no matter how much dieting you do.

Hypochlorhydria, or low stomach acid, can lead to a Leaky Gut, in ammation and infection. If you are taking antacids daily or acid suppressing drugs, you may already have Leaky Gut Syndrome or are at risk for it.

Constipation from Leaky Gut can impair hormone clearance and cause elevations in estrogen, which in turn raises thyroid-binding globulin (TBG) levels and decreases the amount of free thyroid hormones available to the body.

In order to normalize gastrointestinal function, there is a systemic dietary and nutritional pro- gram for intestinal barrier integrity that is science based designed to support the health of intestinal membranes. If you feel that your health has been compromised because of a Leaky Gut, you are in need of a gut repair. Get started in the New Year right. Let your New Year’s Resolution be something good for YOU!!

Hippocrates said: “All disease begins in the gut.” It’s only now, 2500 years later, that we’re just beginning to understand how right he was.

SaveSave

Picture of Zoom H. Heaton

Zoom H. Heaton

TLC Medical Centre pharmacy is a traditional pharmacy offering specialized services such as medical equipment, compression stocking fittings, diabetic shoes fitting with shoe selection on site, vaccinations throughout the year and medical compounding (our compounding lab is located inside TLC called Custom Prescription Compounders, LLC). Our compounding pharmacist Zoom H. Heaton is also board certified in Anti-aging, Metabolic and Functional medicine. She works with patients needing help with various medical needs such as bio-identical hormone management, adrenal and thyroid issues, autoimmune conditions, weight management, pain management compounding, nutritional guidance using specialized testing and much much more. If you feel that your health needs a change for the better, call us at 803.648.7800 extension 200 and make an appointment. The first 15 minutes of your consultation with Zoom is free.
Picture of Zoom H. Heaton

Zoom H. Heaton

TLC Medical Centre pharmacy is a traditional pharmacy offering specialized services such as medical equipment, compression stocking fittings, diabetic shoes fitting with shoe selection on site, vaccinations throughout the year and medical compounding (our compounding lab is located inside TLC called Custom Prescription Compounders, LLC). Our compounding pharmacist Zoom H. Heaton is also board certified in Anti-aging, Metabolic and Functional medicine. She works with patients needing help with various medical needs such as bio-identical hormone management, adrenal and thyroid issues, autoimmune conditions, weight management, pain management compounding, nutritional guidance using specialized testing and much much more. If you feel that your health needs a change for the better, call us at 803.648.7800 extension 200 and make an appointment. The first 15 minutes of your consultation with Zoom is free.

In the know

Related Stories

Healing Water for My Soul | Palmetto Bella

Healing Water for My Soul

My love for healing water is the whole point for so many of the stories I tell and that I’ve told on the pages of Bella Magazine this year. The drops of healing water in my life are the moments of loving connection with others where I get the opportunity to share life with them, and they with me, with no strings attached. Some of these encounters this year have been a brief passing moment as I exchanged glances and a smile with someone, and other encounters have been for long chapters of my life that continue. There are so many times in this chaotic year when I have felt

Read More »
Gearing Up Your Health in the New Year | Palmetto Bella

Gearing Up Your Health in the New Year

2020 isn’t going to win any awards for the difficult and unpredictable year it’s been, with its controversial presidential election, pandemic, economic hardships, racial tensions, and widespread fear and uncertainty about health and quality of life going forward. Thousands have succumbed to a newfound virus called SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) that continues to elude medical doctors and scientists. Many of us found out that we aren’t as healthy as we thought and that we should have been taking better care of ourselves. Looking to the new year, what can we do to help our bodies become stronger and perhaps more resistant to the many pathogens out there? Perhaps

Read More »
A CAUSE FOR Celebration | Palmetto Bella

A CAUSE FOR Celebration

Appalachians tend to be very independent and content with their lives. They live close to nature and have a deeply held belief in God. They are friendly, kind, and helpful to one another, and they take care of the needs of others. Appalachians also have a strong sense of what is right, and of what ought to be. When I was still working as a nurse, we lived in a small town in western North Carolina. The population was mostly poor and set in their ways. Because they did not take kindly to people from “outside,” it took a long time for me to make friends with our neighbors, who

Read More »
HOW TO Celebrate the Holidays WITH SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS | Palmetto Bella

HOW TO Celebrate the Holidays WITH SPECIAL DIETARY NEEDS

In 2008 I finally figured out that the health problems I had been experiencing for over a year were due to food allergies and sensitivities. There were a number of foods that caused my symptoms, the primary ones being gluten grains (wheat, rye, barley), corn, soy, and milk. I began to feel much better during the summer after I eliminated these foods. During the fall I began thinking about the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday meals that would be coming up. I could not eat the traditional turkey dressing, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, or my mom’s pecan pie. Even the canned cranberry sauce was off-limits for me because it

Read More »