Metabolic and Mental Health
Six Tips to Heal a Leaky Gut Via Lifestyle Choices and Professional Support
Leveraging reviews and experience in healing my intestinal permeability, I offer customizable solutions to tackle its symptoms and causes.
Purpose of the Article
This article introduces the symptoms and causes of leaky gut syndrome. I offer six lifestyle choices to ease symptoms and reduce reoccurring risks. This story is beyond theory as I healed my leaky gut using this approach.
I also disseminate my perspectives on the holistic health approach based on my personal experience and observation of other people who healed their leaky guts with support from qualified healthcare professionals.
This post does NOT include health advice. It reflects my decades of tacit knowledge to serve as an information source for awareness of this common health condition.
What is a leaky gut, and why does it matter?
Even though some people still don’t believe it, a leaky gut is real and a severe health issue in my experience and the literature review. However, as the leaky gut is not a medical term, some people deny its existence. And some skeptics take it out of context and create unnecessary semantic arguments confusing the public.
The scientific term for the leaky gut is intestinal permeability which is well documented in the literature. Those who don’t believe it might check PubMed (The US Government Medical Repository), containing over 19,500 medical reports.
Gut health is critical for our well-being and life satisfaction. The problems with our gut also affect our thoughts, emotions, and behavior, as there is a connection between the gut and the brain. Thus, gut health and mental health are closely related based on my experience in cognitive science.
The human gut has around 4,000 square feet of epithelial lining. The gut lining controls the harmful substances entering the bloodstream. If the delicate epithelial lining is damaged, toxic materials might enter the bloodstream causing autoimmune responses and inflammation.
The denture in the epithelial lining is referred leaky gut publicly. The standard terms in the medical literature are “increased intestinal permeability” or “intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction.”
“Intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction and increased permeability have been described in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, alcoholic liver disease, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, liver cirrhosis, acute pancreatitis, primary biliary cholangitis, type 1 and type 2 diabetes, chronic kidney disease, chronic heart failure, depression, and other diseases.” Source
The fundamental mechanism of the leaky gut (intestinal permeability) is the compromised structure of the intestine (defective junctions), which causes the leakage of harmful materials into the bloodstream and causes undesirable health conditions.
Common Symptoms and Causes of Leaky Gut
Typical symptoms are fatigue, heartburn, abdominal bloating, distension, diarrhea, chronic stress, chronic inflammation, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, autoimmune diseases, acne, rosacea, eczema, PCOS, food intolerances, and allergies, causing physical disturbances and emotional stress.
The most common causes are excessive toxins, offending food, bacterial imbalance (dysbiosis), chronic inflammation, and accumulated stress.
Since family doctors are not specialists and don’t have the necessary tools, they need to refer us to specialist doctors to diagnose and treat the condition. From my experience, holistic healthcare specialists can understand the root causes and create a corrective plan.
What is a holistic healthcare professional?
I met many holistic healthcare professionals who guided and supported my loved ones, friends, colleagues, and me. There might be different perceptions of these professionals, but I’d like to share my perspectives based on my experience with them.
A holistic healthcare professional has a formal medical education, specializes in several aspects of medicine, and understands alternative therapies. They are like polymaths covering breadth and depth. These influential professionals don’t just focus on suppressing symptoms, but they delve into the root causes of issues.
They solve immediate health issues to ease patients’ pain using medications or other therapies, but they also empower their patients to heal naturally and sustainably. They focus on both solving problems and improving conditions.
For example, a traditional specialist told me my autoimmune condition is a lifetime issue, and I had to learn to deal with it. He gave me potent painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication. He was kind enough to offer me even more potent painkillers if my situation worsened.
The arthritis specialist had no idea I might have a leaky gut even though my belly was bulging and indicated several symptoms. He prescribed medication and advised me to accept my situation, giving me no hope. But I eliminated all signs of arthritis after fixing the leaky gut with support from an integrative medicine doctor and multiple specialists.
However, a holistic health professional looked at situations from all angles obtaining my medication history from my family doctors and analyzing them in detail. This type of professional gave me hope and helped me activate the self-healing mechanisms of my body.
Therefore, I am happy to pay holistic healthcare professionals even if Medicare does not cover their fees. Comparatively, my arthritis specialist was not also covered by Medicare and charged me almost twice as a private holistic doctor. I could have suffered a lifetime if I hadn’t taken personal responsibility.
Here’s what happens when we fix a leaky gut.
Our heartburn, bloating, and stomach distension disappear when we heal our leaky gut. We get rid of food intolerances and allergies. Food cravings might diminish.
Our inflammation markers show improvement. In addition, we sleep better and feel less stressed. Our mood can improve. In my case, fixing a leaky gut helped me eliminate brain fog and defeat arthritis symptoms.
Some of us can even shed extra fat we accumulate during the process, as happened to my friend Anna who lost 50 pounds after healing her leaky gut.
A Diligent and Practical Approach to Solutions
Now that I mentioned the holistic healthcare approach and specialists, the first point is to discuss with our family doctors and ask them to refer us to a specialist such as a gastroenterologist.
We need to provide our symptoms in detail. They might request a colonoscopy and endoscopy. They also check blood, urine, and feces.
These diagnostic tests could be expensive but essential for the specialist to understand the issues. While performing these non-surgical procedures, doctors can identify tumors that can be severe health risks.
If gastroenterologists identify “increased intestinal permeability” or “intestinal epithelial barrier dysfunction,” they usually create a treatment plan. However, some specialists might not follow up unless our family doctors refer us to them again. We need to be assertive and request follow-up referrals.
Learning these two medical terms (intestinal permeability and epithelial barrier dysfunction) can be helpful as some inexperienced doctors still don’t use the term “leaky gut,” and some even deny its existence even though medical scientists and clinicians have documented the condition for decades published in established journals.
For example, when I mentioned leaky gut to one family doctor, she kept correcting me for increased intestinal permeability as she believed the gut could not be leaky. Of course, she might have a different perspective, but I had no time to argue about semantics with due respect.
It is easy for people with a science background like me to deal with semantic issues, but it can be difficult for people who don’t understand the concepts. Therefore, I attempt to simplify this complex health condition as much as possible so that my readers can describe the situation to relevant healthcare professionals and obtain timely support.
From my experience, some family doctors are very compassionate and approach patients with great care and empathy. However, in some busy clinics, some doctors see the patients as just numbers rushing them by giving a quick medication to suppress their symptoms and requesting to return in two weeks if symptoms do not disappear. It becomes a never-ending saga for some patients.
This happened to me multiple times. I did not give up. However, some people might lose their patience and quit seeking help. This is an undesirable situation in the healthcare system. Therefore, we need to take personal responsibility and be assertive with politeness and respect.
To conclude this section, I’d like to emphasize the importance of personal responsibility and accountability. We shouldn’t get intimidated by arrogant or bullying professionals who see patients as numbers. We must be assertive and persistent in obtaining the best support. Life is limited, and our health is precious.
Fixing a leaky gut might require the input of multiple specialists. Therefore, obtaining support from a qualified and experienced integrative medicine doctor can be helpful. In some countries, they are called functional medicine or holistic health doctors.
Viable Solutions for Leaky Gut Syndrome
This section summarizes six viable solutions based on my experience, observations, and literature review. These solutions are not prescriptive. They are examples and can be customized based on the needs and goals of those suffering from leaky gut syndrome.
1 — Customize Diet and Eliminate Offensive Food.
Since one of the major causes of a leaky gut is offensive food, customizing our diet is critical. A certified dietician or an experienced nutritionist with access to our medical history can help us customize our diet.
Customization of our diet enables the professional to remove offending foods systematically. From my experience, the culprits were the toxins passing the threshold of my intestinal barrier.
My elimination diet allowed me to remove food containing toxic plant molecules such as excessive lectins, phytotoxins, mycotoxins, oxalates, solanines, glucosinolates, phytates, saponins, glycosides, tannins, and furocoumarins.
When I stopped eating certain plants, my symptoms quickly disappeared. Some people might tolerate these molecules better, but others, like me, could be sensitive to them.
2 — Use Collagen and Gelatin.
Collagen and gelatin can improve the health of our intestines. These powerful and natural substances might fix the dentures in the epithelial lining of the gut.
More specifically, the proteins in gelatin and collagen could support the intestinal wall building the protective mucus lining in the intestines.
We can buy gelatin and collagen supplements from health shops. I used various types of collagen when healing my leaky gut. They all helped.
However, I found hydrolyzed collagen extra helpful in reducing the inflammation in my joints. I documented my findings in an article titled Here’s My Testimony of Hydrolyzed Collagen.
Bone broth is an excellent drink providing natural collagen and gelatin. As commercial bone broth is expensive in Australia, where I live, and usually they have additives, I create my broth by purchasing bones from my butcher, who gives them free to me.
3 — Increase Stomach Acid and Use Digestive Enzymes.
Our stomachs need adequate acid for digestion. Even though the body regulates acidity very tightly, it generates acid in the stomach in order of magnitude.
Unfortunately, in my younger years, I used stomach acids provided by my family doctors and even purchased them over the counter. Fortunately, a holistic healthcare doctor warned me about its detrimental effects on my digestive system and stopped me from using them.
Undigested food can adversely affect our gut and might cause leaky gut syndrome. Therefore, increasing stomach acid is critical with advice from qualified healthcare professionals.
My holistic doctor initially recommended I use a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar diluted in water and drink it 20 minutes before my main meal. It significantly improved my digestion and provided additional benefits.
In addition, this experienced physician advised me to use digestive enzymes to improve my digestion and address some symptoms.
For my diet, the best enzymes were protease, pepsin, lipase, and ox bile extract. Various people might need different enzymes. Therefore, we must obtain support from qualified healthcare professionals.
4 — Support and Nourish Microbiome.
Out gut hosts billions of microorganisms playing different roles in digestion. Problems with the microbiome, especially those who use excessive antibiotics, can lead to serious digestive issues.
Gut health and our microbiota are highly complex matters. Therefore, we need support from qualified healthcare professionals who specialize in microbiota.
Usually, specialists can check the microbiota using fecal tests and can provide solutions, such as proprietary prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics.
Prebiotics are nutrients to feed the microbiome. Probiotics are bacteria living in our gut. And postbiotics are the bioactive compounds created by probiotics when fed with prebiotics.
Prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics can turn specific food from plant sources into short-chain fatty acids. These fatty acids can also contribute to the uncoupling of mitochondria giving us more energy.
From my experience, consuming fermented foods like kefir can support our microbiome and diversify the microbiota. I create my own kefir at home using organic milk and kefir grains. It is a delicious and salubrious drink.
Many more fermented foods can create prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics, such as kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, blue cheese, yogurt, pickles, tempeh, and kombucha drink.
Some of them can generate nitric oxide. Apple cider vinegar with mother, including acetic acid, is an excellent fermented drink that can generate postbiotics.
5 — Eliminate Toxins, Pathogens, and Heavy Metals.
One of the root causes of the leaky gut syndrome is excessive toxins, pathogens, and heavy metals passing the threshold. We cannot entirely eliminate toxins and pathogens, but we might keep them under the threshold.
A preventative approach is not getting these harmful substances in the first place by paying attention to our food, drink, and environment.
However, we can get rid of toxins, pathogens, and heavy metals using some supplements. For example, I use activated charcoal to get rid of heavy metals. I also use n-acetyl-cysteine as a detoxification molecule.
Some people use detoxifying supplements recommended by their doctors or naturopaths. Some friends mentioned psyllium husk, spirulina, milk thistle, dandelion greens, turmeric, and green tea. I don’t use them, but they might be an option for some people.
6 — Initiate Autophagy for Self-Healing of the Gut.
I left this critical item to the end as it is a preventative mechanism to lower the risks of many diseases, including leaky gut.
When our self-defense (immune and lymphatic system) cannot handle the toxins and pathogens anymore, the viable solution is to activate our self-healing system to eliminate them naturally. The scientific name for this natural process is autophagy.
When we activate the autophagy process, the body starts eating pathogens, biological toxins, and damaged proteins to create cellular power when it senses energy deficiency in cells.
Unlike the defense system, which is activated automatically, the self-healing system must be consciously activated using lifestyle changes, medication, or various therapies. For example, I activate the autophagy process using long-term fasting from two to seven days.
Our gut is also an energy-hungry organ. In addition to constantly communicating with our nervous system, our gut also communicates with mitochondria. As documented in this Frontier paper, “recent evidence shows there is a bidirectional interaction between mitochondria and microbiota.”
We can initiate autophagy and mitophagy using various lifestyle choices. As these topics are comprehensive and highly complex, I simplified them and documented my findings, observations, and experiences in the attached articles.
Here Is What Happened When I Experimentally Initiated Autophagy.
Here’s How I Initiate Mitophagy and Make My Mitochondria Denser in 7 Steps
Uncouple Mitochondria and Increase the Chance of Living Longer via 6 Lifestyle Choices
Conclusions and Takeaways
As I experienced and reviewed the literature, I firmly believe that a leaky gut is a real and severe health condition that requires timely diagnosis and treatment with support from qualified healthcare professionals.
In addition to obtaining support from our family doctors, we might also need to get assistance from specialists and holistic healthcare professionals.
The good news is that holistic healthcare professionals can fix the leaky gut with minimal medicinal intervention and mainly use healthy lifestyle choices such as improving diet, detoxifying the gut, reducing stress, diminishing fatigue, and lowering chronic inflammation.
Some people who have severe intestinal permeability might need medical intervention and supervision. Thus, obtaining timely support when we notice symptoms is necessary.
The leaky gut not only affects the digestive system but also impacts our metabolic and mental health, as I mentioned in the symptoms section of this article. To maintain my metabolic and mental health, I changed my diet to suit my genetic makeup and lifestyle goals.
Even though common causes are excessive toxins, offending food, bacterial imbalance (dysbiosis), chronic inflammation, and accumulated stress, these might vary from person to person and cause by a combination of them.
Living with a leaky gut worsens our health gradually and reduces our quality of life. Therefore, we must seek support and take personal responsibility to get it fixed. Many people in my circles successfully healed their leaky guts.
We might benefit from excellent physical and mental health outcomes when we heal our leaky gut. Our hormones and neurotransmitters get balanced, so we have more energy and a better mood. Some people even become insulin sensitive, lose substantial visceral fat, and define their bodies.
I also wrote about a leaky brain.
After fixing my leaky gut, my skin health significantly improved.
Thank you for reading my perspectives. I wish you a healthy and happy life.
As a new reader, please check my holistic health and well-being stories reflecting my reviews, observations, and decades of experiments optimizing my hormones and neurotransmitters. I write about health as it matters. I believe health is all about homeostasis.
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