Finally You Can Get Relief
From Your Leaky Gut Symptoms
Tammy Gallagher, Functional Nutrition Practitioner, has been serving Charlotte and helping her patients not only treat the symptoms of what’s commonly called “Leaky Gut” but also addressing the root cause of what causes her patients discomfort! Tammy Gallagher takes pride in not only helping her patients but also educating her patients on how the body works and what the best course of action to address the root cause of Leaky Gut!
What Exactly Is Leaky Gut?
Inside of our intenstines we have extensive surface area where micronutrients from the foods we eat are absorbed into the blood stream and lymphatic system. When your gut is healthy it is a selective barrier. It has tight junctions that controls what gets absorbed into the body. However, an unhealthy gut lining sometimes develops wide junctions that allow partially digested foods, toxins, bacteria, fungus and parasites to penetrate through the intestinal wall into the blood stream and lymphatic system.
The blood stream doesn't want these toxins, and when it gets overloaded it kicks these unwanted particles out into the interstitial fluid. The lymphatic system and liver can clean this up, but it puts your immune system in overdrive and is believed to cause several possible down stream health issues.
The research space is booming right now with studies showing that modifications to the intestinal bacteria and inflammation may play a role in the development of several common chronic diseases, specifically autoimmune diseases. Which ones? Genetics usually play a significant role in which autoimmune is most likely at risk.
But one thing is for certain, when the gut is healthy with tight gap junctions and a healthy balance of bacteria, developing an autoimmune disease is almost impossible. But having your immune system clean up the toxins that leak out of the gut, putting it in overdrive twenty four hours a day, is believed to be the number one cause of immune dominance.
Down Stream Effects of a Leaky Gut
Unfortunately, this hyperpermeability in the small intestine (Leaky Gut Syndrome) reeks havok on the body, Below are just a few of the illness you can experience with long term LGS.
- Alzheimer's disease
- ALD
- Cancer
- Type 1 diabetes
- food allergies
- migraine
- tiredness and chronic fatigue syndrome
- asthma
- lupus
- rheumatoid arthritis
- multiple sclerosis (MS)
- scleroderma
- eczema
- autism
- IBS and IBD
and more...
Leaky Gut...Leaky Brain?
Some scientists and most functional medicine doctors and practitioners are convinced that there is a relationship between a leaky gut and leaky brain. Meaning, a chronic leaky gut leads to a weakened blood brain barrier. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this relationship, and weakening of the blood brain barrier may very well contribute to neurological disease.
The blood brain barrier is that barrier that keeps toxins from entering the brain. Because of the extra toxins within the body that occur with a leaky gut, and these toxins in the blood continually passing by the brain, the blood brain barrier gets compromised and these toxins get into the brain.
As it stands, scientists need to conduct more research to support and prove this claim.
What Are Some Symptoms of a Leaky Gut?
According to Dr. Leo Galland, director of the Foundation for Integrated Medicine, the following symptoms might be signs of leaky gut:
- constipation
- Irritable Bowel Syndrome
- food Sensitivities
- chronic diarrhea
- gas or bloating
- nutritional deficiencies
- excessive fatigue
- headaches
- confusion
- difficulty concentrating
- skin problems, such as acne, rashes, or eczema
- joint pain
- poor immune system
- cravings for sugar or carbs
- arthritis or joint pain
- depression, anxiety, ADD, ADHD
- rheumatoid arthritis
- lupus
- celiac disease
- Crohn's
One of the best ways to repair your leaky gut is to preserve the diversity and abundance of your body's bacterial community, and lower gastrointestinal inflammation as much as possible.
Much of this can be achieved through nutritional supplementation, eating certain types of foods, avoiding other kinds of foods, and making lifestyle changes. Still, more importantly, your course of action will differ depending on your specific underlying ailment, i.e., if you have a small intestine bacteria or candida overgrowth, or food sensitivity.
That said, if believe you may have a leaky gut, we can help. We likely can identify your underlying issues, and develop the best line of attack to resolve them, and better yet, learn how to prevent it from reoccurring.
Next Steps...
Take a look at our Heal and Seal Your Gut program to see if it's right for you.
