Chiropractic

What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Because it is something of a mystery disease that can show itself as a bewildering array of other conditions, you could have Leaky Gut Syndrome and not even realize it.

The reason is that Leaky Gut Syndrome is one of the many concepts in medicine that cuts across the boundary lines of specific diseases.

It is a major example of an important medical phenomenon: distress in one organ causes disease in another. That is why it is vital to look beyond the symptoms and discover the root cause of illness.

  • arthritis
  • allergies
  • depression
  • eczema
  • hives
  • psoriasis
  • chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia?

Then you may also have Leaky Gut Syndrome, because it causes or contributes to these conditions.

Getting a better understanding of Leaky Gut Syndrome may help you find a more effective solution to your condition.

I am telling you about Leaky Gut Syndrome because it is a vitally important, but often undiagnosed, condition that is key to recovering from many illnesses and regaining robust good health.

An Integrated Approach to Leaky Gut Syndrome

I�ve been evaluating patients for Leaky Gut Syndrome for over twenty years, and have been writing about my integrated approach to this condition. My article �Leaky Gut Syndromes: Breaking the Vicious Cycle� is available online at the Foundation for Integrated Medicine. (1)

Through my clinical experience and further research I came to understand how gastrointestinal health in general, and Leaky Gut Syndrome in particular, contributes to many seemingly unrelated conditions.

To share my knowledge and help my colleagues learn more about this important topic I wrote a chapter titled �Integrative Approach to the Gastrointestinal System� for the textbook Integrative Medicine: Principles for Practice in 2004 and coauthored the book-length monograph Gastrointestinal Dysregulation: Connections to Chronic Disease, in 2008.

I have found Leaky Gut Syndrome especially relevant for many people with chronic fatigue syndrome.

What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Because it connects apparently unrelated disorders, Leaky Gut Syndrome is one of the most misunderstood concepts in medicine today.

To begin with, Leaky Gut is not a single disease or syndrome; it�s a pathological condition that occurs as part of many different diseases and syndromes. The term refers to an abnormal increase in the permeability of the small intestine. Increased intestinal permeability is a component of many different disorders.

Leaky Gut Syndrome is associated with:

  • inflammatory and infectious bowel diseases (6-12),
  • several types of arthritis (13-18),
  • acne (19),
  • psoriasis, (19),
  • AIDS (20),
  • chronic liver disease (21),
  • pancreatic disease (22)

as well as numerous conditions triggered by food allergy, including eczema, hives, and irritable bowel syndrome (29-37).

Sometimes, Leaky Gut Syndrome plays a primary role in the evolution of an illness.

Crohn�s disease is a serious chronic intestinal disorder that effects almost a million people in the United States. People who develop Crohn�s disease may have a genetically induced increase in intestinal permeability that creates the inflammation in the bowel. This predisposing leakiness can be found in close relatives of patients with Crohn�s diseases, suggesting that it precedes the development of inflammation.

Leaky Gut Syndrome can also be caused by the treatment for another disease.

In rheumatoid arthritis, for example, the drugs used to relieve pain and inflammation can damage the intestinal lining, leading to Leaky Gut Syndrome within two weeks. Leaky Gut Syndrome, in turn, is associated with aggravation of arthritis.

For most conditions, the precise role of Leaky Gut Syndrome remains unclear, but it seems to be part of a vicious cycle that makes the condition get worse over time. Allergic reactions to food, for example, cause a transient increase in intestinal permeability. If this happens frequently, it may increase the number or severity of food allergies.

In chronic fatigue syndrome and major depressive disorder, Leaky Gut Syndrome activates the intestinal immune system to produce chemicals called cytokines that spread inflammation through your body.

Inflammation is an important trigger for symptoms like fatigue, malaise, pain, and depression.

When should you suspect Leaky Gut Syndrome?

If you have:

  • pain in multiple joints,
  • a chronic skin condition,
  • chronic diarrhea or abdominal pain,
  • chronic fatigue,
  • chronic depression,
  • malaise,
  • a feeling of being infected but your doctor can�t find the infection,

or if you use aspirin or anti-inflammatory drugs on a regular basis, or if you�re a heavy drinker of alcohol.

Recent research in animals has indicated that Leaky Gut Syndrome may also be associated with difficulty losing or gaining weight, but its association with obesity is still under investigation.

Related Post

Five Steps to Help Heal Leaky Gut Syndrome

Get rid of anything that might be causing or contributing to increased intestinal permeability:

  1. Stop drinking alcohol for at least a month.
  • Have a stool test for intestinal parasites. There is extensive medical literature on intestinal parasites causing symptoms like fatigue, joint pain and skin disorders, without causing diarrhea. I discuss these in a chapter I wrote titled, �Intestinal Protozoan Infestation and Systemic Illness�, for the Textbook of Natural Medicine, 3rd Edition, in 2005 [34].
  • Adopt an anti-inflammatory dietary pattern. I explain the benefits of eating to reduce inflammation, and provide a plan to achieve that, in my book, The Fat Resistance Diet. The principles are simple to understand: avoid foods with added sugar and refined starches, made from white flour. Decrease consumption of saturated fat and most vegetable oils, using extra virgin olive oil instead. Eat at least 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day and at least 4 servings of fish per week.
  • There are dietary supplements that help the small intestine heal and restore its functional integrity. The most important of these are the amino acid L-glutamine and the amino sugar N-acetyl- glucosamine, which are readily available in health food stores.

 

These are but a few introductory steps toward an integrated approach to this condition. There is a vast amount of scientific literature on Leaky Gut Syndrome, a sample of which appear in the references below from journals such as The Lancet, The British Medical Journal and The Annals of Internal Medicine.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.huffingtonpost.com

The health of every system in the body is ultimately essential to promote overall wellness and when one of these is out of balance, it can trigger an array of symptoms and disorders. Digestive health is of utmost importance because it’s the source of most nutrients. When a disorder develops it could be due to another cause, such as leaky gut syndrome.

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For more information, please feel free to ask Dr. Jimenez or contact us at 915-850-0900 .

Professional Scope of Practice *

The information herein on "What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?" is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional or licensed physician and is not medical advice. We encourage you to make healthcare decisions based on your research and partnership with a qualified healthcare professional.

Blog Information & Scope Discussions

Our information scope is limited to Chiropractic, musculoskeletal, physical medicines, wellness, contributing etiological viscerosomatic disturbances within clinical presentations, associated somatovisceral reflex clinical dynamics, subluxation complexes, sensitive health issues, and/or functional medicine articles, topics, and discussions.

We provide and present clinical collaboration with specialists from various disciplines. Each specialist is governed by their professional scope of practice and their jurisdiction of licensure. We use functional health & wellness protocols to treat and support care for the injuries or disorders of the musculoskeletal system.

Our videos, posts, topics, subjects, and insights cover clinical matters, issues, and topics that relate to and directly or indirectly support our clinical scope of practice.*

Our office has reasonably attempted to provide supportive citations and has identified the relevant research study or studies supporting our posts. We provide copies of supporting research studies available to regulatory boards and the public upon request.

We understand that we cover matters that require an additional explanation of how it may assist in a particular care plan or treatment protocol; therefore, to further discuss the subject matter above, please feel free to ask Dr. Alex Jimenez, DC, or contact us at 915-850-0900.

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Blessings

Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN*, CCST, IFMCP*, CIFM*, ATN*

email: coach@elpasofunctionalmedicine.com

Licensed as a Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) in Texas & New Mexico*
Texas DC License # TX5807, New Mexico DC License # NM-DC2182

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Florida License RN License # RN9617241 (Control No. 3558029)
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Dr. Alex Jimenez DC, MSACP, RN* CIFM*, IFMCP*, ATN*, CCST
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Dr Alex Jimenez

Welcome-Bienvenido's to our blog. We focus on treating severe spinal disabilities and injuries. We also treat Sciatica, Neck and Back Pain, Whiplash, Headaches, Knee Injuries, Sports Injuries, Dizziness, Poor Sleep, Arthritis. We use advanced proven therapies focused on optimal mobility, health, fitness, and structural conditioning. We use Individualized Diet Plans, Specialized Chiropractic Techniques, Mobility-Agility Training, Adapted Cross-Fit Protocols, and the "PUSH System" to treat patients suffering from various injuries and health problems. If you would like to learn more about a Doctor of Chiropractic who uses advanced progressive techniques to facilitate complete physical health, please connect with me. We focus on simplicity to help restore mobility and recovery. I'd love to see you. Connect!

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