How Long Does It Take To Heal Leaky Gut (Leaky Gut Diet)
Intestinal permeability, aka leaky gut, appears in a variety of not so subtle ways including bloating, digestive distress, diarrhea and general discomfort as well as in subtle, under the radar ways, including headaches, anxiety, restlessness, lack of energy and low libido.
While it’s not currently a medically diagnosed condition, there is growing evidence about the increases of leaky gut syndrome in our current population.
Your gut takes up about 4,000 squat feet in your stomach yet it has one thin and tiny protective layer that is suppose to prevent undigested food particles and pathogens from entering your bloodstream.
Unfortunately we aren’t too easy on our gut these days with excessive liquor consumption, fried foods, gluten heavy food and overall stress. Any of this can poke tiny holes in our digestive tract which then increases whole body inflammation and negatively impacts our gut flora (bacteria)
Leaky gut will manifest in allergies, fatigue, anxiety, depression, skin rashes and a whole host of hormonal issues from thyroid dysfunction to low testosterone. While a healthy intestinal tract has been linked, in research, to positively impacting irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis, celiac disease, type I and type II diabetes, certain cancers, obesity and Alzheimer disease.
How do you know if you have leaky gut?
While leaky gut can be indirectly linked to a variety of issues, there are a few main tells of leaky gut including
Weight loss
Fatigue
Bloody stools
Excessive Gas
Fatty deposits in your stool
Diarrhea
Fatigue
Constipation
Vomiting
What Can I Do To Heal My Leaky Gut?
While there is no single one remedy for leaky gut syndrome, there are a few things that you can do in order to improve your overall gut health environment.
-Start on a gluten free die to reduce gut inflammation
-In extreme cases certain antibiotics may help to reduce an overactive immune system
-If you’ve been medically diagnosed with IBD or IBS there are anti-inflammatory drugs that may help.
How do I avoid getting leaky gut?
If you feel your gut health is fine right now and you don’t have any of the symptoms we addressed, then the following recommendations can help prevent leaky gut.
-Consume fiber foods daily including green powders, vegetables, fruits and nuts to enhance your bacterial growth.
- Limit your carbohydrate intake
-Consider slowing down your use of nonsterodial anti inflammatory drugs which can weaken the gut lining.
-Stop smoking and drinking alcohol
-Add a probiotic supplement or prebiotic rich foods into your diet.
-Consume glutamine supplements to increase the strength of your gut lining.
What diets can help leaky gut?
This is where healing leaky gut gets tricky. Some people do well with a high fat diet particularly with grass fed and pasture raised meats as well as healthy fats like organic olive oil and coconut oil. Other times that causes extra trips to the bathroom and bloating.
Generally speaking you want to avoid
-Alcohol
-High amounts of caffeine
-Sugar
-Any foods that you my have a sensitivity to such as diary or gluten.
Generally speaking a diet that treats SIBO may work well for healing leaky gut.
A SIBO diet is high in probiotics and prebiotic fibers that feed and recolonize the gut.
Low carbohydrates to reduce the acidic growth of bacteria and high on fiber from fruits and vegetables to increase healthy digestion.
You can also consume probiotic supplements, digestive enzymes with betaine HCL and omega-3 fish oil.
Largely leaky gut syndrome is avoidable or treatable if you begin to address it on a daily basis and understand that it can be the difference with how you feel. Take it seriously.