Leaky Gut Syndrome

Leaky gut syndrome, a diagnostic entity is a gastronomical disorder. It is the disorder that is very famous in most of the branches of alternative medicines and is characterized by increased permeability of intestinal lining, hence rightly called 'leaky gut.' To understand leaky gut syndrome, it is of utmost importance that we should take a look at the physiology of our gastrointestinal tract (GI).

Physiology of Gastrointestinal Tract
In healthy conditions, GI tract absorbs and transmits molecules that are by-products of digestion process. These molecules can be of amino acids, sugar, vitamins, fatty acids, or minerals which are required by the body for proper functioning of life process. GI tract has a barrier in form of its intestinal lining.

The transmission process across this lining is carried out in two ways depending on the size of these molecules. Small molecules (size up to 5000 Daltons) are transmitted across the intestinal lining with help of carrier proteins, a specific type of proteins present in intestine. This carrier protein gets bound with the small molecules of minerals, vitamins, and transmits them across the epithelium by active mechanism of transmission.

Larger molecules (size more than 5000 Daltons up to 9200daltons) are transferred by means of passive mechanism. This passive mechanism uses the intercellular path ways or spaces commonly known as Desmosomes. The process is called 'endocytosis'. Desmosomes are tight junction spaces present in between epithelium cells which don't allow the larger molecules of unwanted material to cross the lining. Due to some reasons this normal function of permeability of intestinal lining gets disrupted and leaky gut syndrome occurs.

Inflammation of Gastrointestinal Tract
Due to varied reasons GI tract gets inflamed and it fails to absorb nutrients and foods properly in the blood stream. Fatigue and bloating are the common symptoms visible. As the permeability function of intestine gets disrupted, it allows larger food particles to pass through along with antibodies in blood stream. It results in food allergies and new symptoms. The carrier proteins get damaged which results in nutrient deficiency. Due to the malfunctioning of detoxification pathways chemical sensitivity poses a problem which leads to the alarming level of toxins and overburdens the liver. Due to the inflammation to the protective coating of immunoglobulins A of epithelium lining immune mechanism of body gets adversely affected. This condition is known as leaky gut.

Leaky gut syndrome further triggers emergence of antibodies and various diseases related to them. When the intestinal epithelial lining becomes more permeable, even larger substances like toxins, undigested food particles, disease-causing bacteria pass directly through the dented cells. The immune mechanism is alarmed and cytokines, the antibodies are released. The released cytokines stimulate white blood corpuscles to fight the foreign particles which results in production of oxidants. This causes irritation and inflammation throughout the body.

Symptoms of Leaky Gut Syndrome
Symptoms of intestinal permeability include the following:

• Asthma
• Abdominal pain
• Indigestion
• Chronic joint pain
• Chronic muscle pain
• Poor immunity
• Foggy thinking
• Confusion
• Gas
• Mood swings
• Nervousness

This condition also gives rise to other health problems like:

• Poor memory
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Recurrent vaginal infections
• Skin rashes
• Diarrhea
• Bed-wetting
• Recurrent bladder infections
• Constipation
• Shortness of breath
• Bloating
• Aggressive behavior
• Feeling toxic

Leaky gut syndrome is also associated with numerous other diseases as it hampers the function of immune mechanism. The diseases associated with the syndrome include autoimmune disease, hives, pancreatic insufficiency, inflammatory joint disease /arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, liver dysfunction, food allergies and sensitivities, irritable bowel syndrome.

Causes of Leaky Gut
It has been hypothesized that intestinal infections may be a major cause for occurrence of leaky gut syndrome. If an accelerated growth of bacteria in small intestine occurs, it can prove to be fatal. Environmental contaminants like toxic metals are also one of the major causes of disease. Poor diet, chronic stress and side effects of non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs contribute towards the cause of leaky gut syndrome.

Diagnosis of Leaky Gut
"Mannitol and lactulose tests" are the principal tool of diagnosis. Both being water-soluble molecules that body can't use; mannitol is the one which can be absorbed by healthy intestine while lactulose is a larger molecule and cannot be absorbed by intestinal lining. This tests aims at finding out the amount of absorption of these two molecules by means of urinalysis after six hours.

Treatment for Leaky Gut
Altered intestinal permeability remains the principal cause and thankfully there are numerous nutrients and herbs are present, that help to reduce inflammation of gut. Stress reduction therapies can be very effective in the treatment. It is essential to restore the healthy ecology of gut.

• Nutrients like glutamine (amino acid), which is essential for production of intestinal mucus and secretary immunoglobulins, Vitamin A for production of antibodies, Zinc for growth and healing of epithelial cells play a major role in treatment.
• Herbs like Deglycyrrhizinated Licorice, Silymarin or milk thistle, Aloe, Slippery Elm are used more commonly an effectively to heal the damaged lining of intestinal wall.
• Stress reduction therapy offers much more relief as there is a strong connection between brain and activities of digestive system.

The leaky gut syndrome is a proposed theory to explain a damaged bowel lining. However, it is not a widely recognized diagnosis and is based mainly on alternative medicine hypothesis. Therefore, before coming to any conclusion, make sure you speak to expert doctors for more advise.