Leaky gut syndrome has emerged as a possible underlying cause for a range of chronic illnesses in recent years, spanning from skin problems to autoimmune disorders and even cancer.
While it’s not a medical term by itself, leaky gut refers to a condition called “increased intestinal permeability.”
Although the relationship between leaky gut and disease isn’t yet well-defined, it has been clinically linked to a range of autoimmune and chronic conditions, such as celiac disease and type 1 diabetes.
Let’s delve into the specifics of leaky gut, including its causes and unexpected dietary and lifestyle adjustments that can facilitate its healing.
What Exactly is Leaky Gut?
Increased intestinal permeability leads to leaky gut syndrome, which is caused by a malfunctioning gut lining. To comprehend the concept of leaky gut and why intestinal permeability matters, it’s essential to understand the gut’s functioning.
The human belly contains an extensive intestinal lining that spans over 4,000 square feet of surface area. It functions as a tight barrier regulating the absorption of substances into the bloodstream.
If the gut lining is unhealthy, it may develop large cracks or holes, allowing partially digested food, toxins, and microbes to infiltrate the underlying tissues. This can trigger inflammation and alterations in the gut’s normal bacterial composition, leading to issues both within the digestive system and beyond.
Current research reveals that changes in intestinal bacteria and inflammation can contribute to the onset of several chronic diseases.
The Function of the Gut
The gastrointestinal (GI) tract, commonly referred to as the gut, is responsible for processing everything we ingest, starting from the mouth and ending at the anus. The throat, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and rectum are the other organs involved in this process.
The majority of the foods and fluids we consume do not get absorbed by our bodies until they reach the small intestine. This 20-25 foot long tube is responsible for nutrient absorption, as the nutrients enter our bloodstream and are transported to nourish and maintain the cells throughout our bodies.
The Intestinal Barrier
The lining of your intestines, known as the intestinal barrier, encompasses roughly 4,000 square feet of surface area and is responsible for shielding the gut from the rest of the body.
This dynamic barrier requires approximately 40% of the body’s energy expenditure to sustain it and is composed of several components, including:
- The lumen, which houses gastric acid, bile, pancreatic juice, and bacteria that degrade antigens and pathogenic bacteria.
- The glycocalyx and mucus layer, which prevent interactions between gut bacteria and intestinal epithelial cells.
- Intestinal epithelial cells that are interconnected by intercellular proteins such as tight junction, adherens junction, and desmosome that restrict the entry of bacteria and/or bacterial products into the systemic circulation.
- The lamina propria, an additional defensive layer.
Causes of Leaky Gut
The intestinal barrier can be likened to a castle gate, with the tight junctions acting as guards who open and close it only after verifying the identities of visitors.
In normal circumstances, any intruders are prevented from entering the castle.
However, if the guards are injured or incapacitated, intruders can easily gain access. This is precisely what occurs in the case of leaky gut.
The intruders that can penetrate the leaky gut include harmful foreign substances such as bacteria, toxins, and undigested food particles. These substances are harmful because they’re not meant to circulate throughout your body.
As your immune system identifies these substances as unwanted, it triggers a series of reactions, including autoimmune responses such as chronic inflammation.
Afflictions Associated with Leaky Gut
Hippocrates, the Ancient Greek physician, stated that “All disease begins in the gut.” As it turns out, he was not too far off the mark.
Medical practitioners are now identifying more and more diseases, both intestinal and extraintestinal, that are associated with leaky gut.
Why is this the case?
The intestinal barrier has the essential function of maintaining balance, or homeostasis, in the gut.
The gut contains 70% of the cells that form your immune system and houses your microbiome, which is a vast ecosystem of trillions of bacteria that perform critical functions, from breaking down food to regulating neurotransmitters and hormones.
Therefore, when the lining that maintains and balances this intricate system is compromised, the consequences can affect every other part of your body.
In addition, leaky gut may also be complicit in:
- Autism
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Asthma
- Multiple sclerosis
- Autoimmune diseases
Symptoms of Leaky Gut
Here are some signs and symptoms commonly seen that may be an indication for leaky gut:
- Digestive issues (diarrhea, constipation, bloating, gas, etc.)
- Chronic fatigue
- Muscle pain or fibromyalgia-type symptoms
- Joint pain
- Headaches
- “Brain fog” or trouble concentrating
- Food allergies or sensitivities
- Skin issues, including eczema, acne, rosacea
- Autoimmune diseases
- Hormone imbalance
- Vitamin deficiency
What Leads to Leaky Gut?
Although physicians and researchers have not yet been able to identify a direct cause of leaky gut, several factors are thought to play a significant role.
Plant Toxins
It may come as a surprise, as we’ve been advised by doctors and health officials for years to increase our intake of plant-based foods. Some of these vibrant foods are even labeled as “superfoods” with purported health benefits ranging from reducing chronic inflammation to potentially curing cancer.
While these plant-based foods may seem harmless and even beneficial, they are not necessarily on our side. Plants have developed toxins and antinutrients as defense mechanisms against predators, given their inability to move. Research indicates that on a daily basis, we ingest approximately 1.5 grams of natural pesticides, which is roughly 10,000 times more than the amount of synthetic pesticides.
Antinutrients further compound the issue by causing nutritional deficiencies that contribute to intestinal permeability. Plant toxins and antinutrients come in various forms, such as lectins, saponins, tannins, glycoalkaloids, glucosinolates, sulforaphane, oxalates, phenols, salicylates, cyanogenic glycosides, trypsin inhibitors, isoflavones, phytoestrogens, photosensitizers, omega-6 fatty acids, and mold. All of these compounds are associated with inflammation, which can negatively impact gut health.
Lectins
While gluten has been a notorious nutrition villain for a while, have you heard of its relative, lectin?
Like gluten, lectins are proteins that bind to carbohydrates and are produced by plants as a defense mechanism against predators and microbes. Although they are present in most plants, legumes and grains contain the highest concentrations, followed by dairy, seafood, and nightshade plants like tomatoes.
Once ingested, lectins can attach to virtually any type of cell in the body, including those lining the gut. This can lead to damage to the epithelium and hinder the absorption and digestion of nutrients.
When consumed in high amounts, lectins can pose a threat to the development and overall health of predators.
Lectins may also contribute to intestinal dysbiosis, leading to a low-grade inflammation called endotoxemia. More information on this can be found below.
Interestingly, despite the potential risks posed by lectins, many health practitioners recommend a plant-based diet as a treatment for leaky gut.
Gluten
Gluten is a well-known type of lectin, recognized as a plant antinutrient. It’s probable that you know someone who is gluten intolerant, and you might be curious about why some people experience gluten sensitivity while others don’t.
The answer lies in a protein known as zonulin, which is responsible for regulating tight junctions. When zonulin is released, tight junctions open slightly, permitting larger particles to pass through.
Research has identified two powerful factors that can trigger zonulin release: bacteria and gluten. Consequently, gluten-sensitive individuals experience high levels of zonulin release when consuming gluten-containing food, leading to leaky gut and allowing microbial and dietary antigens to enter the bloodstream.
Studies have discovered elevated levels of zonulin in people with chronic inflammatory disorders, including obesity, high blood sugar, celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, insulin resistance, various cancers, nervous system disorders, and others.
Eliminating gluten from one’s diet reduces zonulin levels in the blood and allows time for the intestinal barrier to heal. Even for individuals who can tolerate gluten, there may be advantages to eliminating it.
Intestinal Dysbiosis
Trillions of bacteria, viruses, and fungi form your gut microbiome, and they have a significant impact on your immune, metabolic, and nervous system functions.
Your gut microbiome is constantly changing in response to various factors like your diet, lifestyle, medication, toxins, and stress.
When the balance of good and bad bacteria is disrupted, resulting in an unnatural shift in composition, researchers refer to it as dysbiosis.
While leaky gut and intestinal dysbiosis are not necessarily linked, harmful gut bacteria can release enterotoxins, leading to inflammation and leaky gut. Inflamed gut, in turn, provides an ideal environment for pathogenic bacteria to continue growing, resulting in a vicious cycle.
It’s not just the quantity of pathogenic bacteria that is problematic. Gram-negative bacteria cell walls contain lipopolysaccharide (LPS), an endotoxin that is a potent inducer of inflammation.
LPS usually helps regulate inflammatory responses in the gut against pathogens. However, in the presence of a leaky gut, LPS can enter the bloodstream and interact with immune cells.
This triggers immune cells to eliminate the LPS, leading to a series of activities that cause tissue inflammation. The inflammation further activates more immune cells, leading to a disruption of tissue homeostasis and chronic low-grade inflammation.
Other Causes of Leaky Gut
Up to this point, we have identified some of the primary instigators of leaky gut. However, the list of contributing factors does not stop there.
Included below is an enumeration of items that can generate inflammation within your body, impair beneficial bacteria, and facilitate harmful ones, all of which can play a role in the development of leaky gut.
- Processed meats
- Products based on wheat
- Sugar and artificial sweeteners
- Snacks such as crackers, popcorn, etc.
- Junk food
- Mass-produced sauces
- Refined oils
- Dairy products
- Alcoholic beverages
- Sugary and/or carbonated drinks
- Industrial seed oils
- Stress
- Overgrowth of yeast
- Use of NSAIDs
- Insufficient nutrients
The Carnivore Diet and Healing Leaky Gut
When you hear “apex predator”, what animal comes to mind? For many, it may be a shark, lion, or wolf. However, recent research suggests that humans were also on that list. Our ancestors were adapted to carnivory, specializing in hunting large prey known as megafauna.
It wasn’t until the agricultural revolution, that humans began to consume a more omnivorous diet. While humans are omnivores and can obtain energy from both meat and non-meat foods, our ancestors were like wolves in that they were facultative carnivores. This means they focused on eating nutrient-dense meat and only turned to plants when necessary, such as during times of starvation.
Returning to this ancestral way of eating may help to heal dysbiosis and leaky gut syndrome. Essentially, the leaky gut diet reflects the way we evolved to eat. This diet works by limiting and eliminating potential toxins while providing the gut with the most bioavailable nutrients on earth – all of which are found in meat.
Why The Carnivore Diet Improves Gut Health
By following a well-designed and nutrient-dense carnivore diet, you can eliminate many of the toxins and inflammatory foods present in the typical American diet, while also providing your body with the most nutrient-dense food available, which promotes healing.
When you consider that your cells are starving for the proper nutrients and that an inflamed gut makes it more difficult for them to obtain what they require, this makes sense. Patients with inflammatory diseases have had success with high-fat, low-carbohydrate keto diets because they help to alleviate the toxic burden, nourish cells, and significantly decrease inflammation.
Organ meats, in particular, are a fantastic source of both fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins, which are essential for gut health. A diet deficient in vitamin A for just a few weeks can cause gut bacteria changes that harm the intestinal barrier, while a lack of vitamin D can also compromise the barrier, which could explain why it’s connected with inflammatory bowel disease. These deficiencies can be quickly and entirely reversed by consuming organ meats such as beef liver, which supplies 4,968 µg of vitamin A per 3.5 ounces, exceeding the suggested daily intake. Meanwhile, pastured lard and salmon roe are excellent sources of vitamin D.
Some amino acids, such as glutamine, which can be found in eggs and beef, are critical for gut health because they help regulate tight junctions and prevent toxin permeability. Bone broth is another excellent source of amino acids that work to repair damaged intestinal lining and minimize “leakiness.”
