NUTRITION
Friendly Bacteria bug a Leaky Gut to Heal
By Mark Isaac Thyss
Garden of Healing®
Modern foods lack necessary beneficial bacteria also known as “friendly” bacteria. One of the greatest benefits obtained from good bacteria is healthy immunity.
Everything from food allergies to aspirin to stress can irritate the lining of your stomach. An irritated gut and lack of the friendly bacteria, and an out-of-control overgrowth of candida, are a prescription for leaky gut syndromes.
It’s likely that everyone gets a little leaky gut from time to time, but normally, a healthy body will repair itself and you’ll be good to go. People with underlying infections, like candida, or chronic illnesses, like HIV or Crohn’s disease, can end up with minor damage to the small intestine. This damage left unaddressed could produce a syndrome that becomes chronic.
The most common causes of damage to the the integrity of the intestinal mucosa are infectious agents (viral, bacterial and protozoan), ethanol, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
It was the sixteenth-century physician Paracelsus who believed the cause of all evil lies in the intestines. Many health problems originate in the intestines and digestive tract. When digestion is poor toxins are often the result and one of these toxins is acid.
What should become clear is the difference between what essentially irritates the gastrointestinal tract and what would be more soothing and ultimately healing for it.
What heals and what simply cannot...
The Digestive Process
The right foods protect against diseases, while the wrong ones may actually promote them.
Digestion is a complex process. Food you eat enters the esophagus where it travels through the digestive tract to the stomach. There it is further broken down by enzymes and hydrochloric acid. Food then moves into the small intestine which absorbs nutrients. Finally, after leaving the small intestine, the food moves through the large intestine (colon) and is eventually expelled as waste.
Digestion breaks food down so that various nutrients can be used by the cells of the body (converting these nutrients into energy).
With a leaky gut, the process of digestion is altered somewhat. Here is a possible theory of what may be going on.
A Leaky Gut and the Digestive Process
Normally food travels through the small intestine, where tiny molecules of fats, proteins, and starches get absorbed through the walls and into the bloodstream. The larger molecules, which include troublemakers like bacteria, toxins, and partially digested food, are left to progress to the large intestine and out of the body.
The theory is that people with leaky gut syndrome have tiny openings in the walls of their small intestines, and this is where the name Increased Intestinal Permeability comes from.
With these openings in the small intestine, the large molecules are allowed to leak into the bloodstream, where the immune system attacks them as foreign invaders. Food molecules that get into the blood this way can trigger food allergies; but any large molecules that leak out can cause inflammation, irritating the gut lining and exacerbating the problem.
Candida albicans is a yeast that normally resides in the body in the digestive tract, and many people suffer from an overgrowth of this micro-organism. Candida levels are kept in check by the immune system and beneficial probiotic bacteria in the body.
If probiotic bacteria are killed by antibiotics or if the immune system becomes weakened, Candida yeast may grow unchecked causing a variety of problems.
This condition (called Candidiasis) presents with a wide variety of symptoms which may vary greatly in each individual case.
Lactulose-Mannitol Challenge
Get a clinical test from a qualified physician called the lactulose/mannitol challenge in order to get an accurate diagnosis for Leaky Gut Syndrome.
This chronic inflammation is the suspected link between leaky gut syndrome and other conditions. The result can be autoimmune diseases such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis.
Leaky Gut Syndrome is also known as Increased Intestinal Permeability and/or Intestinal Hyperpermeability.
The Lactulose/Mannitol Challenge Test
If your doctor suspects you have a leaky gut, he/she will administer a very simple clinical test, the lactulose/mannitol challenge. Patients are first put on a fast and then ingest 5 grams each of mannitol and lactulose.
Mannitol, a monosaccharide (small molecule), is passively transported through the intestinal wall and is expected to be present in the blood; around 15% of the dose appears in the urine (range 5-25%). Lactulose on the other hand is a disaccharide (a larger molecule) and is not normally absorbed; less than 1% of the administered dose appears in the urine.
An abnormal result occurs when lactulose appears in significant amounts (over 3% is definitely positive), which means that the gut is allowing through bigger molecules than normal. In fact, it is the ratio of lactulose/mannitol which is reported.
Understanding the gastrointestinal tract’s bacterial population is key.
You can take steps to gradually improve digestion by restoring healthy bacteria to your gut.
With leaky gut syndrome, your gut’s ratio of good to bad bacteria gets out of whack. To help heal this syndrome, replenish the good bugs with a mixed probiotic supplement.
Probiotics are bacteria that are beneficial to a person’s health. They help protect the body against pathogenic bacteria and assist in recovery from an illness. Probiotics are dietary supplements containing beneficial bacteria or yeasts.
Treatments for Intestinal Hyperpermeability
Taking on leaky gut, your practitioner might prescribe a low-fiber diet to allow your intestines time to heal. You might also need supplements like digestive enzymes.
Also included might be: glutamine, acidophilus, omega-3 fatty acids, aloe vera juice and alpha-lipoic acid.
In addition to probiotic supplements, you might look at a few foods to accomplish the same goal.
And addressing the foods and food allergies that cause leaky gut syndrome is key.
Kimchi, miso, kefir and yogurt
The longest-lived peoples have always supported their health with fermented foods.
Kimchi, miso, kefir and yogurt are able to promote the growth of friendly intestinal bacteria.
Most of the time, Leaky Gut Syndromes will evade detection - make sure your doctor is specifically looking for them.
Dysfunctional Gut Fermentation - What to Add and to Avoid
An abnormal bacterial ratio can lead to dysfunctional gut fermentation having adverse effects on nutrient assimilation and production.
Avoid the habitual use of sugar, drinking sodas, and soothing emotional pain with sweets. To help prevent candida overgrowth, also avoid food additives and preservatives, alcohol, and caffeine.
In our modern times, the path to healing Leaky Gut Syndromes is to squarely focus on avoiding toxins and toxic environments.
Explore finding alternatives to taking prescription drugs on any long-term basis.
Reduce or eliminate alcohol, nicotine, allergic foods, and preservative-rich foods. Combat free radicals by taking antioxidants. Include in your diet the vitamins A, E, C, the mineral selenium, and the plant extract, Pycnogenol.
Eat more broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, which contain phyto-chemicals that stimulate Phase I and Phase II liver detoxification pathways.
Consider nourishing your gut with the likes of the minty herb peppermint (Mentha piperita), which is good for stomach aches, indigestion and gas. Research suggests that peppermint relaxes the gastrointestinal tissue.
The presence of Candida overgrowth, especially within an immune-compromised individual, can significantly contribute to leaky gut and related conditions. To help bring candida back down to healthy levels, do add these foods to your diet: green algae, live yogurt cultures, non-glutenous grains, nuts and seeds, protein and vegetables.
It’s the difference between what heals and what simply cannot.
Here’s an herb that heals: Ginger root.
Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) has analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties that may alleviate digestive cramps and mild pain from fibromyalgia.
You can prepare a tea from 1 teaspoon chopped fresh root simmered in a cup of water for about 10 minutes.
You might have better luck in finding solutions to leaky gut in the various branches of alternative medicine. Natural doctors are more apt to understand that damage to the bowel lining is caused by antibiotics, toxins, poor diet, parasites or infection.
Leaky gut syndrome can bring on a host of unwanted symptoms, including gas, bloating, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. Make sure to obtain a clinical test from a qualified physician called the lactulose/mannitol challenge in order to get an accurate diagnosis.
It might sound odd that a little beneficial bacteria (probiotics) can build healthy levels of intestinal flora. This helps your gut absorb minerals, maintain bowel regularity and stave off diarrhea. Look for high-quality products that contain living organisms and check to make sure if you need to refrigerate them.
© 1996-2009 Mark Isaac Thyss/Garden of Healing®. All rights reserved.
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