What Are The Symptoms Of A Leaky Gut
There are no symptoms associated directly with intestinal permeability. But intestinal permeability usually follows from injury to your intestinal lining, and you may have symptoms from that.For example:
- A burning feeling of ulceration in your gut.
- Painful indigestion from the loss of intestinal mucosa.
- Gas and bloating from fermentation by overgrown bacteria in your gut.
- Low energy from the reduced ability to draw energy from your food.
- Gastrointestinal mucositis from radiation therapy.
The Year Of The Doctor :
During 2019, I worked with 5 different medical professionals to help heal my gut. The short story is, Dena Norton, who I continue to work with, played a pivotal role in bringing health back to my life. But there is more to the story, so Ill start from the beginning.
The Holistic Nutritionist: Understanding western medicine often overlooks root causes, I began by seeing a Holistic Health Specialist who did muscle testing in order to determine my ailments as well as the supplements that could be beneficial to me. While the supplements did help, the muscle testing did not uncover the root cause of my gut issues. Even though my symptoms improved slightly, they only did so for a short time, as the root cause was still present.
The Gastroenterologist: Being the science-minded person I am, I acknowledged that alternative medicine has its place but so wanted more testing and scientific backing. I went to a gastroenterologist who gave me a colonoscopy, endoscopy, and had me take a blood test for Celiac. He also had me take two standard stool tests. Everything came back normal. Still, I was experiencing nasty gut symptoms. This entire experience did nothing to advance me, but rather helped me rule out things I didnt have.
The Functional Medicine Doctor: Reverting back to what I believe to be true, I went to a functional health doctor who happens to be one of the leading gut doctors in the country. Ill skip a long story and say I didnt get what I needed out of the experience.
Which Option Works Best To Heal The Stomach Lining
One or more of the aforementioned options may be used to help correct digestive issues or stop them from happening. To determine which option may work best to heal the stomach lining, it is important to meet with your doctor. That way, you can receive a medical evaluation and understand your different options to safely address digestive issues and prevent them from recurring.
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How To Heal Your Gut: Resetting Your Gut Microbiome For Better Health
1/10/2022 1:22:47 PM
The human body exists in a symbiotic and commensal relationship with several species of bacteria. These bacterial organisms exist on nearly every square inch of your external body, mouth, and most importantly, your gut. Gut health has an impact on several important aspects of your daily functioning like sleep, mental health, energy levels, nutrition, and digestion. Having an unhealthy gut can lead to a variety of problems and hamper these vital functions, creating a cascade of issues.
Not knowing how to heal your gut can lead to poor gut health, which is in turn associated with several chronic diseases such as irritable bowel syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Lucky for us, our gut has a way of telling us when itâs not feeling too good. If it feels funny, or if youâve had trouble with digesting food lately, or are just having a queasy feeling in your gut, it might be time to learn how to reset your gut microbiome. Since the microbiome is extremely adaptable to changes, it endures a variety of trials and errors before it settles with conditions that are the most suitable. Read on as we discuss the intricacies of your gut’s microbiome, the signs of an unhealthy gut, and how to heal your gut.
Why Do We Need To Nurture And Heal A Leaky Gut
The gut is integral to our vitality, energy and happiness and its not possible to be truly healthy if our gut is unhappy. Leaky gut is one of the main reasons we experience all sorts of health concerns, from bloating and digestive discomfort to brain fog, autoimmunity and skin issues such as eczema and psoriasis. Luckily, we can address this at home without too much effort!
In the modern world, we often do not think of our gut when we experience skin issues, energy slumps, or low mood – but we should!
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How To Improve Gut Health Naturally
Improving your gut health naturally requires considering a variety of lifestyle factors. These include diet and nutrition, the amount of sleep you are getting on a consistent basis, the status of relationships in your life , exercise, stress, mental health, and many other key elements.
Beyond diet and lifestyle factors, there are many natural treatments that can help to support a healthy gut. The key is knowing where to start, and how and when to use these treatments.
Dr. Ruscio and his team will listen to your concerns and create a customized plan that is proven and effective to help restore your gut health naturally.
Using Apple Cider Vinegar As A Stomachache Cure
Another paradoxical-sounding remedy is using acidic drinks to relieve pain from gastric reflux. Since gastric reflux can result in stomach acid leaking out into places its not wanted, your stomachs acidity can end up lower than is optimal for digesting food.
Drinking apple cider vinegar can help improve the levels and ease an upset stomach. This assumes that youre able to, well, stomach the drink in the first place. While apple cider vinegar does its work best if taken raw, you may find mixing it with water, a teaspoon of honey, and sipping slowly to be the more tolerable option.
- Add one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to one cup of warm water.
- Mix in one tablespoon of honey.
- Drink this remedy every three hours until pain is gone.
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What Is Acid Reflux
Theres a ringlike muscle where your esophagus meets your stomach called the lower esophageal sphincter . A properly working LES protects the esophagus from the acid in your stomach by keeping the pathway between them clenched shut.
When the LES is loose or too relaxed, acidic gastric juices can bubble up into your esophagus, which is a major cause of acid reflux.
A little bit of reflux is normal. But if you have excessive stomach acid in your esophagus, youre likely to be in a lot of discomfort.
Its very common, says Naveen Narahari, MD, of REX Digestive Healthcare. On any given week, 60 percent of the adult population might have some kind of reflux. But we look closely at patients who have symptoms frequently over the course of a week.
Three or more times a week is cause for concern, adds Ruth Mokeba, MD, of REX Digestive Healthcare, as well as high intensity of symptoms. We can help these patients improve their quality of life and hopefully reduce their chances of developing a more serious disease like Barretts esophagus or esophageal cancer.
A complication of long-term GERD, Barretts esophagus changes a patients esophageal lining. This tissue damage leads to an increased risk of cancer.
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How Do Gut Troubles Start
In modern cultures, weve all had moments in life where weve done some damage to our gut. Most likely, theres been a time when you made poor food choices, had a chronic illness, took pharmaceutical medicines, experienced surgery or childbirth, used birth control pills, had chronic indigestion for any reason, suffered serious emotional issues, or felt under par.
In these moments, your gut likely suffered an imbalance in necessary enzymes and bacteria. Our digestion, like all health processes, is influenced by physical as well as emotional factors.
You might say you have butterflies in the stomach or that you feel things in your gut. The truth is, the gut is our vital connection between brain and body, lifestyle and energy, desire and action.
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Putting A Stop To Leaky Gut
Leaky gut gets blamed for everything from everyday stomach issues to pain to anxiety, yet it is one of the most mysterious ailments to diagnose and treat.
Part of the reason for this medical mystery is because the gut is such a vast and complex system. “Science continues to find new ways that the gut can influence everything from heart health to keeping our brains young,” says Dr. Alessio Fasano, director of the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment with Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. “There is much we know about leaky gut in terms of how it affects peoples health, but there is still so much that is unknown.”
What Are The Complications Of Gastritis
Chronic gastritis hurts your stomach lining. It can raise your risk for other health problems such as:
- Peptic ulcer disease, painful sores in your upper digestive tract
- Gastric polyps, small masses of cells that form on the inside lining of your stomach
- Stomach tumors, both cancerous and non-cancerous
You may also get atrophic gastritis. This can happen if your gastritis is caused by the H. pylori bacteria or by an autoimmune disorder. Atrophic gastritis destroys the stomach lining cells that make your digestive juices. This raises your risk for getting stomach cancer.
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Remove Inflammatory Foods From Your Diet
The first step to healing your gut is to remove all inflammatory and potentially damaging foods from your diet so as not to irritate your gastrointestinal tract. In the case of leaky gut, some of the most common culprits include gluten, sugar, processed foods, alcohol and dairywhich can all damage the intestinal lining.Gluten is particularly damaging for those with celiac disease and irritable bowel syndrome , while substances like sugar can also contribute to inflammation, dysbiosis and leaky gut.
The Importance Of Seeking Medical Attention:
Simply put, you can live your whole life uncomfortably, but you dont have to.
Based on my story, you can see it is easy to make the healing process longer than it needs to be when the right medical professional isnt sought out from the beginning. I troubleshooted on my own for too long and once I did begin seeking help, I was unsure exactly where to go. I feel I lucked out in coming across Dena.
Without the GI Map, I never would have known the root cause of my gut symptoms as standardized methods for testing did not reveal any answers. Knowing exactly where my infection was coming from enabled me to address it and thereby heal from it.
When I consulted my gastroenterologist about my parasitic infection and leaky gut, he said they dont treat parasites and they dont believe in leaky gut. Suffice it to say, I stopped seeing that GI doctor. You can surmise there are large differences in the way professionals in various sectors of the medical field deal with things, and for me not dealing with my situation wasnt an option.
My gut healing protocol of kill and heal worked to resolve my symptoms and gave me a far better standard of living. Had I continued relying on western medicine, Im certain I would be exactly where I was, if not worse. This isnt to suggest you should not seek attention from a GI doctorit just happened to be that mine was not a part of my solution.
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Reframe Your Whole Snack Attack
Because there are too many factors to determine just how much acidity is too much for your stomach, youre better off focusing on the snack adjustments you KNOW will have your back stomach.
Best says, bananas, nuts, cauliflower, melons, and fennel are good to work into every meal or snack. She also recommends adding high fiber chia and flaxseed.
And Richards says, bananas can help reduce the impact of reflux by coating the lining of the stomach.
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What Does Your Guts Brain Control
Unlike the big brain in your skull, the ENS cant balance your checkbook or compose a love note. Its main role is controlling digestion, from swallowing to the release of enzymes that break down food to the control of blood flow that helps with nutrient absorption to elimination, explains Jay Pasricha, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Neurogastroenterology, whose research on the enteric nervous system has garnered international attention. The enteric nervous system doesnt seem capable of thought as we know it, but it communicates back and forth with our big brainwith profound results.
The ENS may trigger big emotional shifts experienced by people coping with irritable bowel syndrome and functional bowel problems such as constipation, diarrhea, bloating, pain and stomach upset. For decades, researchers and doctors thought that anxiety and depression contributed to these problems. But our studies and others show that it may also be the other way around, Pasricha says. Researchers are finding evidence that irritation in the gastrointestinal system may send signals to the central nervous system that trigger mood changes.
These new findings may explain why a higher-than-normal percentage of people with IBS and functional bowel problems develop depression and anxiety, Pasricha says. Thats important, because up to 30 to 40 percent of the population has functional bowel problems at some point.
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How Long Does The 5r Program Take
This is a question we frequently get asked. And our answer is: It depends.
Because we believe in personalized systems medicine, your treatment should be tailored to your unique symptoms and needs.
Your body cant move from a state of poor health to stellar health overnight. Your treatment timeline will be influenced by various factors, including:
Its also important to note that the 5R program isnt necessarily meant to be sequential. Some phases, such as remove and replace, can occur simultaneously. We may also determine that you can jump between phases if your lab test results show that doing so would benefit your health.
With all things considered, a young, healthy individual can expect to heal their leaky gut in approximately six months. An individual with more severe or chronic issues may take up to 12 months to heal.
Things You Can Do To Ease Gastritis
If you think the cause of your gastritis is repeated use of NSAID painkillers, try switching to a different painkiller that’s not in the NSAID class, such as paracetamol.
You may want to talk to a GP about this.
Also consider:
- eating smaller, more frequent meals
- avoiding foods that can irritate the stomach, such as spicy, acidic or fried foods
- avoiding or cutting down on alcohol
- quitting smoking if you smoke
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What Causes A Stomach Ulcer
It is commonly said that spicy food and stress cause stomach ulcers but that is not the case at all. Stress and spicy foods can aggravate a stomach ulcer but most of the time stomach ulcers are caused by an infection caused by the bacterium Helicobacter pylori, also known as H.Pylori.
Other times ulcers are brought on by the long-term use of aspirin or anti-inflammatories such as ibuprofen and Aleve. Always use these over the counter drugs sparingly and consult your physician for alternate pain management solutions.
Download The Healthy Gut Diet
This includes the best foods for gut health and your daily plan to heal your gut naturally.
For a more comprehensive 28 DAY EATING PROGRAM FOR GUT HEALTH, downloadThe Healthy Chef Appand and start your 7-day free trial. Follow the eating plan and recipes and follow wellness tips from our nutritionalists. The recipes included in the 28-day program are also low FODMAP and gluten free.
Enjoy your journey of healthy eating with balance, wisdom and moderation.
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Strategy #: Feed Healthy Bacteria
Fibers and starches in our food cannot always be broken down by us. Gut microbes ferment and break down these substances for us.
In return, they produce invaluable substances such as Short Chain Fatty Acids , B vitamins, and Vitamin K2.SCFAs support healthy mucosa by promoting the production of mucus & regulating immune cell development locally in the gut .
Spore probiotics increase SCFAs by as much as 40% and clinical research being readied for publication demonstrates that spores also double to quadruple the diversity of other gut flora .
You can also support SCFAs directly with supplementation. We use Enterovite to support SCFA levels in the short-term while working on more global issues of gastrointestinal health and microbial diversity.
In the absence of sufficient fibers & starches, healthy bacteria starve & microbial diversity drops. Yeast & opportunistic organisms also grow & take up more areas in the gut.
Importance of Adding & Maintaining Diet Diversity
Ancestral diets were rich in food diversity. It wasnt until the advent of modern agriculture that our diets became less diverse.
Human ancestors consumed numerous varieties of plants, animals, insects, and roots and tubers. Now, we eat a much more limited array of foods in our diet. The modern diet is unnaturally high in monocultures of wheat, dairy, corn, and soy.
Symptoms are a sign that you are lacking the bacterial balance in your gut to ferment these tough-to-digest foods.
Symptoms And Conditions Associated With Leaky Gut:
If you suffer from digestive symptoms, brain fog, headaches, depression, joint aches, skin conditions or fatigue, it may be worthwhile trying a modified elimination diet in conjunction with the leaky gut protocol. Consider trying this diet even if you dont go on the entire leaky gut protocol. As a minimum take a good probiotic supplement at the start.
You may feel deprived having to give up some of these foods, but the question you need to ask yourself is-Would I rather be deprived of some of these foods or deprived of my health?
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