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diagnosis

Leaky gut syndrome

Diagnosis

The name may be kind of funny, but the problem is anything but: when you have leaky gut syndrome, gaps in the lining of your intestines allow bacteria, toxins, and undigested food to enter your bloodstream. This can trigger inflammation, digestive problems, skin conditions, and fatigue. Leaky gut has been linked to autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, lupus, and other chronic conditions, including depression. Genetics, stress, alcohol, long-term antibiotic use, and a diet high in fat and sugar can also play a part—as can food allergies, though they may be a consequence of leaky gut too. The best way to treat leaky gut may be through your stomach—specifically, watching what you eat and drink. Try to cut out alcohol and sugar, and eliminate foods that you may be sensitive to, like gluten, dairy, or coffee. Although there have been limited studies on the health benefits of fermented foods (think kefir or kimchi), they’re believed to boost good bacteria in your gut, which is never a bad thing! Sticking to a regular exercise routing also can strengthen your gut–even taking a 15- to 20-minute walk after a meal can help! So, if you have a gut feeling about your gut, talk to a practitioner with experience in GI issues. Leaky gut is a somewhat new term and isn’t recognized by everyone yet, but there are still lots of medical practitioners out there who can help!

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Videos about Leaky gut syndrome

Books about Leaky gut syndrome

book

Eat Dirt: Why Leaky Gut May Be the Root Cause of Your Health Problems and 5 Surprising Steps to Cure It

Doctor of Natural Medicine and wellness authority Dr. Josh Axe delivers a groundbreaking, indispensable guide for understanding, diagnosing, and treating one of the most discussed yet little-understood health conditions: leaky gut syndrome. Do you have a leaky gut? For 80% of the population the answer is “yes”—and most people don’t even realize it. Leaky gut syndrome is the root cause of a litany of ailments, including: chronic inflammation, allergies, autoimmune diseases, hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, diabetes, and even arthritis. To keep us in good health, our gut relies on maintaining a symbiotic relationship with trillions of microorganisms that live in our digestive tract. When our digestive system is out of whack, serious health problems can manifest and our intestinal walls can develop microscopic holes, allowing undigested food particles, bacteria, and toxins to seep into the bloodstream. This condition is known as leaky gut syndrome. In Eat Dirt, Dr. Josh Axe explains that what we regard as modern “improvements” to our food supply—including refrigeration, sanitation, and modified grains—have damaged our intestinal health. In fact, the same organisms in soil that allow plants and animals to flourish are the ones we need for gut health. In Eat Dirt, Dr. Axe explains that it’s essential to get a little “dirty” in our daily lives in order to support our gut bacteria and prevent leaky gut syndrome. Dr. Axe offers simple ways to get these needed microbes, from incorporating local honey and bee pollen into your diet to forgoing hand sanitizers and even ingesting a little probiotic-rich soil. Because leaky gut manifests differently in every individual, Dr. Axe also identifies the five main “gut types” and offers customizable plans—including diet, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations—to dramatically improve gut health in just thirty days. With a simple diet plan, recipes, and practical advice, Eat Dirt will help readers restore gut health and eliminate leaky gut for good.

book

The Plant Paradox: The Hidden Dangers in "Healthy" Foods That Cause Disease and Weight Gain

"I read this book... it worked. My autoimmune disease is gone and I'm 37 pounds lighter in my pleather." --Kelly Clarkson Most of us have heard of gluten—a protein found in wheat that causes widespread inflammation in the body. Americans spend billions of dollars on gluten-free diets in an effort to protect their health. But what if we’ve been missing the root of the problem? In The Plant Paradox, renowned cardiologist Dr. Steven Gundry reveals that gluten is just one variety of a common, and highly toxic, plant-based protein called lectin. Lectins are found not only in grains like wheat but also in the “gluten-free” foods most of us commonly regard as healthy, including many fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and conventional dairy products. These proteins, which are found in the seeds, grains, skins, rinds, and leaves of plants, are designed by nature to protect them from predators (including humans). Once ingested, they incite a kind of chemical warfare in our bodies, causing inflammatory reactions that can lead to weight gain and serious health conditions. At his waitlist-only clinics in California, Dr. Gundry has successfully treated tens of thousands of patients suffering from autoimmune disorders, diabetes, leaky gut syndrome, heart disease, and neurodegenerative diseases with a protocol that detoxes the cells, repairs the gut, and nourishes the body. Now, in The Plant Paradox, he shares this clinically proven program with readers around the world. The simple (and daunting) fact is, lectins are everywhere. Thankfully, Dr. Gundry offers simple hacks we easily can employ to avoid them, including: Peel your veggies. Most of the lectins are contained in the skin and seeds of plants; simply peeling and de-seeding vegetables (like tomatoes and peppers) reduces their lectin content. Shop for fruit in season. Fruit contain fewer lectins when ripe, so eating apples, berries, and other lectin-containing fruits at the peak of ripeness helps minimize your lectin consumption. Swap your brown rice for white. Whole grains and seeds with hard outer coatings are designed by nature to cause digestive distress—and are full of lectins. With a full list of lectin-containing foods and simple substitutes for each, a step-by-step detox and eating plan, and delicious lectin-free recipes, The Plant Paradox illuminates the hidden dangers lurking in your salad bowl—and shows you how to eat whole foods in a whole new way.

Podcasts about Leaky gut syndrome

podcast

The Ultimate Health Podcast: Dr. Josh Axe- Eat Dirt, Leaky Gut Is The Root Cause of All Disease

On this week's show, we are speaking with Dr. Josh Axe. He is a certified doctor of natural medicine and clinical nutritionist with a passion to help get people healthy by using food as medicine. Josh created one of the top 10 most visited natural health websites on the planet, draxe.com. He is the author of Eat Dirt: Why Leaky Gut May Be the Root Cause of Your Health Problems and 5 Surprising Steps to Cure It. In this episode, we discuss: A little bit of dirt is great for your immunity and digestion Should you wash your vegetables? Leaky gut syndrome is the root cause of all disease Early warning signs & symptoms of leaky gut The 6 main causes of leaky gut All medications cause leaky gut Destress with an epsom salt & essential oil bath Josh's spiritual triathlon The #1 food for healing leaky gut is bone broth The food most diverse in probiotics, goat's milk kefir Redefining "good" and "bad" gut bacteria Properly preparing grains Raw foods and leaky gut don't mix The 5 gut types Spring and Summer are the best times to consume raw foods A diet to help heal from candida gut Combating EMFs through diet and lifestyle modifications When you buy meat, only buy organic Minimize your exposure to toxins by incorporating essential oils Tests for leaky gut syndrome Most people can radically turn their gut health around in 90 days No food or supplement actually heals you Soil-based organisms (SBOs) vs. probiotics vs. fermented foods Kids naturally eat dirt Other microorganisms besides bacteria can be healthy

podcast

Ben Greenfield Fitness: Do Probiotics Really Work, The Carnivore Diet, How To Heal Bacterial Overgrowth, Is Fiber Necessary, Melatonin For A Leaky Gut & More!

These days, when people ask me the #1 book I recommend for all things gut, it is, hands down "Healthy Gut, Healthy You" by Dr. Michael Ruscio. This book takes a deep dive into topics such as: How the gut works and its role in your body, Practical diet and lifestyle advice to support your gut health, Simple and actionable tools to repair your gut, and An innovative, user-friendly plan to heal, support, and revitalize your gut. This is Dr. Ruscio's third appearance on the podcast. The first one, titled Why Healthy People Get Broken Guts, And What You Can Do About It talked about why apparently healthy people, especially athletes and exercise enthusiasts, get broken guts, and what they can do about it. Then, the second podcast, titled Good Carbs, Bad Carbs, High Carbs, Low Carbs & More: Clearing Up Carbohydrate Confusion, was an in-depth discussion on carbs and their effect on your body. What will his third appearance on the podcast reveal??? Quite a bit, as you will hear. About the guest: Michael Ruscio is a doctor, clinical researcher and best-selling author whose practical ideas on healing chronic illness have made him an influential voice in functional and alternative medicine. His work has been published in peer-reviewed medical journals and he speaks at integrative medical conferences across the globe. Dr. Ruscio also runs an influential website and podcast at DrRuscio.com, as well as his clinical practice located in northern California. During my discussion with Dr. Ruscio, you'll discover: -What small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is...6:40 Dr. Ruscio's interest in this goes back 5 years. Focused on improving the health of bacteria. Observations don't always translate into practical action inside a clinic. You differentiate the discrepancies when you separate the large and small intestine. What's going on in the large intestine isn't indicative of the small. A lot of "gut advice" is large intestine-centric. Small intestine comprises 56% of gut activity. Most prone to leaky gut Most immuno active Where 90% of calories are absorbed Bacterial overgrowth is either an overgrowth of or the wrong type of bacteria in the small intestine Not a parasite Native to your system; either in the wrong place or too much of it. -How SIBO affects the thyroid...12:33 Many people who think they have a thyroid condition actually do not. 60% of people who were rechecked were found not to be hypothyroid. Symptoms of hypothyroidism can be mistaken for other problems in the GI tract. Study done on people with IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) Higher incidence of fatigue, depression and anxiety found They were not hypothyroid Another study looking at 1800 patients Looking for drug use, medication use, prior intestinal surgery; expected these to increase risk of SIBO Two most correlated conditions: being hypothyroid and being on thyroid medication. 290 were taken off medication and retested; 60% were not hypothyroid Neither antibodies, nor weight, nor time on medication dictated whether were hypo or normal thyroid. Speak with your doctor to confirm whether you're hypothyroid or not. Be wary if you were diagnosed by someone outside of conventional medicine. -The testing and protocol for SIBO Dr. Ruscio recommends...22:15 For testing thyroid: test TSH and Free T4 If within normal range, you likely don't have a thyroid problem. For SIBO, two practical options; breath tests. One uses glucose, the other uses lactulose -About the elemental diet. What it is and how it works...27:30 Hypoallergenic, gut-healing meal replacement shake. Absorbs in the first part of small intestine Rests the remainder of the small and large intestine Starves overgrowth Not as difficult as it may sound. -The African vs. the Westerner microbiota, and whether or not it's a good idea to try to mimic our ancestors...32:20 Scientist Gives Himself Fecal Transplant To Try A Hunter-Gatherer's Microbiome Challenge lies in excising just one element out of an entire culture, and inserting it into a totally different population. Many African tribes have parasites in their bodies. Hard to replicate their diet because their bodies have adapted to their specific environment. -What happened when the Sardinians tried to eliminate malaria...39:07 Back in 1950's, Sardinia had a high rate of malaria; cases of MS skyrocketed. Sardinian immune system learned to function with malaria. Once taken away, the immune system didn't know what to do. Created unforeseen adverse consequences. The malaria may have actually strengthened their immune systems. Article: Why Ben uses tapeworms and whipworms -Why we should have more naturally occurring plant life around our home...43:05 -Dr. Ruscio's comments on probiotics...44:55 Most probiotics do not colonize you. Can help reset the microbiota to a healthy equilibrium. Works in tandem with a healthy lifestyle. Think of it as a "nudge" to complement your lifestyle to reset to a healthy equilibrium Should kids use probiotics? The earlier an antibiotic is used, the more detrimental; the earlier a probiotic is used, the more beneficial it is. Can probiotics "seed" the gut? A lot of outlandish claims to market the product. The more a product is marketed, the more claims are made about it. May be unsubstantiated. Ecoli used as a probiotic? -Why we would be "surprised" about dietary fiber...56:30 The amount of data Dr. Ruscio had to sort through almost made him quit writing his book. There have been no consistent benefits shown from high dietary fiber intake. Fiber enthusiasts cherry pick the data from which they make their claims to its efficacy. Carnivore diet: Results are varied on patients Dr. Ruscio has treated who have used it. Focus more on simplifying your diet. A "lazy" diet. -Whether or not melatonin can help with leaky gut...1:03:37 Focus on sleep quality. Use melatonin carefully, to supplement healthy lifestyle. Resources from this episode: -Dr. Ruscio's new book "Healthy Gut, Healthy You" -Thorne Mediclear SGS -DirectLabs for SIBO testing (2-Hr Glucose/Lactulose) Episode Sponsors: -Kion Check out our incredible Black Friday deals! The specials continue through Tuesday, 27 Nov. -Gainswave The bedroom biohack for men and women who want to upgrade their sexual performance. Purchase 6 treatments, and get one for free! -Birdwell Beach Britches Board shorts handmade in the USA since 1961.

podcast

The Functional Medicine Radio Show: A Leaky Gut and the Gut-Brain Connection with Dr. Vincent Pedre

In this episode of The Functional Medicine Radio Show, Dr. Carri’s special guest Dr. Vincent Pedre explains leaky gut and the gut-brain connection. Dr. Vincent Pedre is the Medical Director of Pedre Integrative Health and Founder of Dr. Pedre Wellness, and a Functional Medicine-Certified Practitioner in private practice in New York City since 2004. He is a Clinical Instructor in Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, also certified in yoga and Medical Acupuncture. He believes the gut is the gateway towards excellent health. For this reason, he wrote the book, Happy Gut—The Cleansing Program To Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy and Eliminate Pain—which helps people resolve their digestive and gut-related health issues. Main Questions Asked about Leaky Gut: Can you talk about what a leaky gut is, how can we test for it and why is it bad? Can you talk about how so many different diseases have their foundations in inflammation and immune system imbalance and that having underlying gut issues can impact the body in multiple different ways? When patients come in to see you, do you actually test for leaky gut or do you often times assume they probably have a leaky gut? Can you tell us about the mind-gut connection? What are your favorite exercises to stimulate the vagus nerve? Key Points made by Dr. Pedre for Leaky Gut: The gut is this amazing organ system that is divided into different zones and starting with of course the mouth. Everybody forgets that the mouth is part of their gut and it’s so important to chew and break down your food mechanically so that you can absorb the nutrients more easily. When we talk about leaky gut, we’re mostly talking about what’s happening in the small bowel, but also it can happen in the colon. It becomes quite significant in the colon because of the type of bacteria that exists there. Leaky gut has been a term that has been used in naturopathic medicine and alternative medicine for a long time. But, in Western medicine, really thought that this was not real and that it was made up and it didn’t exist until the science and research finally caught up. A lot of studies have been looking at the effects of endotoxin on our health and what they find is that as endotoxin levels rise, then the risk for metabolic syndrome, which is basically an intolerance to glucose or resistance to the hormone insulin that tells the body where to put the glucose into the cells so it can be used for energy. Sugar levels start to rise. Insulin levels start to rise. That leads to obesity, especially central obesity or visceral obesity, puts on more fat in the middle. It becomes this vicious cycle so basically there’s this whole interconnection between leaky gut, inflammation, insulin resistance and obesity. That goes back to genetic individuality, predispositions. Sometimes you get a lot of crossover and it could also have to do with the type of imbalance that has been created. For example, if you get yeast overgrowth as a result of having been on either several rounds of antibiotics or you can even create your own yeast overgrowth by eating a diet really high in sugar and refined carbohydrates over a period of time. You’re feeding that part of the microbiome and you can generate your own yeast imbalance. What I found over time is that not every patient that has some sort of systemic manifestation of a gut issue is coming in complaining of gut problems. I think the patient story and what their experience is is so important because sometimes it’s discordant with the test results. Then you have to decide, well, who do I trust more? The test or the patient? I feel like it’s a balance, and that’s where medicine is an art and it requires a bit of creativity and instinct. I also have really gotten into doing organic acids testing because I find that that helps fill in a piece of that puzzle that sometimes can be missed in the stool test. You really have to have a wholistic approach to a patient with gut issues and really listen to them and acknowledge their story because I think that part of it. How did they get to that point where they’re in front of you in your office telling you this story? Go back in time and look at how did all of this start? What was happening in their life at the time? Was there travel? Was there foreign travel? You have to think parasites and all sorts of things. We can start with the vagus nerve that runs from the brain all the way down and innervates starting from the bottom third of the esophagus, pretty much all the internal organs and the gut, all the way almost to the very end. The vagus controls a lot of the signaling in the gut. You really need a good vagal tone to have healthy gut digestion. What’s really fascinating about this is what they’ve seen in patients with traumatic brain injury. The patient with traumatic brain injury, within 30 minutes of the injury, their gut is becoming leaky and endotoxemia starts to go up. I think the most fascinating stuff is the metabolome and the fact that we get nerve transmitters that are produced by the gut microbiome. Like lactobacillus produces GABA so you need a healthy amount of lactobacillus bacteria in the gut to control anxiety, to feel even healed. Butyrate from butyrate-producing microorganisms in the large intestine controls our ability or influences our ability to form memory and to learn, your brain-derived neurotrophic factor. I thought that is really amazing that there is this symbiosis where a healthy gut microbiome influences neuroplasticity in our ability to learn and form memory. Once you get a leaky gut, it affects the permeability of the blood-brain barrier, so you get a leaky blood-brain barrier. Now the brain is not protected from toxins that could be in circulation from the leaky gut. One thing that vagus nerve dysfunction can also cause is constipation. Getting the vagus to work properly again is really important for so many things: protein, digestion, constipation, gut barrier integrity. All that stuff. One of those simple things that often times I think gets forgotten about that patients can take all the digestive enzymes and bitters and hydrochloric acid and probiotics. They can do all of that stuff and the fiber and the healthy diet. But we can’t forget about exercising the vagus nerve. As you said, it can be as simple as gargling. Gargling until you get a tear in your eye and do that minimum twice a day after you wake up, before you go to bed, more if better. We’ve been constantly in fight or flight in a way that I think we’re desensitized to the fact that our bodies are overcharged in so many ways, smartphones, constantly on the computer. We’re on this very on, on, on all the time. What I find is that people become desensitized to stress, and they don’t even acknowledge it and sometimes I actually have to tell a patient, “Do you realize how much you’re carrying and how full your plate is?” That’s stressful. Whether you sense it as a mental stress, I think it’s a biophysical stress on the body to carry all of that. I love getting people out into nature because when you’re out in a forest or a park surrounded by trees, that has been shown to lower cortisol levels and helps get you more into a parasympathetic state. Taking the shoes off and walking bare foot on the grass, feeling the earth, rounding to the tremendous magnetic energy field of the earth can really help us get more into a parasympathetic state. The reason I connected yoga is because in yoga, we studied the energy centers of the body, the chakras. Three of the main chakras in the body crisscross the gut, the root chakra, the second chakra and the third chakra, which is the power center, the solar plexus. The gut encompasses some major energy centers, and it’s all about grounding and being connected to this earth, to each other, being in community. Where I look at things is the importance of how we can cross the divide and see how we can integrate everything together but always going back to root cause. I think that to me is a really important message is to not discount the role of the gut even if you don’t have any gut issues.

podcast

Food As Medicine: Leaky Gut Syndrome, Liver Detox and Weight Loss Plateaus with Jeff Robins

Jeff has been a pharmacist for over 25 years and likes to think of himself as the pharmacist who doesn’t like drugs. A student of mine from Midwestern University told me about Jeff and I knew I had to get him on my show. Jeff owns Essential Wellness Pharmacy and is an owner of Optimum Health Solutions (a company bringing wellness to the corporate workplace). Jeff was recently awarded by his peers the prestigious National ELAN Award for the most “Innovative Pharmacy Practice” and recently won the “Mankind Projects Seven Generations Award” which is an award for living one’s mission in life to affect seven generations. Jeff is a regional and national speaker. He is passionate about educating people, and giving them the chance to make more informed decisions about their health and healthcare. In today’s episode, Jeff and I talk about: How he got started as the pharmacist who does not like drugs What tests you can get to see if you are nutritionally deficient or toxic Top 5 foods most people are sensitive to The two diets he recommends for weight loss and optimum health What leaky gut syndrome is and why it is implicated in many conditions including arthritis, asthma and fibromyalgia What to do if you hit a weight loss plateau What gentle supplement you can take to help you have regular bowel movements, decrease pain, AND help you sleep better And more! Resources Mentioned in the Show: Jeff’s website, Essential Wellness Pharmacy Spectracell test for evaluating vitamin and nutrient levels Metametrix test for evaluating omega-3 fatty acid production and absorption Alletess Food Allergy and Sensitivity Test Inflammacore by Ortho Molecular for reducing gut inflammation

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