When you suffer from a leaky gut, you are likely to feel anxiety, pain or stomach pains on a regular basis. While this condition is a common one, it is considered as a mysterious ailment that may be difficult to treat or diagnose. This is because the gut is a complicated and vast system that needs in-depth research to understand what could have gone wrong with it. Fortunately, plentiful research is underway to help people understand the significance of good gut health and how to maintain it in order. Every day, there is some research result or the other that states how a leaky gut can affect any vital part of the human body, including the heart and brain.
In other words, there’s still a lot that remains to be known about a healthy or leaky gut and the ways in which human health can be impacted by the same. Read on to know the basics of a leaky gut and how to put a stop to it.
What do you mean by a Leaky Gut?
In order to understand a leaky gut, it’s important to start at the cellular levels itself. Remember, as the lining of your GI tract comprises of billions of cells, a lot goes into its proper functioning. As mentioned in this article here https://microbeformulas.com/blogs/microbe-formulas/what-s-leaky-gut-and-how-do-you-fix-it, the cells in your gut combine to form a robust security system. These cells are responsible for deciding what can get into the bloodstream and what has to be filtered.
If you happen to have a gut that’s unhealthy, then you can expect the lining of your intestines to get weakened over time. The barrier layers may get holes that allow toxins and bacteria to leak into the bloodstream. Resultantly, these unwanted entries can trigger off inflammatory reactions in the gut that leads to a series of reactions. The common health conditions ensuing, as a result, may include food sensitivities, fatigue, gas, cramps, headaches, bloating, or joint pain, among other types of discomfort.
What Causes ‘Holes’ in the Gut?
Are you wondering about the cause behind the ‘holes’ in your leaky gut? The diet consumed by you and your genetic constitution are the main culprits. If you are born with a weaker gut or barrier then you can expect to face the problems of a leaky gut earlier on in life. The same rings true if you are following a poor or unbalanced diet that contains high levels of saturated fats or sugar. These things are not conducive to the good health of your gut and lead to weakened GI tract linings.
Yet another reason attributed to an unhealthy gut with leakages is age. Even the slightest of disturbance in the lining of your gut would take a long time to heal. Alongside this, the lining of your intestines would become prone to more damages as and when your cells start weakening. Overall, your vulnerable gut can bring about different types of health conditions and avoidable concerns.
What Does a Leaky Gut Do?
The clarity about the role of a poor gut in the health of humans is still hazy. A leaky gut may be the result of small or big health problems that you are not aware of. Science is still trying to find if digestive conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, bloating, joint pain, etc. can be attributed to a leaky gut. It’s still unclear if these are all connected or not. The doubt is courtesy chronic inflammation which is the common denominator in all these health conditions.
Treatment of a Leaky Gut
Just like the repairs of a broken car, it is difficult to diagnose and treat a leaky gut. You will not understand the exact issue until different strategies are applied to figure out their impact on various symptoms. The first step in the process of taking care of a leaky gut lies in reaching out to a health practitioner. In case the doctor suspects a leaky gut then he will recommend different tests and strategies to eliminate possibilities and arrive at a concrete result. You may be provided medicinal help for reducing inflammation and alleviating the symptoms one by one.
The doctor may review your diet to determine the dietary causes of inflammation if any. In case you are consuming excessive processed food or alcohol, or possess other food sensitivities, then the health practitioner will suggest remedies accordingly. These days, it’s common to find the signs of dairy and gluten intolerance that can be linked to the problems of a leaky gut. In the theoretical sense, you may consider reducing any inflammation-causing food ingredients from your diet to strengthen the lining of your gut and rebuild it. This, in turn, will fill up the holes and stop the gut from leaking in due course.
Prevent a Leaky Gut
Investing your resources in making your digestive health better is a good way of preventing the concerns of a leaky gut. In effect, this means that you should lay focus on maintaining a gut-healthy diet with restrictions on fast food, processed food, edibles with high sugar content, fatty food, and so forth. It’s best to have high-fiber food to make your overall digestive system stronger. A good exercise regimen and proper hydration are other means of curing a leaky gut and making your digestion-related tasks perform better. For instance, walking for 15-20 minutes after any major meal can help your metabolic systems manifold. Do know that even though the constitution of your gut is complicated, taking good care of the same can be a breeze if you know how to go about the act.
Last Word
The way forward in taking care of a leaky gut can be found in good nutrition, dietary supplements, a healthy lifestyle, and tests to understand what could have gone wrong with the lining of your intestines. Your health practitioner can guide you about what to eat or avoid to get the best returns. Reach out to your doctor at the earliest and say ‘STOP’ to your leaky gut.