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crohns disease
June 2008 
LEAKY GUT: What Is It? How to Heal?
Posted on Jun 28th, 2008
by 
Yogini
Yogini
A dear acquaintance just revealed that he has inflammatory bowel
disease. That together with the past week loaded with patients who
suffer from symptoms of hyperpermeable gut suggests today's topic.
What Is Leaky Gut?
Leaky Gut Syndrome is a group of problems associated with increased
intestinal permeability. This group is far ranging and includes:
- inflammatory and infectious bowel diseases
- food allergies and their accompanying triggered conditions such as irritable bowel, eczema and urticaria
- chronic inflammatory arthritis
- skin conditions like acne, psoriasis and dermatitis herpetiformis
- chronic fatigue
- chronic hepatitis
- pancreatitis and perhaps pancreatic cancer
Increased gut permeability or hyperpermeability is either a primary
cause in the evolution of each condition, or may be a secondary result
of it but then causes immune activation, liver dysfunction, and
pancreatic insufficiency, creating a vicious cycle. Unless tested, the
hyperpemeability often is unrecognized. We have safe, non-invasive, and
inexpensive tests to check for this – the tests make it possible for
clinicians to look for the presence of altered intestinal permeability
in their patients and to assess objectively the efficacy of treatments.
There are four vicious cycles to leaky gut: allergy, malnutrition, dysbiosis and hepatic stress.
What Triggers Leaky Gut?
Leaky Gut is triggered by substances that damage the integrity of the
intestinal mucosa, harming the binds between epithelial cells and
increasing passive absorption. Here’s the list of bad players:
- Infectious (viral, bacterial, protozoa/parasites)
- Alcohol
- Stress, stress and more stress
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as advil or ibuprofen or their newer cousins
- Low oxygen in the bowel (such as after surgery or shock)
- Reactive oxygen metabolites (a.k.a., rust)
- Other drugs
How Can You Test?
Testing is relatively easy. You get a kit from an integrative lab or
our office. You drink a lactulose/mannitol cocktail (volume depends on
the test), which is made of innocuous sugars that are not metabolized
by humans. Most normal people absorb 14% (range 5-25%) of mannitol
but <1% of lactulose. We then measure the amount of both in your urine.
The test is performed after avoiding fruit juice for 24 hours, and after an
8-hour fast. You collect your urine for 6 hours drinking the cocktail,
and mail in to the lab a pre-test and post-test sample of your urine.
How to Heal?
More on this later, but we have a new protocol that is a powerful,
proven combination of nutrition, enzymes, permeability factors,
antioxidants, fiber and probiotics. If you test positive for leaky gut,
try the protocol for 3 months, then retest. We have been amazed by the
healing and reversal in our patients. Both Dr. Charlotte Massey, ND and
I are experienced with managing and reversing Leaky Gut. You must be
a patient of ours for us to administer the test and/or protocol, but call us
for more information.
disease. That together with the past week loaded with patients who
suffer from symptoms of hyperpermeable gut suggests today's topic.
What Is Leaky Gut?
Leaky Gut Syndrome is a group of problems associated with increased
intestinal permeability. This group is far ranging and includes:
- inflammatory and infectious bowel diseases
- food allergies and their accompanying triggered conditions such as irritable bowel, eczema and urticaria
- chronic inflammatory arthritis
- skin conditions like acne, psoriasis and dermatitis herpetiformis
- chronic fatigue
- chronic hepatitis
- pancreatitis and perhaps pancreatic cancer
Increased gut permeability or hyperpermeability is either a primary
cause in the evolution of each condition, or may be a secondary result
of it but then causes immune activation, liver dysfunction, and
pancreatic insufficiency, creating a vicious cycle. Unless tested, the
hyperpemeability often is unrecognized. We have safe, non-invasive, and
inexpensive tests to check for this – the tests make it possible for
clinicians to look for the presence of altered intestinal permeability
in their patients and to assess objectively the efficacy of treatments.
There are four vicious cycles to leaky gut: allergy, malnutrition, dysbiosis and hepatic stress.
What Triggers Leaky Gut?
Leaky Gut is triggered by substances that damage the integrity of the
intestinal mucosa, harming the binds between epithelial cells and
increasing passive absorption. Here’s the list of bad players:
- Infectious (viral, bacterial, protozoa/parasites)
- Alcohol
- Stress, stress and more stress
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as advil or ibuprofen or their newer cousins
- Low oxygen in the bowel (such as after surgery or shock)
- Reactive oxygen metabolites (a.k.a., rust)
- Other drugs
How Can You Test?
Testing is relatively easy. You get a kit from an integrative lab or
our office. You drink a lactulose/mannitol cocktail (volume depends on
the test), which is made of innocuous sugars that are not metabolized
by humans. Most normal people absorb 14% (range 5-25%) of mannitol
but <1% of lactulose. We then measure the amount of both in your urine.
The test is performed after avoiding fruit juice for 24 hours, and after an
8-hour fast. You collect your urine for 6 hours drinking the cocktail,
and mail in to the lab a pre-test and post-test sample of your urine.
How to Heal?
More on this later, but we have a new protocol that is a powerful,
proven combination of nutrition, enzymes, permeability factors,
antioxidants, fiber and probiotics. If you test positive for leaky gut,
try the protocol for 3 months, then retest. We have been amazed by the
healing and reversal in our patients. Both Dr. Charlotte Massey, ND and
I are experienced with managing and reversing Leaky Gut. You must be
a patient of ours for us to administer the test and/or protocol, but call us
for more information.
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