Wondering what is leaky gut? Wondering if that is part of my sons problem. He has lost 22 pound since being sick with lyme and is 16 years old. He is staying off of gluten and dairy and sugar but maybe this is the problem. Thanks everyone you are all so helpful!
Leaky Gut Syndrome The intact intestinal lining is the main barrier between the environment and our immunity.
Leaky Gut Syndrome (LGS) means just what it sounds like. The lining of the intestinal tract is no longer perfectly protecting our inner body from the foreign substances in the outside world.
Remember, inside your intestinal tract is still outside your body. Just like inside your mouth is still outside your body--you have to go through the lining of your mouth to get inside your body.
Things from the outside world travel through the tube from mouth to anus.
The function of the lining of that tube is to break those substances down into particles that are so simple that, when absorbed, they can no longer be identified by our immune system as having come from something outside our body.
Your immune system sees the world in black and white: if it is YOU it is not supposed to attack it and, if it is NOT YOU, it IS supposed to attack it.
The only way we have, to take things from the outside world and make them into our own tissue (without our immune system going crazy), is for the intestinal lining to do its job VERY well.
Leakage of imperfectly digested proteins (peptides), through an incompetent intestinal lining, is now known to be the most common cause of all environmental sensitivities.
We now know that many chronic conditions, previously listed as "cause unknown" are caused by immunological reactions to these peptides which, in turn, turn those antibodies against similar peptides that make up our various tissues.
Peptides are the simplest things that our immune system CAN determine to have come from something other than ourselves.
The most common cause for LGS is the fact that the intestinal lining replaces itself, on the average, every 14 hours.
Every cell that makes up the lining is digested or sloughed off, and a new one grown in its place, that often.
That is why the intestinal tract uses more blood, when it is RESTING, than any other organ system--when IT is resting.
The first organ system to lose its blood supply, during a fight or flight stress reaction, is the intestinal tract.
If you have been storing up stress response for a long time, your intestinal tract will be chronically starved for blood and the lining will start to function imperfectly.
This makes your colonic ecology MUCH more susceptible to the growth of disease-causing organisms, like Candida and other parasites (present in the environment all around all of us 24 hours a day), which then damage the lining even further.
The REASONS for the incompetent lining, AND diagnosing any parasitic overgrowth already present, are important.
The allopathic paradigm is not the least bit interested in looking for these causes. The most money can be made by treating the symptoms that result from this process.
This tends to make the effects of environmental pollutants more dangerous as well.
Since humans have not had enough time to EVOLVE a way to DIGEST chemicals that have been invented by man, the main way they get into us is by "leakage" (passive absorption).
A leaky gut allows a larger percent to get into the individual than a healthy gut would.
Posted by luvs2ride (Member # 8090) on :
Carol
What a great way of explaining LGS.
Concerned Mother I have LGS and my doctor believes it is causing my symptom which is joint pain and swelling.
We are working hard to correct this condition. Diet is very important and avoiding sugar, simple starches and dairy are very much a part of it. I also avoid gluten, wheat and corn simply because once I began the diet, I quickly could see I have an allergic reaction to those foods.
There is much to research on the internet about this. It is very serious and much more common than most doctors want to believe. They aren't trained to look for causes, only to prescribe drugs for symptoms.
You need a doctor or nutritionist who knows about Leaky Gut to help your son resolve it.
Posted by Marnie (Member # 773) on :
Leaky gut = the intestinal barrier has been breached.
If Bb is in the gut..must rid. My sis' LLMD told her it was okay to take (2) pepto bismol tablets and (1) zantac at bedtime only for one week only. Get your son's Dr.'s okay to try.
Meanwhile...must restore the beneficial bacteria too. Loading doses of probiotics. Lots of good probiotics with a full glass of water one hour before a meal 2x/day. With water, to dilute the stomach acids so they don't destroy the "good guys" and then when they reach their destination, "feed them" ie., eat.
He might need digestive enzymes for awhile to begin the breakdown of the foods.
Healing starts in the gut. Cannot get well if the gut isn't healthy.
We ABSORB and MAKE many nutrients there.
The intestine barrier will stay pretty "intact" for quite awhile. Protective antibodies...will go up.
My son got food poisoning and in a few months he ended up with virtually no beneficial bacteria in his gut. He too, lost 25 pounds. I'm betting your son's stools (BM's) look and smell awful. Is he vomiting too? What is his cholesteol level? Yeast LOWER cholesterol levels.
There are labs that will check the level of the various beneficial bacterias via a stool spec.
Posted by char (Member # 8315) on :
Not a stupid question, Concerned! It is hard to research and assimilate and you have your hands full!
Does your son have Bartonella? Stomach problems can be related to Bart. My daughter's bad stomach is improving with treatment for it.
Best Wishes, Char
Posted by concerned mother (Member # 8128) on :
Thanks for all the info. We have never been tested for co infections but have been treated for BAbesia because of night sweats and chest tightness. I wondering if Bartonella is also a problem. I will read up on it.
Thanks
Amy
Posted by Jill E. (Member # 9121) on :
Years before I was bitten by the tick, I had numerous health problems, including Leaky Gut and Candida. It was detected by a holistic M.D. who used many of the tests from Great Smokies Lab. He thought the candida was causing it, although any food allergy or intolerance probably can. He had me taking the supplement L-Glutamine, which is recommended by many holistic practitioners, nutritionists, etc. to help heal leaky gut, along with taking probiotics.
Year later, I was diagnosed with gluten problems and have followed a strict gluten-free diet ever since. Celiac Disease (which as you probably know is a genetic autoimmune intolerance to gluten) also causes intestinal permeability - leaky gut. So it's very possible that all these years it was the gluten causing my leaky gut. So it sounds like you are doing the smart thing to identify food allergies, sensitivites or intolerances.
When I contracted Lyme and began treatment, both my LLMD and a Lyme naturopath told me to go off L-Glutamine because it may possibly encourage the spirochetes to grow. My LLMD did allow me to use it for a short period of time when I really needed it. But I have read a write-up from a well-known holistic LLMD who does have his patients use L-Glutamine, so I don't really know the pros and cons of it.
Take care, Jill
Posted by Jellybelly (Member # 7142) on :
Also, alot of us have I hard time digesting food right there in the stomach, due to not enough stomach acid. The longer food sits there, it will rot, irritating the lining of the stomach, which causes little holes where actual food bits and what ever else we have ingested can slip through and end up directly in our blood stream.
To get things moving right off, digestive enzymes can be VERY helpful. A broad spectrum enzyme will start the digestion process on almost everything. Then to digestion starts right in the mouth, so chew your food up as good as you can, no gulping down food.
Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
Food does not actually get absorbed through the lining of the stomach. The stomach is lined with a thick protective layer to keep it from being damaged by the stomach acids.
Enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the liver are secreted into the small intestine, where they break down the proteins, fats, and carbohydrates.
The small intestine absorbs the molecules of food, once they are completely broken down.
So, what you eat is completely broken down, passes into the bloodstream through the walls of the small intestine, then used by the cells of the body to build, repair, and make energy within the cells (in the mitochondria).
If the lining of the small intestine is inflamed, it can let partially digested molecules of proteins through, into the blood stream.
This causes problems.
Posted by pomegranite (Member # 3339) on :
Also unexplained weight loss is a symptom of lyme. Your sons problem could simply be a result of the disease.
I know I lost 18 pounds simply as a result of lyme.
However, it is also possible that leaky gut is at play.
According to Natropath, Leaky gut can be caused when yeast is killed quickly by diflucan or nystatin. If the yeast is embedded in the guts and suddenly killed its sudden death can leave the lining of the guts damaged. Hence this naturopath's recommendation to kill yeast with Pau D'arco, diet and to take slippery elm tea to protect from leaky gut.
I have this and am on L-glutimine powder digestive enzymes and tons of pro-biotics And alot of other things
there was a good thread on this lately if you want to search
take care
make sure to talk over everything you read here first with your LLMD
Posted by Jellybelly (Member # 7142) on :
Thanks Carol for clearing that up for me. The first time I ever heard about Leaky Gut, the doc used the word stomach. Wonder though if you have abrasions or an ulcer, could it leak through that or is the stomach to thick?
Posted by concerned mother (Member # 8128) on :
Interesting pome. about the nystatin and diflucan causing the yeast to die off quickly and thus causing stomach problems. My son has been on both for some time now. I will check with the llmd and ask him these questions.
Amy Posted by Carol in PA (Member # 5338) on :
Jelly, You said, "Wonder though if you have abrasions or an ulcer, could it leak through that or is the stomach to thick?"
If you have an ulcer, food would still not be absorbed through the stomach wall, because the stomach wall does not have the receptors needed.
If the lining of the stomach gets "eaten" through, what usually happens is that it bleeds.
I've taken care of patients who were vomiting blood from stomach ulcers. As a side note, if a person vomits what looks like "coffee grounds," that is digested blood. (Lots of little black bits, in case you've never made perked coffee.)
So, if you ever start vomiting blood, get to the Emergency Room right away. You could die from a bleeding ulcer.
========= Amy:
Gigi has said several times that when yeast in the body is killed off, it releases the metals that the yeast cells hold.
I think this would be mercury, and I'm not sure what else.
She has made suggestions regarding products that will "bind up" the metals while they are traveling through the digestive system, to prevent them from passing though the intestinal wall and going back into circulation.
This is something you should look into. You can do a search on Gigi's posts, you're sure to find some info.
====== Pomegranite:
I have never heard that killing yeast would damage the lining of the intestines, or gut. Hmmm, I find this hard to believe, but then, I have not researched it either.
Carol
Editing to add: Evidently, some things do get absorbed through the stomach wall, such as some meds and supplements.
[ 21. April 2006, 06:26 PM: Message edited by: Carol in PA ]
Posted by DeniseS (Member # 7276) on :
I saw an immunologist who works with my LLMD. He did blood tests for IgE and IgG to various foods, molds and inhaled substances. I tested severaly allergic to molds (including those used to culture tamari, miso and tempeh) and somewhat allergic to quite a few foods.
The immunologist gave me Rx digestive enzymes (creon 20) and said that would take care of digesting the proteins thoroughly (and a nose spray for my severe mold allergies). When my LLMD saw the report she said it was indicative of leaky gut and insisted that I go on a five-day rotation diet. (I only eat given foods in a given biological family in one 24-hour period each five days.) She says this will help stop the aggravation to my gut and immune sysem.
My take is that diagnosis of leaky gut is a fine scale. One LLMD said if I wasn't losing weight and didn't have diarrhea, I didn't have leaky gut. I agree with the finer scale my other LLMD is using.
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