Leaky Gut Syndrome

By Bonnie Jenkins, Advanced Natural Medicine

You eat a healthy diet and diligently take supplements to make sure your body is getting all of the nutrients it needs to function properly. Once you’ve done your part, your gastro-intestinal system takes over, breaking the food down, absorbing small food particles which will be converted to energy and carrying nutrients across the gut lining into the bloodstream. Your gut also works as a detoxification system and acts as the first line of defense against infection.

Usually this internal food processing factory works well – over your lifetime, your gastrointestinal tract processes more than 25 tons of food without a hitch. But for some people, this factory can malfunction, causing a condition known as leaky gut syndrome.

And it’s a condition more common than you think.

The Contant Leak

While the name might sound funny, leaky gut syndrome is no laughing matter. Since the gut has to deal with a non-stop barrage of food, chemicals and microorganisms, the walls of the digestive tract have to constantly defend themselves from harm while selecting beneficial substances which will be admitted into the body. This constant exposure to all kinds of foreign substances can cause the permeable walls of the intestines to become vulnerable to deterioration and breakdown.

Here’s what happens: Once your food is digested, the cells in the intestinal lining start to interact with ingested food particles or bacteria. Normally, the lining of the intestines only let properly digested fats, proteins and starches pass through the cells that line the gut – and the spaces between these cells is sealed. But when the intestinal lining becomes irritated, those spaces open up and can allow bacteria, toxins and undigested food to “leak” in. Once that begins to happen, the digestive barrier loses its selectivity, leaving you vulnerable to fatigue, allergies, illness and even autoimmune diseases.

Gut Check

When your gut becomes irritated, it becomes inflamed – and an inflamed digestive tract can’t absorb food and nutrients properly. As a result, you can experience fatigue, gas and bloating. But that’s just the beginning. Leaky gut syndrome can also cause abdominal pain, indigestion, and alternating constipation and diarrhea not unlike irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

While these symptoms are a clear sign that all is not well in your gut, other symptoms can be murky and much harder to define. As larger food particles are absorbed, you may start to experience food allergies and new symptoms like arthritis or fibromyalgia that don’t seem related to your gastrointestinal tract. Since nutrients aren’t processed properly when the gut is inflamed you can also experience nutritional deficiencies that can cause symptoms like magnesium deficiency induced muscle spasms or high cholesterol caused by a copper deficiency.

Unfortunately, it’s all downhill from there:

When the detox pathways that line the gut are compromised, chemical sensitivities can arise. And because the leakage of toxins can overburden the liver, the body is less able to handle everyday chemicals.

If the intestinal lining is inflamed, its natural protective coating is compromised, creating an open invitation to bacteria and viruses. And these nasty little critters aren’t confined to your out-of-whack intestinal tract. They can catch a ride through the bloodstream and set up an infection anywhere in the body.

The worst symptom of a leaky gut is the formation of antibodies. Sometimes these leak across and look similar to the antigens in our own tissues. So when an antibody attacks an antigen, it also attacks our tissue. A growing number of scientists think that this is how autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus or multiple sclerosis start.

Super Glue

As horrendous as leaky gut sounds, there’s a simple nutrient you can take that helps to prevent and even control the condition. L-glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body. Normally the body makes plenty of L-glutamine to keep all our systems running smoothly. And it’s especially important to gut health since it serves as a source of fuel for the cells lining the intestines. Without this amino acid, these cells waste away.

L-glutamine also acts like metabolic glue to repair any leaks in the system. So not surprisingly, demand for this nutrient is highest when the digestive tract is recovering from injury. The problem is, when the gut is compromised, the body may not be able to make enough L-glutamine to perform its many functions and heal the gut.

Fortunately, taking supplemental L-glutamine can fill in the gap. According to one recent study, L-glutamine supplements can help the body repair intestinal damage. Other research by Israeli investigators shows that L-glutamine can help ward off inflammation in the intestines by boosting antioxidant action and energizing the cells of the intestinal wall. According to the researchers, this antioxidant capacity protects the intestines by defusing the destructive action of free radicals that are released during digestion. Earlier studies have found that L-glutamine also boosts the immune system and can even come to the rescue after the intestinal lining has suffered from severe injury.

So if you’ve got gastro troubles or suspect autoimmune problems, try taking 500 mg. of L-glutamine once a day. Just be sure to take this extremely safe amino acid on an empty stomach. But don’t take L-glutamine if you suffer from cirrhosis of the liver or kidney problems since there can be an adverse reaction in cases where ammonia accumulates in the blood.

One Last Thing ...

Unfortunately, most doctors don’t test for leaky gut syndrome – even though the test is relatively easy and cheap.

The standard test for leaky gut syndrome is the mannitol and lactulose test. Both are water soluble molecules that the body can't use. Mannitol is easily absorbed by people with healthy intestinal linings. Lactulose is a larger molecule and is only slightly absorbed. A person drinks a solution that contain both mannitol and lactulose. Urine is collected for six hours and the amount present in urine reflects how much was absorbed by the body. A healthy test shows high levels of mannitol and low levels of lactulose. High levels of both molecules indicates a leaky gut condition.

But as I said, most doctors don’t check for leaky gut syndrome unless you ask them to. So if you are experiencing abdominal or bowel symptoms – or if you have mysterious symptoms that can’t be tied to a diagnosis – make sure to have your doctor schedule a mannitol and lactulose test.

This Just In ...

There’s a new weapon in the war against the common cold. Well, it’s not really new. Actually it’s been around for centuries and has been used to treat everything from digestive problems to sexual difficulties.

The secret weapon is none other than North American ginseng. In a study that pitted a proprietary ginseng product against a placebo, Canadian researchers found that adults who took the botanical everyday for 4 months developed fewer and less severe colds than those on the placebo.

The study included 323 adults who were randomly assigned to take either the ginseng formula or placebo capsules filled with rice powder everyday for 4 months. During that time, participants kept daily logs of any cold symptoms – including runny nose, congestion, sore throat and headache.

The participants in both groups had about the same chance of developing a cold during the study period. But fewer than half of the folks in the ginseng group suffered from more than one cold – 10 percent verses almost 23 percent in the placebo group. And the colds they did get tended to be shorter and less severe.

Since so many of the symptoms of colds and flu are interchangeable, the researchers speculate that ginseng might also help to prevent some cases of the flu. Either way, this is certainly good news as we settle into cold and flu season. And since ginseng also boosts the immune system, it’s a good idea to take 1,000 to 3,000 mg. a day at the first sign of the sniffles.

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References:

Akisu M, Baka M, Huseyinov A, et al. “The role of dietary supplementation with L-glutamine in inflammatory mediator release and intestinal injury in hypoxia/ reoxygenation-induced experimental necrotizing enterocolitis.” Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism. 2003;47:262-266.

Israeli E, Berenshtein E, Wengrower D, et al. “Prophylactic administration of topical glutamine enhances the capability of the rat colon to resist inflammatory damage.” Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 2004 Oct;49(10):1705-12.

Li JY, Lu Y, Hu S, et al. “Preventive effect of glutamine on intestinal barrier dysfunction induced by severe trauma.” World Journal of Gastroenterology. 2002;8:168-671.

Predy GN, Goel V, Lovlin R, et al. “Efficacy of an extract of North American ginseng containing poly-furanosyl-pyranosyl-saccharides for preventing upper respiratory tract infections: a randomized controlled trial.” Canadian Medical Association Journal. 2005;173:1043-1048.

Thomas S. Prabhu R, Balasubramanian KA. “Surgical manipulation of the intestine and distant organ damage-protection by oral glutamine supplementation.” Surgery. 2005;137: 48-55.