Your Digestion and Leaky Gut
Most modern diets are high in processed foods, containing large amounts of sugar, sodium, poor-quality fats, artificial colours and flavours, chemical additives, and preservatives. Over time, these ingredients (and the toxic by-products they create) contribute to the deterioration of the gut lining, resulting in the onset of leaky gut syndrome or increased intestinal permeability.
What is “Leaky Gut”?
Think of your gut as a filter. A healthy gut lining acts as a finely woven filter with small, tight junctions that allow water and nutrients to pass through, while keeping toxic debris and waste inside the intestines. When this filter is damaged, the holes are bigger, allowing larger molecules into the bloodstream, where they don’t belong.
A damaged gut lining compromises your health in several ways. First, the damaged tissue becomes inflamed and unable to function optimally. This means it cannot properly absorb nutrients, which negatively impacts every other system in the body and may contribute to nutritional deficiencies over time. Second, the inflammation causes the intestinal tissue to produce more mucous as a buffer for the irritation, which impairs digestion. As a result, these partially digested food particles ferment in the intestines and become food for pathogenic microorganisms, further damaging the gut and perpetuating the cycle of inflammation. And third, as the damage progresses and intestinal permeability increases, the larger molecules of undigested food, waste material, and debris in the bloodstream can trigger inflammatory immune responses elsewhere in the body.
While the symptoms of leaky gut syndrome can vary depending on a variety of individual factors, common symptoms include:
- Constipation / diarrhea
- Stomach pain / cramping
- Gas/bloating / flatulence
- Nutritional deficiencies
- Eczema / rash / acne / psoriasis
- Food allergies / intolerances
- Anxiety / depression / mood changes
- Thyroid disease
- Hormonal imbalances
- Fatigue / low energy
- Chronic joint pain
- Brain fog
If not addressed with dietary and lifestyle changes, leaky gut can lead to serious health issues like Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, gut dysbiosis, small intestine bacteria overgrowth, autoimmune disorders, and even some cancers.
Build a Strong Microbiome:
Your first line of defence against leaky gut is your microbiome – the community of bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and other single-celled microorganisms that reside in your digestive tract. In a healthy microbiome, the interactions of these “bugs” serve several important purposes for digestive health, including:
- Aiding in the breakdown of foods during digestion
- Supporting nutrient absorption (and manufacturing some vitamins)
- Promoting healthy elimination of toxins
- Reducing inflammation
- Strengthening the integrity of the gut lining
Your microbiome is easily influenced by the foods you eat, as well as your lifestyle habits. Frequently consuming processed junk foods can encourage the growth of potentially harmful microorganisms, which eventually crowd out the beneficial bacteria that are necessary for healthy digestion. However, your nutrition and lifestyle habits are also the key to maintaining a healthy gut microbiome and supporting a strong intestinal lining.
Create a Gut-Healing Diet:
When it comes to supporting good health (digestive or otherwise), it’s important to build your diet around natural, whole foods. The majority of what you eat should come from nature – things like fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meat, poultry, eggs, fish, nuts and seeds, healthy fats, and an abundance of herbs and spices are all great options.
Protein, fats, and fiber are essential components of a gut-friendly diet. Be sure to include high-quality sources of protein, as the amino acids in these foods are essential building blocks used by the body to make tissues (including the intestinal lining). Healthy fats are also vitally important to a gut-healing diet because they help to lubricate stool, soften tissues, and support healthy cell membranes. Foods like flax (seeds and oil), chia seeds, fish, eggs, and nuts, are good food sources of omega-3 fats. You can also include a few tablespoons of high-quality oils such as coconut, avocado, olive, or walnut oil (always use cold-pressed, extra-virgin oils for maximum nutritional benefit). And finally, fibrous foods like fruits, vegetables, flaxseeds and/or chia seeds help to keep the bowel functioning optimally and provide fuel for beneficial microorganisms.
While fruits and vegetables of any variety are always healthy choices, eating these foods in their raw state may overburden a weakened digestive system. Cooking these foods can improve digestion and increase the bioavailability of the nutrients. Try baking, sautéing, or lightly steaming your vegetables and fruits to give your gut a break.
There is no such thing as a uniformly perfect diet, but we tend to encourage our clients to observe the guidelines of the Mediterranean diet when designing their meals. As much as possible, try to consume:
- ~15-20% of your daily calories from proteins (meat, fish, poultry, eggs)
- ~50% of your daily calories from carbohydrates (fruit, vegetables, starches)
- ~30-40% of your daily calories from healthy fats (oils, nuts, seeds)
Foods to avoid:
For good gut health, it’s imperative that you remove any irritants from your diet that might prevent recovery or worsen the situation. We’ve already mentioned the dangers of processed foods, which contain harmful or even toxic additives, but there are a few other ingredients to watch out for.
Dairy, gluten, and sugar are all problematic when it comes to gut issues. These foods are not only highly inflammatory, but they can all disrupt the balance of good bacteria in the microbiome and contribute to the development or worsening of leaky gut syndrome. Dairy and gluten are especially problematic as these are both highly allergenic foods and contain proteins that are extremely difficult for the body to digest. For these reasons, we recommend avoiding foods containing these items, wherever possible.
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