Treatment For Leaky Gut

Our treatment for Leaky Gut at our Guardian featured Clinic addresses the underlying issues causing it, not just the symptoms. Treatment is tailored to meet each patient’s unique needs.

Leaky Gut Syndrome (Increased Gut Permeability)
Unless specifically investigated with diagnostic medical testing, Leaky Gut Syndrome often goes unrecognised. Yet this is very common health problem and we see many patients with it. Leaky Gut Syndrome (Increased Gut Permeability) has been associated with many serious diseases and can often lead to an inappropriate immune response, resulting in allergies. Deborah Grant’s successful treatment for Leaky Gut Syndrome has been featured in The Guardian.

What causes Leaky Gut Syndrome?
Leaky Gut Syndrome is usually caused by exposure to certain substances, which may damage the lining of the small intestine. The most common causes of increased gut permeability are antibiotics; anti-inflammatory drugs for pain relief – NSAIDs (Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs) including the over the counter one, Ibuprofen; steroids; alcohol, which is an irritant to the gut lining; stress; infection by virus, bacteria or parasite; and a poor diet full of sugar and starchy foods.

Our Leaky Gut treatment addresses the underlying issues.

What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?
The small intestine is 21 ft long and is where the food is digested. The lining of it is like a fine sieve, which allows only the broken down products of digestion to pass through it and into the bloodstream. It normally keeps undigested food molecules, bacteria, yeast and toxins out.

The small intestine is lined with finger-like projections Contacted villi. These have hair-like projections Contacted microvilli, which serve as a point of absorption of nutrients. Antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, alcohol or infection can cause the intestinal lining to become inflamed and the microvilli to become damaged, losing their hair-like projection – so in effect, getting bald patches. These damaged microvilli cannot then produce the necessary enzymes and secretions that are essential for healthy digestion and the absorption of nutrients. This can lead to malabsorption and weight loss.

When the small intestine becomes inflamed in this way, the lining which keeps out undigested protein, bacteria etc. from passing into the bloodstream is weakened. Gaps open up between the cells. The sieve has now become more of a colander allowing undigested particles and toxins to escape into the body. This of course puts the immune system on red alert. In response, it produces antibodies to locate and attack these foreign objects because they are perceived as invaders. This can cause allergic reactions. Large amounts of this escaping material can overwhelm the body and a cascade of inflammatory events may begin that can trigger autoimmune disease.

What conditions are associated with Leaky Gut Syndrome?
In a very interesting article by the American health practitioner, Paul Bergner, he states that the theory of Leaky Gut Syndrome being associated with various illnesses, including autoimmunity, has been postulated by since the mid-1980s and that studies and trials that support the theory now abound in the scientific literature. He also states that “research studies indicate that gut permeability may be pathologically increased by antibiotic therapy (Rutgers et al; Whang et al), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Jenkins et al; Louis et al; Nylander et al; Wallace), food allergies (de Boissieu et al; Louis et al; Troncone et al,1994), alcohol (Bjarnason et al), stress (Saunders et al), and poor nutrition (Rodriguez et al).

Research also shows that the gut does not increase in permeability due to normal aging (Saltzman et al), that mother’s milk can protect against permeability-inducing injuries (Crissinger et al.). Various researchers have also linked increased intestinal permeability with autoimmune diseases in general (Parke; Zananian), arthritis (Paganelli et al; Parke); ankylosing spondylitis (Martinez-Gonzales et al); collagen autoimmune diseases (Tsutsumi et al), Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative colitis (Geboes; Ma; Stevens; Zanjanian), and autoimmune skin disorders (Kieffer and Barnetson; Paganelli et al; Parke.)”

The Treatment for Leaky Gut Syndrome
Many patients attend The Harley Street IBS Clinic for the treatment of Leaky Gut Syndrome. They have usually done the rounds but have not found any answers to their worrying and uncomfortable condition, yet they continually sense that something is wrong. Patients presenting with any symptoms, which suggest increased gut permeability or leaky gut, are tested to see if their gut wall has been weakened and also to measure the extent of any problem with it. Knowing the extent of the problem helps to tailor the treatment to meet the patient’s unique needs. Progress can be monitored by retesting.

Patients may also be tested to find out if anything else is fuelling this increase in permeability. An extensive case history is taken, including medication history. Diet, dietary supplementation and medication are determined by the test results and are the mainstay of the treatment for Leaky Gut Syndrome.

Every patient’s experience of this very complex condition is different so there are no set prescriptions. Instead, treatment for Leaky Gut Syndrome is formulated and dispensed to meet each patient’s needs. This approach works better than a one-size-fits-all approach.

We also address any allergies that may be associated with this condition.

References

If you feel that you may have Leaky Gut Syndrome