By Dr. Vincent Sferra
Intestinal permeability (commonly heard of as ‘leaky gut’), is associated with several chronic diseases. When symptomatic, one can experience fatigue, headaches, confusion, brain fog, bloating, gas or constipation. Also skin problems such as rashes, eczema, or joint pain. All of these symptoms are driven by the inflammation.
When we have a damaged or inflamed intestinal lining, the barrier between the gut and bloodstream is jeopardized and may be breached. If allowed to continue, harmful bacteria, foodstuff, and toxins can leak into the underlying tissues and bloodstream. This can cause inflammation and immune activation as well as digestive disturbances and autoimmune conditions.
It is critical to identify intestinal permeability. Our body has gating mechanisms that are inborn. When the integrity of this is functioning well, it allows what is supposed to get in and blocks what is harmful.
Two mechanisms can break down with intestinal permeability. First is paracellular breakdown around or in between the cells. The second is transcellular breakdown which occurs through the cell structure. These breakdowns can occur when our body has taken a toll from stress, poor diet, abusive alcohol consumption, long-standing need for antibiotics, or specific foods that may be problematic possibly due to genetic factors.
The blood testing at Natural Medicine & Rehabilitation measures both. Additionally, it will determine if there is something called endotoxemia present, the negative effect of certain unfavorable bacteria being present in our microbiome. Maintaining healthy bacteria in your gut, or a healthy microbiome, is critical to healthy immune tolerance. Imbalances can trigger the body’s immune response and increase inflammation and intestinal permeability.
One of the most common offending triggers is gluten, or the peptides in wheat known as gliadins. For many, these peptides create immune responses in the body that can disrupt the intestinal barriers, causing painless or silent inflammation, and triggering autoimmune processes in the body.
While some may have no symptoms of intestinal permeability, others may experience many digestive symptoms. Others may have no gastrointestinal symptoms but may have systemic or autoimmune conditions developing as a result including headaches, chronic muscle and joint pain, ongoing fatigue, and neurologic symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and/or brain fog. Many autoimmune conditions can have intestinal permeability as a primary cause. The most common of these are thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, celiac disease, and Type I Diabetes.
Our first step in helping our patients is utilizing the results of our intestinal permeability blood test. Our team of physicians can then, along with a comprehensive consult and examination, most accurately identify the root cause(s) of your condition. Once the root cause has been determined, other interventional protocols such as dietary, nutritional, and lifestyle changes may be recommended to help improve gut health and alleviate intestinal permeability symptoms. Our functional medicine doctor may recommend dietary changes that both eliminate certain offending foods and include foods and supplements that contain beneficial nutrients to soothe inflammation and restore the integrity of your gut lining. Adding probiotics and prebiotics to the diet may be suggested as well.
To help heal and avoid leaky gut call 908-252-0242 or visit NMRNJ.com/appointment-request/to request a FREE new patient consultation.
Dr. Sferra is board-certified in Chiropractic Medicine and Chiropractic Neurology, a Certified Clinical Nutritionist and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist certified by the National Strength & Conditioning Association. He is the founder and Clinic Director of Natural Medicine & Rehabilitation. For more information visit www.NMRNJ.com