Ep. 02 / could you have a leaky gut
Gut integrity is super important in keeping not only your digestion working properly, but your entire body as through the gut is where your body gets all the nutrients it needs to not only function, but function properly. If this is compromised, this is what we call ‘leaky gut’, or if you want to get all medical - ‘increased intestinal permeability’
The lining of the small intestine is only a single cell thick and they’re stacked together like bricks, with finger-like bits called villi. In a healthy gut, these cells remain close together and only nutrients from food pass through (think all your key vitamins, proteins, fats). This is how we stay alive and the body gets what it needs to the places it needs to go.
However sometimes these bricks get gaps that could be due to: a gut infection, alcohol, and chronic stress, just to name a couple. A chronic state of stress requires more nutrition as long term production of stress hormones can cause this lack of integrity as the hormones signal to the cells that they need to move further apart to allow more nutrients through to the blood. A gut with good integrity means food can only move forward and as it’s broken down, the villi absorb the nutrients. If you have a leaky gut, the food can move straight ahead or through these loose junctions in to the blood stream. Nutrients are meant to enter the blood, not bits of food partially undigested. Your immune system is found in your bloodstream and if these food fragments enter the bloodstream, your immune cells think they’re a foreign invader or germ and mounts an immune attack, leading to food sensitivities.
If you have leaky gut, you might notice that you suddenly can’t eat food you were once able to tolerate easily. The good news is, leaky gut can be healed. Some foods or ingredients may need to be removed in order to restore the integrity of the intestinal lining, but once you can work out the ‘why’ and it’s been dealt with, then the tolerance should begin to come back. Work out the ‘why’.