Leaky Gut: A personal journey & holistic guide to healing from the inside out
Starting off with probably the biggest aspect of health that has become increasingly discussed, yet still brushed under the rug in so many cases. Gut health. Most people can wrap their head around the idea of gut health affecting digestion, bowel movements, stomach pain, bloating, etc., However, what many don't realize is that gut health plays a crucial role in many other areas of overall health as well. but what most people do not understand is how gut health is related to so many other aspects of a person's overall health.
Let’s begin with how a leaky gut can lead to energy levels and hormonal imbalances.
Your gut typically is lined with mucosal cells, tightly packed beside one another. On these mucosal cells are things called villi, as well as healthy bacteria. The villi act like little hands, to grab onto food moving through the gut. The bacteria then starts breaking down that food into components that are either absorbed into the cell or moved through the gut to be kicked out of your body as waste. If there is damage to those mucosal cells and bacteria, things are not able to be broken down properly and therefore, we are not getting those important vitamins and minerals.
Common Symptoms of Leaky Gut:
Bloating or irregular digestion (constipation, diarrhea)
Brain fog or chronic fatigue
Skin flare-ups (eczema, acne, rosacea)
Headaches or mood swings
Nutrient deficiencies
Autoimmune symptoms
Multiple food sensitivities
Sound familiar? You’re not alone—and it’s not “just in your head.”
Our guts are lined with tightly packed cells called mucosal cells. These cells have tiny finger-like projections called villi, where our healthy gut microbiome. The villi act to grab onto food moving through the gut so that the bacteria can work on breaking it down. The bacteria breaks the food into components that are either absorbed or excreted as waste. The nutrients, including the vitamins in minerals are absorbed through the cell and into the bloodstream, where they can then be transported all over the body where they are needed. The waste components include the rest of the useless broken down material, the toxins and chemicals that may be attached to the food, as well as micro organisms and even parasites that may slip in from our food.
If these mucosal cells and bacteria are damaged, the villi becomes inflamed and eventually flatten, decreasing overall absorption. Your immune system goes on high alert. Inflammation flares. Your digestion suffers. Your hormones struggle to regulate.
Next let’s talk about the leaky gut causing leakage into the bloodstream. When those tight junctions between the mucosal cells become spread out, things can actually fully leak into your bloodstream. These things can include toxins, microorganisms, viruses, bacteria, and even food itself. Once these things get into the bloodstream, they are then able to move across your entire system. Your bloodstream is like a highway linking all of your organs and systems, so I think we can all see the potential problems with bacteria and toxins having full access to your whole body.
As the damage to the digestive tract worsens, the tight junctions between the mucosal cells loosen, which allows substances to leak into your bloodstream. This is where the term “leaky gut” comes from. These substances can include toxins, microorganisms, viruses, bacteria, and even undigested food particles. Once they enter the bloodstream, they can travel throughout your entire body. Since your bloodstream acts like a highway connecting all your organs and systems, it’s easy to see the potential issues that arise when bacteria and toxins have unrestricted access to your body.
The overall decrease in absorption has a major impact on many systems due to it’s effect on hormonal dysregulation.
To make hormones, guess what two key resources are needed; vitamins and minerals. If we are not absorbing these vital vitamins and minerals, our systems are not able to create and regulate their hormones. This is particularly concerning when you consider hormones are responsible for nearly every process in the body.
When does our body mainly make these hormones? At night, while we are sleeping, or at least trying to sleep. If our bodies do not have the resources to make those hormones, guess what? Your body actually keeps you awake trying to tell you that it is requiring more resources.
Not only are we not making the energy we need, but we also aren’t getting any sleep. And sleep, well the importance of that deserves its own post.
This leads to an overall exhausting life, which explains why so many people are feeling burnt out every day.
I hear most people say, “well I take my vitamins everyday”. Well that's great, but, are you taking minerals?? And if that gut is damaged, depending on the severity of the damage, you are actually only absorbing about 40% or less of those vitamins.
Lastly, I will discuss how damage to the mucosal cells can cause systemic chronic inflammation. When you fall, and you scrape your knee, what happens? It most likely becomes red and inflamed. Well, that is essentially what is occurring inside your body.
When particles are leaking out of the digestive tract and traveling to other parts of the body the immune system still does its job in attacking foreign, harmful substances. This ongoing defense triggers a specific immune response that leads to systemic cellular inflammation. This is what leads to so many people having arthritic-like pain, and swelling in the joints.
The inflammation in the gut itself is where we see the constant bloating. You hear nowadays so many people trying to convince themselves and others that “bloating is normal and natural”. The straightforward thing is, no it is not normal and natural at all. I can honestly say I do not experience bloating,I do not experience heartburn/ indigestion, or pain after eating. This bloating is an inflammatory response. This feeling should not be registered as normal. It should be recognized for what it is, a serious health issue that should be dealt with properly.
These are just some examples of how gut-health affects so much more than people believe, and how serious some of its risks actually are. Moving forward I will dive deeper into some of the things discussed today as their own separate discussion, such as what exactly can be the cause of that damage.
Follow me to learn more about how to take control of your own health journey.