Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (24 page)

The presence of dysbiosis contributes to leaky gut syndrome. Candida push their way into the lining of the intestinal wall and break down the brush borders. Candida
must be evaluated when leaky gut syndrome is suspected. Blastocystis hominis, giardia, helicobacter, salmonella, shigella, Yersinia enterocolitica, amoebas, and other parasites also irritate the intestinal lining and cause gastrointestinal symptoms. People who have or have had digestive illness or liver problems have an increased tendency to leaky gut syndrome. Which came first: the chicken or the egg?

Daily exposure to hundreds of household and environmental chemicals puts stress on our immune defenses and the body’s ability to repair itself. This leads to chronic delay of necessary routine repairs. Our immune systems can pay attention to only so many places at one time, and parts of the body far away from the digestive system are affected. Connective tissue begins to break down, and we lose trace minerals like calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Environmental chemicals deplete our reserves of buffering minerals, causing acidosis in the cells and tissue and cell swelling. This is known as leaky cells—like having major internal plumbing problems!

Alcoholic drinks contain few nutrients but take many nutrients to metabolize. The most noteworthy of these are the B-complex vitamins. In fact, alcoholic beverages contain substances that are toxic to our cells. When alcohol is metabolized in the liver, the toxins are either broken down or stored by the body. Alcohol abuse puts a strain on the liver, which affects digestive competency, and also damages the intestinal tract.

Low-fiber diets cause an increase in transit time, allowing toxic by-products of digestion to concentrate and irritate the gut mucosa. In addition, diets of highly processed foods injure our intestinal lining. Processed foods invariably are low in nutrients and fiber, with high levels of food additives, restructured fats, and sugar. These foods promote inflammation of the GI tract.

It’s also important to note that even foods we normally think of as healthful, such as milk, wheat, and eggs, can be irritating to the gut lining.

Nonsteroidal drugs such as Advil, aspirin, and Motrin, damage brush borders, allowing microbes, partially digested food particles, and toxins to enter the bloodstream. Birth control pills and steroid drugs also create conditions that help feed
fungi, which damage the lining. Chemotherapy drugs and radiation therapy can also significantly disrupt GI balance.

Food and environmental sensitivities are usually the result of leaky gut syndrome. The prevalence of these sensitivities is more widely recognized today than in the past; 24 percent of American adults claim they have food and environmental sensitivities. These sensitivities, also called delayed hypersensitivity reactions, differ from true food allergies, also called type I or immediate hypersensitivity reactions.

Lectins are found primarily in legumes and induce mast cells to produce histamine. They also bind to the intestinal mucosa, making it more porous and leaky.

If you believe you suffer from leaky gut, it’s best to work with a health professional who can help you determine the underlying factors. Fortunately, you can find many ways to heal your gut. Some involve changing your habits, like chewing your food more completely; others involve taking specific supplements that will help your body repair itself. If you have food allergies or sensitivities, deal with them. Find out if you have an infection of some sort and get appropriate treatment. Replenish your bacterial flora with probiotics and prebiotics such as fructooligosaccharides (FOS). You may need to support your digestive function with enzymes, bitters, or hydrochloric acid tablets.

The following are steps you can take to help repair your gut. Supportive foods and supplemental nutrients can help repair the mucosal lining directly. Cabbage juice, cabbage family foods, bone broths, vegetable broths, fresh vegetable juices, aloe vera juice, okra, and slippery elm tea and lozenges all have a healing effect on the small intestine.

Unlike the brain, which uses glucose for energy, the cells of the small intestine depend on glutamine as their main fuel and for maintenance and repair. Gluta-mine is the first nutrient I think of to repair a leaky gut. Glutamine is alkalizing to the body. It decreases the incidence of infection and stimulates the production of sIgA. Glutamine has also been shown to decrease the risk of bacterial translocation.
Dosages can range from 1 to 30 grams daily, depending on your needs. Begin with 1 to 3 grams daily. Too much glutamine will probably constipate you, so that’s a good gauge of how much you need. Many people find that they feel stronger and have more endurance when they take glutamine.

Zinc may be an essential nutrient for gut repair. The type of zinc that shows the most promise for digestive healing is zinc carnosine. A typical dose is 75 mg of zinc carnosine twice daily.

Take probiotics. L. plantarum is specifically soothing to the small intestine. (See
Chapter 6
for more on probiotics.)

Quercetin helps to heal leaky gut and also helps to modulate allergies by preventing histamine release. Be sure to get a high-quality quercetin product. I use Perque Pain Guard and Repair Guard, which couples quercetin with grape seed extract. The Repair Guard also contains pomegranate extract for antioxidant support. I wouldn’t mention a brand, except in this case, it simply works better than other products. Take between 500 and 3,000 mg daily.

Take proteolytic enzymes (protease, or protein-splitting enzymes) between meals. Protease helps to support immune function and also breaks down immune complexes. Dosage varies with product.

Taking digestive enzymes with meals may ensure that all foods are completely digested. Take one to two digestive enzymes with meals.

Gamma oryzanol:
A compound found in rice bran oil, gamma oryzanol is a useful therapeutic tool in treating gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and ulcers. It has a healing effect throughout the digestive tract and can help normalize cholesterol and serum triglycerides, menopausal symptoms, and depression. Take 100 mg three times daily for three weeks or longer.

Seacure:
Seacure is a supplement made from deep-ocean white fish that has been broken down into peptides and amino acids. I don’t know why, but the product is soothing and healing to the gut. This product is stinky; keeping it frozen can help with that. Take six capsules daily in divided doses.