~Written by our friend and partner, FunctionalMomma
Leaky gut is the term used for hyperpermeability of the intestinal wall. In this post, we will talk about symptoms, causes, and solutions to fix your leaky gut so that you can start feeling better and living with a better quality of life.
If you have leaky gut your intestines have become more porous, allowing large undigested food particles, toxins, and waste to seep through into your bloodstream causing a slew of health issues.
Gut health has a huge impact on overall health because the brain and the gastrointestinal system are intimately connected. Stomach or intestinal distress can be the product or the cause of anxiety, depression, sleeplessness, and brain fog.
Serious health conditions such as auto-immune diseases, autism, and Alzheimers are also being linked back to the gut microbiome as well.
Quick Answer: Leaky gut, or intestinal hyperpermeability, is when the intestinal wall becomes too porous and lets undigested food particles, toxins, and waste pass into the bloodstream. A major driver is living in an anti-microbial world, where antibiotics, pesticides, chlorinated water, and preservatives steadily deplete the beneficial bacteria we are made of. Symptoms can range widely because the gut and brain are closely connected. The solution centers on rebuilding microbiome diversity through a varied, organic diet, a cleaner low-toxin environment, and probiotics. Spore-based probiotics matter here because they survive the gastric system and reach the intestine alive, unlike many lactobacillus and bifidobacterium products that die before they arrive.
What Are the Symptoms of Leaky Gut?
Because the gut is connected to the whole body, leaky gut can show up in many ways, from digestive issues like bloating, gas, and diarrhea to fatigue, brain fog, mood changes, skin problems, and allergies. The article notes that a large share of adults may have leaky gut without realizing it.
The gastrointestinal tract is made up of 100’s of trillions of microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, viruses, archaea) and is in charge of important functions such as digestion, immunological processes (immune system) and metabolism.
We have more microbial cells in our gut than we do human cells in our entire body.
Since we live in an anti-microbial (sterile) world, our good bacteria is being overrun by our bad bacteria, causing an unbalance and leading to severe and uncomfortable health issues.
If you have a leaky gut here are some of the symptoms you could be facing:
- irritable bowel syndrome
- inflammatory bowel disease
- diabetes
- obesity
- cancer
- cardiovascular and nervous system disorders
- skin conditions such as acne, eczema, and rashes
- memory impairment & brain fog
- fatigue
- diarrhea
- bloating/gas
- mood/behavioral disorders
- infertility issues including polycystic ovarian syndrome
- allergies
- asthma
80% of the adult population has leaky gut and doesn’t even know it, so even if you’re not showing symptoms (yet) doesn’t mean you won’t benefit from making changes to a healthier lifestyle.
What Causes Leaky Gut?
A leading cause is living in an anti-microbial world. We are largely microbial beings, yet antibiotics, pesticides, chlorinated water, preservatives, and personal care products are designed to kill microbes, steadily throwing off the balance of good and bad bacteria.
This was an Ah-Ha moment for me, and I’m not sure why it took me so long to connect the dots, but knowing that we are more bacterial aka microbial, and everything we are surrounded by is anti-microbial, it only makes sense that we are seeing the rise of so many diseases and disorders.
In truth, everything we are surrounded by, put into our bodies, and on our bodies, are made with preservatives, pesticides, and antibiotics, which are designed to kill microbes–when we are microbial!
It’s not that we are able to spot and diagnose better than we were able to 20 years ago, it’s that our diet and environment are severely affecting our health.
It’s becoming more and more clear that Western society is quickly becoming more sick with chronic disease with the use and overuse of antimicrobials:
- antibiotics – humans & food industry
- our meat, plant agriculture (fruits & vegetables) & industrial applications (industrial paints, oil pipelines)
- chlorinated water
- personal care products (full of antimicrobials that have not been tested on humans)
- glyphosate aka roundup (so pervasive it is found in the cord blood of newborns)
How Do You Fix Leaky Gut With Diet and Environment?
The first part of the solution is rebuilding microbiome diversity through diet and a cleaner environment: eat a wider variety of foods, choose organic where your budget allows, and reduce exposure to toxins in personal care and cleaning products.
In order to regain balance in our
Not only is it important to choose organic foods wherever your budget allows (start with the meats) but it’s also important to switch up which types of
A very important factor in cleaning up your environment is slowly switching out your personal care products, cleaning products, tossing anything with the word “fragrance” or “natural flavor” and buying certified organic & Non-GMO whenever possible. You can read more about making the switch to a less toxic environment in another blog post, here.
How Do Probiotics Help Rebalance the Gut?
Probiotics help rebuild balance, but the type matters. Many probiotics never reach the intestines alive, which is why a probiotic that survives the gastric system is so important for actually supporting the gut.
This is one I get super excited about and constantly doing research on. Another ah-ha moment I had was while listening to one of my favorite podcasts, The Lifestylist, and hearing Tina Anderson, founder of Just Thrive Probiotics, talk about the need for probiotic refrigeration. You can listen to the episode here.
How did I let something so commonsensical slip by? If a probiotic needs to be refrigerated, how the heck does it survive internal body temperature, let alone the gastric system?
I’ve always known that for optimal gut health you should consume more yogurt, fermented foods,
What Makes Just Thrive Probiotics Different?
What sets Just Thrive apart is that its strains are spore-based, protected by an endospore shell that survives the gastric system so they reach the intestine alive. There, they come out of their dormant state and help shift the balance of good and bad bacteria.
I’ve mentioned Just Thrive Probiotics before in this post about Gut Health & Pregnancy but I didn’t delve into what truly makes them so special, so here you go, I did the nerding out for you.
What makes Just Thrive different than other probiotics that you’ve seen on the shelves is that they’re spore
What’s interesting to me is that they’re not alive in their capsule but once they reach the intestines they recognize they’re “home” and come out of their dormant state to start “reading” the microbial environment and start competitively shifting the balance of the good and bad bacteria.
So the next time you’re standing in the aisle of the health food store reading labels (guilty!) about CFU’s and whatever billions of lactobacillus and bifidobacterium it’s telling you it has, you can rest assured that none of it matters if they’re not arriving alive in your gut.
What’s also fantastic about this probiotic is that it is completely safe for pregnant and nursing women, as well as infants, and toddlers! My whole family uses the same bottle.
What Is the Problem With Other Probiotics?
Most shelf probiotics use lactobacillus and bifidobacterium, anaerobic organisms grown in oxygen, so the gut environment is often too unstable for them and many die, if they even arrive alive. Bacillus spore strains are far more resilient and can both live in the outside world and colonize the gut.
Majority of probiotics on the market are made with lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium which are anaerobic organisms (do not require oxygen for growth) but they’re made in a lab with oxygen (aerobic) so when they try to live in the gut, the environment is too unstable for them and they die, if they even make it there alive
Lactobacillus is also not found in the environment except through vaginal birth and breastfeeding, but bacillus strains found in Just Thrive probiotics, are. Bacillus spores can be found in vegetation, rivers, streams, dust, and dirt, and are by far the most resilient to harsh conditions.
Bacillus strains are unique in that they live in the outside world and also colonize in the gut. That’s equivalent to a human who can live on land and also 5,000 feet below sea level. Mind blowing
| Most shelf probiotics (lactobacillus, bifidobacterium) | Spore-based (bacillus) probiotics | |
|---|---|---|
| Surviving the gastric system | Many die before reaching the intestine | Protected by an endospore shell, arrive alive |
| Need for refrigeration | Often require refrigeration | Stable at body and room temperature |
| Resilience to harsh conditions | Fragile, grown in oxygen but anaerobic in the gut | Among the most resilient; found in soil, rivers, and dust |
| Ability to colonize the gut | Unstable environment for them | Live outside the body and also colonize the gut |
How Do the Gut and Brain Affect Each Other?
The gut and brain influence each other through a two-way connection, so supporting one helps the other. The best things you can do are maintain microbiome diversity, clean up your diet and environment, avoid antibiotics, choose organic food, filter your water, and switch to non-toxic personal care products.
The best thing you can do to help your brain and your gut communicate effectively is to:
- maintain microbiome diversity
- clean up your environment and diet
- avoid antibiotics
- choose organic food to avoid glyphosate,
- filter your drinking water
- switch to non-toxic personal care products
Frequently Asked Questions About Leaky Gut
What is leaky gut?
Leaky gut is the common term for hyperpermeability of the intestinal wall. The intestines become more porous than they should be, allowing undigested food particles, toxins, and waste to pass into the bloodstream.
What are the symptoms of leaky gut?
Because the gut affects the whole body, symptoms can range widely, from digestive issues like bloating, gas, and diarrhea to fatigue, brain fog, mood changes, skin problems, and allergies. According to this post, a large share of adults may have leaky gut without knowing it.
What causes leaky gut?
A major driver is living in an anti-microbial world. We are largely microbial, yet antibiotics, pesticides, chlorinated water, preservatives, and personal care products are designed to kill microbes, which can throw the gut out of balance.
How can you support a healthier gut?
Focus on rebuilding microbiome diversity: eat a wider variety of foods, choose organic where you can, reduce toxin exposure in personal care and cleaning products, filter your water, and consider probiotics that survive digestion.
Why do spore-based probiotics matter for leaky gut?
Many lactobacillus and bifidobacterium probiotics die before reaching the intestine. Spore-based bacillus strains are protected by an endospore shell, so they survive the gastric system and arrive in the gut alive, where they can help shift the balance of bacteria.
~FunctionalMomma