Food Sensitivities and Leaky Gut

While there are many factors that can contribute to symptoms and illness, perhaps none are more important than FOOD. I see it with patients every day - the food that you eat has an immediate and significant impact on the way that you feel.

Many common symptoms may be caused by food sensitivities, including:

• Fatigue

• Headaches

• Irritable Bowel

• Brain Fog

• Weight Gain

• Joint Pain

• Rashes

As explained in PART ONE of this series, food sensitivities are different from food allergies.

Food allergies arise from a specific part of the immune system. They are an immediate reaction to food and may be life-threatening. With food allergies, strict avoidance is necessary.

Food sensitivities are a result of your immune system creating inflammation in response to certain foods you eat. They arise from a different part of your immune system. Unlike food allergies, food sensitivities involve reactions that are delayed and not life-threatening.

WHAT CAUSES FOOD SENSITIVITIES?

The answer lies in your gut.

In your digestive tract (which starts at your mouth and ends where your poop comes out), food is digested (broken down), nutrients are absorbed into the body, and various toxins and other by-products produced in the digestion process are eliminated.

Nutrients are absorbed into the body through your small intestine.

Your small intestine plays a very important role in the digestive process, letting nutrients in while simultaneously preventing bacteria, yeast, viruses, toxins, and other unwelcome substances from entering the body. This is accomplished through a special layer of cells that line your small intestine.

This layer of cells plays a very important role in your health! Between each cell is a space called a “tight junction.”

The health of these cells that line the small intestine, and the health of these tight junctions, are key to what is absorbed in the digestive tract and what is not.

Intestinal permeability is defined as how porous or “leaky” the small intestine lining is. A leaky lining occurs when the protective barrier of cells is damaged, and the cells are no longer tightly connected.

Increased intestinal permeability is often called “leaky gut.”

While some intestinal permeability is normal, increased and prolonged intestinal permeability (“leaky gut”) can lead to reduced absorption of essential nutrients and can allow the passage of harmful substances and partially digested food to enter the bloodstream at higher levels than your body can properly manage. This triggers the immune system and causes inflammation in your body.

This inflammation may be experienced as a variety of symptoms, including those listed above. It may also increase your risk of developing many chronic medical conditions and even autoimmune diseases such as celiac disease or rheumatoid arthritis.

When the lining of the small intestine becomes porous or “leaky,” poorly digested food particles can enter the bloodstream, activate the immune system, and cause inflammation. This is the root cause of most food sensitivities.

To reduce or even eliminate food sensitivities, you need to heal your gut.

Stay tuned for future posts to learn more!

As a board-certified Integrative & Functional Medicine physician, I “dig deeper” to uncover the underlying root causes of your symptoms and create a personalized plan that goes beyond the prescription pad to incorporate diet/lifestyle change, nutritional supplements, holistic therapies, health coaching, and more!

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