The Painful Consequences of Faulty Digestion.
Seemingly unrelated symptoms—abdominal pain, acne, allergies, anemia, arthritis, anxiety, colitis, constipation, cramps, diarrhea, fatigue, hives, irritable bowel, skin rashes, trouble concentrating, vaginal infections, and unexplained weight change—can all result from the same problem, leaky gut.
Normally, the lining of the intestines absorbs only well-digested nutrients. But if the intestinal lining becomes irritated, its tight junctions (that normally seal off the digestive tract from unwanted substances) loosen to allow undigested food, bacteria, and toxins to reach the bloodstream.
The immune system sees these unwanted substances as foreign invaders and triggers antibodies to fight them. This, in turn, produces inflammation throughout the body—leading to those seemingly unrelated symptoms.
Unfortunately, the causes of leaky gut are as numerous and varied as its symptoms. Long-term use of drugs like antibiotics, harsh laxatives, and NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprofen like Advil, and other non-steroidal anti-inflammatories) can injure the intestinal lining, as does chemotherapy and radiation.
Aging, alcohol, caffeine, dysbiosis (imbalance of good and bad bacteria in the GI tract), food allergies (particularly gluten and lactose intolerance), lack of fiber in the diet, parasites, and yeast overgrowth are other all-too frequent causes.
Dr. Ann Louise’s Take:
It’s important to rule other serious problems like Crohn’s disease or colon cancer. But conventional medicine has been slow to recognize leaky gut even when its symptoms are all too real.
Make meals a time to relax, chewing your food slowly and thoroughly. New research shows that glutamine, N-acetyl cysteine, and zinc help reduce inflammation and normalize leaky gut.
I consider L-glutamine an unsung hero—found in the brain, liver, lungs, and muscles, in addition to large amounts in the lining of the digestive tract. This amino acid prevents the villi (the tiny, fingerlike part of the small intestine that allows nutrients in) from becoming too porous, allowing substances normally too large to breach the intestinal wall to enter the bloodstream and causing allergic reactions and other problems.
Besides helping to create a barrier against pathogens, L-glutamine encourages the growth of probiotics, which also defend the gut from unwanted invaders. Researchers who gave glutamine to people with ulcerative colitis have found that this amino acid not only reduced intestinal inflammation but also increased good bacteria.
As an added bonus, L-glutamine feeds immune cells in the gut, making it important for anyone who’s on chemotherapy or radiation. When scientists in Poland treated malnourished patients with damaged intestinal tracts this versatile amino acid, many of the lymphocytes (important immune cells) revived, while patients’ absorption of nutrients improved.
I recommend taking 500 to 1,000 mg of L-glutamine. It works best one or two hours before or after meals, as stomach acid weakens its activity.
Sources
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19127706
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19112401
