6 Tips to Curing A Leaky Gut

Leaky gut syndrome is a tedious medical condition. Let us kick start this topic off by first learning about leaky gut from the physician’s viewpoint.

Leaky gut refers to a condition whereby the lining of the intestines is damaged. The damage renders the protective lining less effective in protecting the internal area of the intestines.

The intestines have a certain amount of permeability for essential elements like nutrients to get absorbed. For example, damaged intestinal lining causes chronic alteration of it.

Hence the filtering of biological substances and nutrients that flow through the intestines is not quite up to scratch, allowing bacteria and toxins to slip through.

When waste that is normally not absorbed into the intestines sneaks in, it may start to leak into the blood stream. When this happens, an autoimmune reaction is triggered leading to a whole host of gastrointestinal problems one does not want to know about.

Let us get something clear, leaky gut syndrome may not sound like much, but there are serious risks associated with the condition. Not to mention the enormous amount of discomfort the person has to endure.

Here is why it is so important to take this condition seriously; leaky gut can easily trigger various disorders or worsen them.

Disorders such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis are part of the list. Inflamed bowel syndrome is generally the norm for people suffering with leaky gut problems.

1. Healing the Herbal Way

Leaky gut syndrome is not often seen as a true medical condition, but alternative medical practitioners are quick off the bat to spot the problem.

One of the most effective and beneficial herbal remedies I’ve seen for healing a leaky gut is DigestAssist, which uses a powerful combination of ginger, fennel, peppermint and Pelargonium reniforme to ensure a natural approach to trouble-free digestion.

While herbs for the most part are not harmful, it is recommended that a licensed alternative medical practitioner does the prescribing. The following are some of the herbs generally used to cure leaky gut.

Peppermint tea is a simple and effective way of relieving leaky gut problems. It acts to calm the stomach, rid the intestines of bacteria and toxins, and promote the secretion of bile. By ridding the intestines of the bad bacteria that are leaking into the bloodstream, the probability of infection is lowered. Peppermint oil in capsule form is also believed to bring relief.

Slippery elm is primarily used in preparations to heal burns, wounds and various skin inflammations. However, taken as an oral preparation it helps to soothe inflamed intestines. This is possible because slippery elm mixed with water becomes a gelatinous substance that coats the intestines. Further, the antioxidants in slippery elm help in eradicating free radicals.

Chamomile tea is another effective way to treat the leaky gut syndrome. It has properties that help to relieve bloating, pain, cramps and flatulence. The tea is a natural relaxant; it relieves leaky gut symptoms by lessening stress. Anxiety and stomach ailments often go together, so cutting stress is one method of cure.

Here’s an article David wrote about the 5 most powerful herbs to heal a leaky gut…

2. Letting Natural Antibiotics Work

There are way too many ingredients in the foods consumed today that do serious damage to the intestinal lining. Like what one wonders in surprise – how can food be bad for you?

Most people are unaware that the refined sugars and carbohydrates found in certain food provide excellent fuel for microorganisms like yeast. There are a whole list of foods that completely strip the essential nutrients and vitamins from the foods we consume. For example, preserved foods especially meats such as bacon, smoked meats, corned beef and more; pickled foods and moldy foods.

Natural antibiotics are found in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, seeds and legumes among others that provide plenty of fiber. Fiber is the secret ingredient needed to cleanse the colon and remove harmful microorganisms. If left inside the intestines, they start to destroy the intestinal lining.

Some of the best natural antibiotic foods and herbs that can help prevent and cure leaky gut include: raw garlic, onions, leeks, radishes, ginger, fenugreek and cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, Brussels sprouts and broccoli. Kill the yeast, parasites and bacteria flourishing in the intestines, and the problem of leaky gut is solved.

3. The Liquid that Rocks

Poor diet and insufficient water consumption is often the root cause of many stomach ailments that in turn lead to other more serious health concerns. Leaky gut syndrome includes bloating, flatulence, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease among others. With improved bowel function, many of these problems will go away. When left unattended, these problems lead to leaky gut syndrome.

One of the simplest and most effective cures for leaky gut syndrome is to drink lots of water. Here is how it works in the simplest terms. Bowel problems cause chronic dehydration, which in turn causes the waste matter to harden and stagnate. Next stage, the bacteria comes out to play and ends up inflaming the intestinal lining. No prizes for guessing what the next step is – leaky gut syndrome!

A minimum of two litres of water needs to be consumed daily to relieve bowel problems. People with seriously inflamed bowels and leaky gut syndrome may do well to drink 3 litres of water each day.

Water is the healthiest source to avoid or cure the leaky gut syndrome. Cut out sodas, caffeine, highly sugared drinks and alcohol – choose water instead every time thirst needs quenching. This is really the first step to saying goodbye to leaky gut syndrome.

4. Revamping Dietary Habits

Healthy diet equates to a healthy body and obviously an unhealthy diet equates to numerous headaches. Physicians and dietary experts recommend that the average human being’s diet should comprise thirty to forty percent of fruits and raw vegetables.

Plenty of fibre and an avoidance of certain things that are enjoyable, but absolutely detrimental to good health. What are these things?

Examples include gastric irritants such as excessive caffeine and alcohol consumption, smoking and a diet high in gluten. The benefits of eating a diet high in raw foods is that they provide the body with antibiotics, phytonutrients and living enzymes; all good stuff to fight the bad microorganisms, improve digestion and cure leaky gut problems.

Some ways to improve digestion: improve the absorption of nutrients from food by chewing slowly and thoroughly. Avoid eating in a rush or when stressed. Take in small quantities at a time rather than heaping great spoonfuls.

Avoid drinking too much water or other liquids when eating. Fluids help to dilute essential gastric juices needed to digest the food properly. Try to eat small meals four or five times a day rather than going for three large ones.

5. Enhanced Integrity of the Intestine Wall

Treating the altered permeability or damage of the intestinal wall is essential for curing leaky gut syndrome. It has been mentioned before and will be again that the worse the damage to the intestinal wall gets, the worse problems of inflammation and disease of the intestines would become.

Correcting the problem is not difficult when done without any delay and laziness. There are therapeutic substances such as various natural herbs as well as the natural antibiotics found in certain foods. These can be used to rebuild the damaged intestinal lining and correct the permeability to its originally correct state.

One way of curing leaky gut syndrome is to enhance the population of healthy microorganisms in the intestines. The first step would be to find out exactly what fungi, bacteria, viruses and parasites have made their home in your bowels. This will require testing and treatment by a medical professional. Only then will it be possible to start building up the healthy bacteria population.

A term commonly used is probiotics; it refers to live microorganisms, which need to be consumed in adequate supply to provide healthy bacteria. It is possible to get the probiotic bacteria needed through the consumption of certain fermented foods such as yogurt. Dietary supplements are also available to encourage intestinal health.

6. The Combined Powers of Ginger and Garlic

Ginger and garlic are natural ingredients. They are nature’s gifts with the power to cure leaky gut syndrome. Fresh garlic rich in natural antioxidants has been known to provide healing qualities. For example, it helps to re-vitalize the immune system, lower the risk of heart disease and even suppress tumor growth.

How can garlic be successfully used in the leaky gut cure? Garlic has the properties necessary to balance stomach bacteria (flora), necessary for a healthy gut. It removes any yeast overgrowth and lowers cholesterol and blood pressure. Crunching up just two cloves of fresh garlic daily will work wonders for people with the leaky gut condition.

Raw ginger is a natural food that brings its own healing qualities. For starters, it is useful in combatting inflammation in the intestinal tract brought about by leaky gut among other things.

Ginger’s most rewarding quality is that it has no side effects. Specifically in the case of leaky gut syndrome, its use helps to lessen irritation because of the lack of side effects associated with the natural food. The antioxidants in ginger make it a useful ingredient in treating various health ailments. As with garlic, chewing on a small piece daily gives some good results.

With all the health problems floating around today, we definitely need to know what to watch out for with the leaky gut business. The leaky gut syndrome originates in the gastrointestinal tract, but is not confined to this area of the body. It can move on to other organs and cause a host of health problems.

While each patient is unique with his anatomy and symptoms vary from one patient to the next, experts have identified certain common symptoms patients may experience that include:

• Problems with digestion that may include flatulence, constipation, bloating and diarrhea, heart burn, gum disease
• Irritability, anxiety attacks, moodiness, fatigue, foggy feeling, headaches, depression
• Various allergies and skin rashes
• Lowered nutrient absorption caused by the disease may lead to nutritional deficiencies and other health issues

Some of the things to watch out for to avoid getting leaky gut syndrome in the first place include:

• Gut irritants like smoking; excessive consumption of caffeine and or alcohol
• Be on the watch for fungal, bacterial or parasitic infections
• Certain antibiotics and pain killers
• Contaminated foods that the heart does not permit to throw away
• Sugar-rich and fibre-low diets
• Vitamin deficiencies
• Digestive intolerances such as lactose intolerance

Understanding that chronic ailments, poor health conditions and other health problems all relate back to one thing and one thing only – the body’s balance being shaken, is important. When the body falls out of balance, rule of thumb is to first restore the natural balance of the body before moving on to finding out what ails the patient. When this happens, illness cannot continue to prevail, it would obviously has to flee!

With the leaky gut syndrome, running to the first doctor available in search of pills may not be the answer. Rebuilding the essential cells in the body is the underpinning principle of getting rid of the problem. Identifying the cause of the leaky gut problem, which could be fungal, parasitic, food allergies, candida or common medicines such as NSAIDS among others, comes first.

The right nutrition and diet follow; every day the body needs the right kinds of foods to keep the body well-nourished and healthy to survive attacks such as leaky gut syndrome. Apart from this choosing the right lifestyle is also important.

This may include giving up certain treasured habits such as alcohol consumption or smoking. Supplements are not totally off the list; however it should be understood that they are meant only to enhance the right diet and not provide nutrition.

Health by choice, not by chance.