This typically isn’t the question your doctor asks you when you say you don’t feel well, but it should be. Your gut (or intestinal system) dictates the state of your general health. And most people who suffer from chronic illness, especially autoimmune disorders, have a leaky gut. Also known as intestinal permeability, leaky gut is at the core of many ailments including chronic fatigue, food sensitivities/allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, eczema, psoriasis, migraine headaches, and muscle pain. Leaky gut syndrome has also been linked to autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and Type 1 diabetes. Since more than half of the brain’s neurotransmitters are created in the gut, this deterioration can also result in mind and mood disorders, such as anxiety, depression, and ADD.
When I first heard the term “leaky gut,” I thought it was a joke name. It sounded so unscientific to me. However, this is the description that most medical professionals actually use when referring to the gut wall where substances that aren’t supposed to get into the bloodstream sneak past the body’s natural intestinal barriers.
Lining
the gut wall are villi--numerous elongated projections set tightly one to
another. Their primary purpose is to help you absorb nutrition and transfer the
nutrients into the bloodstream. Together, they also create a protective net or
defense against the spread of toxins into the rest of the body. However,
certain substances can cause junctions between the villi to widen. These gaps
then allow larger molecules to slip through (in many cases, proteins such as
gluten, bad bacteria, and undigested food particles). This sets up a reaction
from the immune system, which treats them as foreign invaders.
I
like to use the analogy of a window screen. If there is a hole in it, bugs can
fly into your house (where they aren’t supposed to go). When you wildly chase
the bug around, trying to eliminate it with a fly swatter, this action can be
compared to the frenzy experienced by the immune system.
There
are many agents that can cause the breakdown of the gut wall. Herbicides,
especially the ubiquitous glyphosate by Monsanto, include some of the worst
offenders. Glyphosate kills good bacteria in the gut and gives full reign to
the proliferation of pathogenic (bad) bacteria. Other culprits are gluten and
lectins in grains, certain medications, parasites, yeast overgrowth, cortisol
from prolonged stress, and heavy metals.
Because
of my previous blog about biological dentistry, I have something to say about
heavy metals, specifically mercury. It poisons us from many sources, but most
commonly through amalgam fillings. You might ask “How does something in my
mouth get into my gut?” Here is a brief and simplistic description of the
pathway: when you chew, mercury vapor is released from the fillings and when you
swallow, it travels to the gut and sets up an inflammatory condition—contributing
to leaky gut.
Traditional dentists’ offices are
full of mercury vapor so even if you visit for some other reason like a checkup,
you just have to breathe normally to get a good whiff. This vapor also moves quickly through the
blood-brain barrier to create inflammation in the brain. Mercury can travel to
any part of the body and wreak havoc along the way, damaging cells, tissues,
and organs. It has also been linked to glandular dysfunction, including thyroid
disorders like Hashimoto’s disease. Children with autism manifest with toxin-induced inflammation both in the gut and the brain.
Getting back to leaky gut syndrome:
there are many ways to overcome this condition, but first you must remove the
offending agents to start the healing process. For more information on leaky
gut and how it might be impacting your health or that of your loved ones,
please refer to the links below. Stay tuned for the next blog on Friday,
October 3rd, where I will discuss the immune system’s role in
preventing and overcoming cancer.
References
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