Information about the intestinal disorder known as leaky gut syndrome. The document contains the symptoms, causes and the treatment options.

1. What is Leaky Gut?
You can develop a disorder known as Leaky Gut Syndrome when the intestinal lining of the
digestive tract is inflamed. Some of the most common causes of this disorder are poor diet,
chemicals that come with the food that you eat, over consumption of medicine and an unhealthy
lifestyle. What is happening when you have this disorder is that the intestine is allowing the
different kinds of toxins, bacteria, food particles and other unwanted substances to enter the
bloodstream. This is not normal and should never be allowed to happen.
Due to the different kinds of substances that enter the blood stream, the immune system reacts
and attempts to fight off the foreign invaders. Those with leaky gut risk the danger of having
the immune system malfunction due to overwork. The immune system is not designed to work
continuously and round the clock. It can reach the point where it won't be able to differentiate
the foerign invaders from the important internal organs or tissues and it may attack them both.
This can cause autoimmune disorders.
Symptoms
The symptoms associated with leaky gut syndrome can vary. Some of them are hardly related
to the gut so it can be hard to determine if you suffer from leaky gut even if you pinpoint the
symptoms. Some of the symptoms are chronic fatigue, mood swings, skin disorders and many
more. These symptoms arise because of the presence of harmful and unwanted substances in
the blood.
Due to foreign invaders being present in the bloodstream, other symptoms may arise. These
invaders have access to the internal organs and tissues of the body and may cause symptoms
like candidiasis, acne, infections and many more. Some digestive issues can be pointed to the
existence of leaky gut such as diarrhea, constipation, gas, bloating and other digestive issues.
The liver is at risk when you have leaky gut syndrome. The liver's main function is to filter the
toxins that enter your body and because your intestines allow these toxins to run freely, the liver
can be overworked and it is in danger of malfunctioning. If this happens, the toxins or other
harmful substances are allowed to stay in your body to cause more damage.
Causes
Leaky gut syndrome is caused by a lot of factors. These factors are mainly related to one's
health, diet and lifestyle.
 Diet
When your diet is comprised of foods that are unhealthy or provide no nutritional benefit, it can
help in the development of leaky gut. Unhealthy diet can disrupt the balance of good and
harmful bacteria in the gut. The good bacteria assists in the digestion of food and the absorption

2. of nutrients. When the good bacteria is outnumbered by the harmful ones, various symptoms
and illnesses can arise. The number of harmful bacteria can increase quite easily. If the food
that you eat contains excessive amounts of refined sugar and chemicals, the harmful bacteria
can prosper.
 Lifestyle
If you are stressed all the time, your digestion may be affected. Also, when you are stressed,
you are prone to overgrowth of bacteria and other infections. If your lifestyle is an unhealthy
one, you may also risk developing leaky gut. If you are a smoker, you may want to quit as soon
as possible. Cigarette contains nicotine and nicotine is a gut irritant. If you drink alcohol, you
may want to do it moderately as it is also a gut irritant.
 Medication
Medicines can cause leaky gut syndrome. Non steroidal anti-inlammatory drugs, steroids,
antacids and many more are known to cause leaky gut if taken repeatedly. Antibiotics is also a
known cause because as it is helpful in eradicating harmful bacteria, it also kills of the good
bacteria in the process. This can lead to an imbalance of bacteria in the gut and favors the
harmful ones.
How to Diagnose Leaky Gut?
Diagnosing a patient suffering from a leaky gut is a hard task because most of the symptoms
associated with the disorder is generally unrelated to the gut itself. What commonly happens is
that the symptom is diagnosed and treated but the cause of the symptom is left untreated. This
can result in the symptom coming back and it can be worse than before. The first step in the
diagnosis is to get the list of symptoms that the patient is suffering from. From there, some tests
will be conducted in order to determine if indeed the patient has leaky gut syndrome.
 The PEG test
The polyethylene glycol test or the lactulose/mannitol test. It is one of the most common tests in
determining if someone suffers from leaky gut. The test will require the person to drink a
solution containing two types of sugar, lactulose and mannitol. A urine sample is taken and if
the test shows that the urine contain high amounts of both sugars, it is indicative of leaky gut
syndrome.
 Candida test
Candida is present in the gut. This test will show if someone has candidiasis or candida yeast
overgrowth. If someone has candidiasis, it is a sign that he may have leaky gut syndrome.

3. How To Heal Leaky Gut?
Leaky gut syndrome can be treated by regaining the body's optimum health and allow the gut to
heal itself. The thing about leaky gut syndrome is that it is a disorder that is not recognized by
doctors around the world as a serious health issue and this results in lack of information and
lack of medicine to heal it. Right now, the only way to deal with this condition is to properly
monitor your body's health and supply it with nutrition. To deal with leaky gut, you need to
make dietary and lifestyle changes.
 Dietary
The diet that you are currently following is most likely the cause of your disorder. You need to
improve that diet and make changes that will help in supplying the body with the proper
amount of nutrition. You need to eat foods that are rich in fiber and and essential fatty acids.
Drink lots of water and fresh juice. Avoid foods that have chemicals in it. Avoid foods that
contain high levels of sugar and gluten. Avoid dairy and fermented products as these feed the
yeast allowing them to increase in numbers. Avoid beverages that contain alcohol and caffeine.
 Lifestyle Changes
Try to reduce stress and do some kind of exercise every day. The exercise do not have to be
hard or time consuming, a little walk or some activities that you can do at home is fine.
Exercising is a great way to help the clean the body by having a healthy bowel movement. If
you have vices such as smoking and drinking, it's better to moderate them or stop it completely.
You should quit smoking as it is generally bad for your health and by quitting, you can prevent
more health issues like lung cancer or heart diseases. As for drinking, you can drink but make
sure to moderated it and avoid over consumption of alcohol.
 Natural Herbs
There are herbs out there that can aid the body while it heals the gut. Peppermint tea can help
relax the digestive system. Chamomile tea is said to be helpful in making the body relaxed and
in turn helping with digestion. Slippery elm is generally used to treat external wounds but when
turned to fluid and taken orally, it can help ease the inflammation of the intestine. Marshmallow
root has a soothing effect to irritated mucus membranes.
 Medication and Drugs
If you have to take medication, do so but always take into account that it may be a cause of
leaky gut. If that is the case, it's best to have a visit with your doctor and ask if there is a way to
lower the prescribed dosage or if there is an alternative to that specific medicine. Never abuse
medications and drugs. If you can help it, try to avoid taking them and only do so if it is really

4. necessary. Too much medicine can cause leaky gut and if you can lessen the intake, it can be
very helpful in the healing process of the gut.
More information about leaky gut syndrome along with the guide on how to heal it can be
found at http://www.treatleakygut.net