The list of symptoms associated with leaky gut is long and confusing. Because they vary widely and mirror the signs of other health conditions, symptoms alone can’t tell you whether you have a leaky gut or not. But they can let you know that it’s time to seek a professional diagnosis.
Dr. David Larson at SourceMD: Integrated Wellness Solutions in Encinitas, California, takes a holistic approach to identifying and treating leaky gut. He uses functional medicine methods to consider your condition from every possible angle and identify the source of your symptoms. This way, he can resolve the root cause rather than merely mask the effects.
If you suspect you have leaky gut syndrome, here’s what you should know.
You may think of your digestive tract, also known as your gut, as something that’s in your stomach. Actually, your gut starts at your mouth, ends at your anus, and includes your esophagus, stomach, and large and small intestines.
The average human has about 4,000 square feet of intestinal lining, which is a lot of surface area where something could go wrong, including leaky gut.
As that long tube winds its way through your body, it transports food, breaks it down, and releases the nutrients through tiny but tight openings in the lining, called desmosomes. These little ports have an amazing ability to allow the transfer of nutrients while keeping harmful toxins and bacteria from getting out.
If those openings widen due to damage or disease, they may allow food particles and harmful substances to leak out and enter your bloodstream, triggering a host of symptoms.
Leaky gut affects everyone differently. You may have mild, intermittent symptoms or severe and chronic symptoms. Here are a few you might notice:
We weren’t kidding when we said the symptoms are varied and confusing. Because these symptoms could point to many other health conditions as well, Dr. Larson runs a special leaky gut test to inform his diagnosis and treatment plan.
To find out if you’re experiencing leaky gut symptoms or signs of something else, Dr. Larson administers a mannitol and lactulose test.
Because both of these substances contain water-soluble molecules that your body doesn’t use, Dr. Larson can monitor what your body does with them when they enter your intestines, giving us valuable information about what’s going on in your gut.
To take the test, you simply drink a solution containing lactulose and mannitol. After about six hours, Dr. Larson analyzes your urine. If your gut is healthy, it will have completely absorbed the tiny mannitol molecules and only slightly absorbed the larger lactulose molecules.
If we discover high levels of either or both molecules, it means you have a leaky gut.
There’s some debate in the medical field about the exact causes of leaky gut syndrome, but most agree that it occurs when the intestinal lining becomes irritated or damaged, which loosens the desmosomes. So, what irritates and damages the intestinal lining? Here are a few common culprits:
These are just a few of the factors that can harm your intestinal lining. It’s also possible that an autoimmune disease; inflammatory conditions like arthritis, food allergies, and sensitivities; and more can be responsible for damaging your gastrointestinal tract.
Although Dr. Larson helps you find immediate relief for your symptoms, he’s even more focused on getting to the bottom of what’s causing them so they go away forever. So, he focuses on healing your intestinal lining, which may involve:
Dr. Larson considers every aspect of your life that may be contributing to your leaky gut, including your living and work environments, your diet, whether or not you smoke, medications you take, and more.
If your gut is leaking harmful substances into your bloodstream, you can trust Dr. Larson to find out why and help you resolve it. To learn more or to get tested for leaky gut syndrome, schedule a consultation today.
