Do You Have Leaky Gut? Signs and Symptoms of a Compromised Intestinal Barrier
Leaky gut, or dysfunctional intestinal permeability, is at the crux of factors that compromise nutrition and digestive health and their resulting chronic health issues. When in good working order, the intestinal barrier tightly controls what gets into the bloodstream from the intestinal tract, allowing nutrients and beneficial constituents from our food to pass through, and keeping out harmful microbes and partially-digested particles that trigger an unhealthy immune response. When this barrier is compromised, foreign particles can enter the bloodstream and cause immune dysregulation, inflammation and nutrient insufficiencies.
Mucus in stools
The intestinal barrier starts with a layer of mucus, a gel that holds water, immune components, and the majority of the microbes in the gut. It protects the epithelial lining, a single layer of intestinal cells, from damage by the substances in the intestines. When there is inflammation and dysfunction in the gut, this mucus is lost and seen as a white or clear slippery substance in stools.
Abdominal pain and bloating
Without a mucus layer, proteins, bacteria and other things in the gut make contact with the delicate layer of cells lining the intestines. Normally, nutrients and other digested food components are selectively absorbed either through intestinal cells or between them. With leaky gut, cells are killed, and signals that tell cells to keep foreign substances from passing through or between them become dysfunctional, allowing foreign particles to pass through and trigger an immune reaction, resulting in inflammation, pain and bloating.
Diarrhea and constipation
Diarrhea frequently occurs with leaky gut as the body tries to flush out the irritating intestinal components. The large intestine doesn’t have time to absorb the fluid from digested food, leading to watery bowel movements. Constipation follows, as there isn’t enough bulk remaining to trigger a daily bowel movement, and now too much fluid is absorbed, leaving the stool dry and hard.
Joint Pain, swelling and arthritis
Foreign particles that enter the bloodstream via leaky gut travel throughout the body and collect in joints, triggering inflammatory reactions that cause joint pain and swelling. Stiffness, sore joints from exercise or extreme pain when hitting an elbow or knee are signs of joint inflammation.
Frequent tiredness or chronic fatigue
Intestinal inflammation causes low absorption of nutrients like magnesium and B vitamins that are required for energy production, and iron that transports oxygen throughout the body. Reduced protein and fat absorption could lead to lower calorie intake.
Food allergies, sensitivities or intolerances
A leaky gut allows larger particles of foods that would otherwise be well-tolerated by the immune system to pass the intestinal barrier and cause an immune response. Depending on genetics and other factors, the immune system will have either a specific antibody response, as in celiac disease or food allergies, or a nonspecific inflammatory response, as in gluten sensitivity or intolerance. Other issues such as histamine or lactose intolerance are caused because the enzymes that break down lactose and histamine are produced in the gut lining, which is degraded in leaky gut.
Airborne allergies, eczema, hives or asthma
Most histamine is broken down in the gut, so a dysfunctional intestinal lining will increase circulating levels, which can come from foods or be produced in the body. High levels of histamine cause the itchiness of allergies, eczema and hives, and bronchial constriction of asthma.
If you have several or all of these symptoms, you may have a compromised intestinal barrier and require testing and nutritional support to start to heal your leaky gut.
