Leaky Gut

So many of us have Leaky Gut without even knowing about it. Hopefully, by the time you have read this article you will be able to interpret your aches and pains, and other symptoms, to reasonably accurately determine your digestive status. But first, a little bit of information as to what Leaky Gut actually is…

What Is Leaky Gut?

Leaky Gut is a condition whereby our intestinal integrity is compromised. This leads to pathogens and food solids gaining entry into our blood supply. Both of these things lead to our body mounting an immune response. When our body mounts an immune response we will feel a number of things:

Inflammation
Heat
Tiredness

We may also feel bloated, and can suffer from brain fog etc… and for good reason! The causes of leaky gut can often be the food we are innocently ingesting. And, sadly, what happens in the gut never stays in the gut… it’s nothing like Vegas! So, this means that the impacts are felt throughout our entire body. This means that it can directly impact energy levels and brain function, as well as many other things.

Leaky Gut is also referred to as Intestinal Permeability.

Impaired Gut Function

In the article devoted to digestive health, on this website, some of the more oblique outcomes of leaky gut are covered, such as, mitochondrial disfunction etc. It also covers some of the precursors to leaky gut in much more depth, so it’s important for you to read this article on gut health to gain a broader and deeper understanding of your digestive health. Hopefully it will help you get to the bottom of your individual health issues. Impaired gut function leads to immediate problems and also contributes to a plethora of long-term illnesses. It is one of the leading cause of autoimmune disease, which include all of the common neurodegenerative disorders, as well as many of the debilitating, painful, inflammatory conditions, like Arthritis and Rheumatism, as well as, Fibromyalgia and Multiple Sclerosis etc. Leaky gut is also a common cause of anxiety and depression.

What Causes Leaky Gut?

There are many contributing factors leading to leaky gut. Most obviously, the food we put into our digestive tract is a key factor. But, there’s other issues which also play their part. Everything from pollutants in our air and environment, as well as our food, cosmetics and toiletries, can negatively impact our gut health. Other factors, such as electromagnetic fields, stress levels and the types of foods we eat, can all have a negative effect on our digestive health. The environment within our gut is governed by the friendly flora which lives there. Our gut is populated by good bacteria, fungi and viruses, without which we would not be able to digest our food. And, without these friendly microscopic lifeforms within us, we would also have very little defence against all of the damaging pathogens we are exposed to on a daily basis. This colony of friendly flora is known as the microbiome. The importance of good gut bacteria has only been understood in recent years, and we still have much to learn about the importance of friendly fungi and viruses that live within us. However, we know enough to understand that the routine uses of antibacterial soaps and hand sanitisers is not a good thing, and that antibiotics have a catastrophic impact on our gut integrity. Plus, we also know that natural is best, and that limiting our exposure to synthesised chemicals and wireless technologies is critical for good gut health.

Leaky Gut Outcomes

Sufferers of leaky gut often complain of lower back pain and forgetfulness. They generally feel weaker than they used to, and suffer from inflammatory pain. Brain fog and dwindling stamina are commonplace. Unfortunately, the causes of leaky gut have a devastating impact on our microbiome and the energy engines within our cells, known as mitochondria.

All of the accumulative damage to our microbiome and mitochondria can lead to many different negative outcomes within our body. This is because leaky gut affects us at a profoundly systemic level. Because leaky gut can be caused by so many different factors, and not just food sensitivities, toxic overload and antibiotics etc, it’s not always easy to figure out what actions to take to reverse the condition. So, it’s important to start reverse engineering how each personal case of leaky gut has been created.

Toxic overload can occur for many different reasons. The main ones are:

Chemicals in food
Chemicals in conventional skincare products & cleaning products
Pesticides
Prescription drugs… like Statins, PPI’s, NSAIDs (e.g. Ibuprofen), all of which impair gut function
Heavy metals, which we have also be exposed to medically… Mercury via old vaccinations (10 years ago+) and amalgam fillings, which are not used now, but existing amalgam fillings still cause problems because they off-gas. When removed, they can make us extremely ill due to massive exposure to particulate Mercury after it is swallowed or inhaled.

*Heavy metals are in the air, rain and soil. They are consequently in our drinking water and our food.

Read Skincare Ingredients To Avoid to learn how to lessen your immediate exposure to the toxic risks of conventional skincare products and cleaning products…

Leaky Gut In Action

Leaky Gut means that undigested food and toxins in our gut can permeate through the lining of our gut, and end up in our blood stream.

It can develop into a very serious condition which causes systemic problems, and needs to be corrected to restore health. The immune system sees these things as foreign invaders and mounts an immune response, which essentially means it causes inflammation in our bodies.

Symptoms Of Leaky Gut

Memory loss
Brain fog
Fatigue / exhaustion
Chronic diarrhoea, constipation, gas or bloating
Nutritional deficiencies
Poor immunity
Headaches
Skin problems including Acne, Eczema, Psoriasis + Rosacea
Craving sugar or wheat based products / processed carbs
Joint pain & inflammation
Bloating
Cramps

Leaky gut is often characterised by discomfort during the digestive process, suffering from lower back pain, as well as from digestive disorders such as; IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome, which means the sufferer will alternate between constipation and diarrhoea. And, then there’s Crohn’s and Diverticulitis etc, etc…

Leaky Gut also causes secondary nutrient deficiencies which severely compromise the ability of the gut to produce and regulate hormones and neurotransmitters… but more on this later…

***Your doctor may refer to your leaky gut as ‘gut permeability’.

Learn More About Leaky Gut & Pain & Inflammation Remedies

Oils That Cause Gut Inflammation

Leaky Brain

As you can see from the list of symptoms tied to Leaky Gut many of them directly impact brain function. This is because the same triggers which cause Leaky Gut also cause Leaky Brain. This means that when the brain’s defences are breached, our brain is compromised in exactly the same way our digestive tract. Critically, foreign objects that leech into parts of our brain, which should never be present, cause us to experience compromised brain function. Compromised brain function will become chronic if we don’t resolve the underlying issue. It will inevitably lead to the development of painful and debilitating autoimmune conditions over time. Learn how to detox your brain with the following articles:

Essential Oils For Leaky Gut & Leaky Brain

There are a number of essential oils which can offer support when we are suffering from leaky gut and leaky brain. These essential oils tend to address the fundamental symptoms of these conditions, such as inflammation and disorientation, as well as many of the unsettling digestive discomforts that accompany leaky gut…

Read more about the top 10 essential oils for inflammation.

Essential Oils For Digestive Support

The Wild As the Wind Thieves Oil range of products is also very effective in supporting normal digestive health These Thieves Oil preparations are antibacterial, antiviral, anti-fungal and anti-parasitic. Because digestive imbalances are one of the leading precursors to leaky gut, it is important to restore our microbiome as soon as possible. This means eliminating bad bacteria, and other pathogens from our gut. The Wild As the Wind Thieves Oil range is therefore ideal…

I hope you have found this article helpful. Please share it with family and friends if you fell they will find it helpful. If you have a related question, please ask it in the comments below. (Please do not email questions as this will only lead to you being politely asked to return to this article, so that you may ask your questions in the comments. This will ensure that everyone can benefit from my answer to your question, and I can avoid repeating myself many times over. Thanks.)

Disclaimer

The information provided is not intended to replace the medical directives of your healthcare provider. This information is not meant for the diagnosis of health issues. If you are pregnant, have serious or multiple health concerns, consult with your healthcare provider before using essential oils or associated products. If you experience any complications or adverse reactions contact your healthcare provider.

Deepen your knowledge by using the Wild As The Wind Recommended Resources

Another resource you may find useful can be found by following the link below. *Please note, I use sources from the Recommended Resources list as well as sources from the Healthcare and Skincare Information Sources list when researching articles for the Wild As The Wind Blog.

Wild As The Wind use a number of resources when deciding which essential oil formulas to put together for optimal healing and efficacy, as well as to support any health claims we may make.

We use the industry ‘bible’ on essential oil safety: Essential Oil Safety: A Guide for Health Care Professionals [2nd Edition] by Robert Tisserand and Rodney Young, to establish the safety of the Wild As The Wind formulations.