IBS and Leaky Gut- Are they the cause of your other health issues?

Are you organising your daily schedule around toilet stops? Are you finding yourself being embarrassed in work meetings because your stomach always has something to say? These are fairly common complaints in my clinic.

 
 

Chronic gut issues and IBS are on the rise, and if you’ve ever suffered ongoing gut issues you know just how much it can impact your performance and daily function. Beyond just the pain and discomfort associated with IBS and chronic gut symptoms poor digestion has been linked to:

Chronic skin issues

Auto-immune diseases

Anxiety- Depression and mood disorders

Poor brain function and brain fog

Chronic fatigue

Vitamin and mineral deficiencies

Poor immunity

Hormonal imbalances.

The microbiome in IBS and leaky gut:

Your gut is a host to a huge number of micro-organisms including, bacteria, and viruses. Collectively these are known as the microbiome. These organisms are essential for our health and we co-exist in a symbiotic relationship. Recent studies support the importance of the microbiome and the diversity of bugs that live in your gut.

Through our exposure to chemicals in our environment, things like anti-biotics and other pharmaceuticals, anti-septics in house hold chemicals, pesticides and other chemicals used in foods, chlorine in our drinking waters and a host of other chemicals we are impacting the delicate balance of these micro-organisms in your gut.

Naturopaths have long known and understood the implications of chronic gut issues.

But How can IBS and leaky gut impact my other body systems?

So let’s take a brief look at some of the functions a healthy gut performs so that we can better understand how IBS and leaky gut lead to more extensive health imbalances.

  1. Maintaining the health of the gut lining- Several bacteria have been found to help create a mucin layer which helps to protect the gut walls as well as helps to keep the junctions of the cells in your gut nice and tight so as to avoid the leaky gut lining, as seen in the image below.

  2. Immune system regulation- Bacteria in your gut directly impact your immune system, communicating with it as well as protecting it from invasion of unwanted pathogens.

  3. Production of metabolites which are used to create neurotransmitters (brain chemicals) Your gut is essential for creating things like glutamate, GABA, serotonin and dopamine. (feel good brain chemicals)

  4. Bacteria in your gut create enzymes that are key for breaking down your food, without these enzymes you are less likely to be able to effectively digest and absorb the nutrients food you eat. Potentially leading to deficiencies.

This is just a few of the key functions of your microbiome, so you can start to see how important it is in ensuring not only your gut function but your overall health and wellbeing.

 
 

Endometriosis has been linked to gram-negative bacteria which is thought to cross the gut barrier and make it’s way into the pelvic cavity where it causes an inflammatory response and contributes to the ongoing pain and issues associated with the condition. We are still in early stages of understanding the extensive impact of gut health and the microbiome on our bodies and in chronic disease states.

How do I know if I have IBS or leaky gut?

There are many tests that are now available through functional pathology labs that allow us to take a closer look at what’s happening in the gut. If your budget permits this is one of the most effective ways to get a handle on what could be going on in your gut.

Through a simple stool sample taken in the comfort of your own home and posted to the specialty lab we get a 3 page report outlining things like:

  • Levels of healthy bacteria

  • Levels of opportunistic bacteria (when elevated they can lead to inflmmation and IBS symptoms)

  • Parasites

  • Helicobacter Pylori infections

  • Worms

  • Inflammatory markers

  • And other key findings like short chain fatty acid levels detected.

In terms of IBS your health care practitioner will run through a check list of symptoms and look to come up with a diagnosis based on your picture, there are also several subcategories within IBS. While there is more and more research being published in this particular area of gut health it is key to note that we still lack a handle on what actually causes IBS.

The most common factors linked to causing IBS or episodes of symptom flare ups:

Viral or bacterial infections

Anti-biotic use

Pharmaceutical medication use

Poor diet

Chronic stress

How can a naturopath help with IBS and leaky gut?

IBS and leaky gut walk in through my clinic doors often, however we don’t treat the disease as much as we treat the person. You see your microbiome is completely unique to you a little like a finger print and this is why using restricted diets don’t work for everyone, in fact they can make your gut situation worse.

Understanding that you need to slowly introduce a variety of different fibres in order to support the growth of healthy bacteria and even this can exacerbate symptoms if done too quickly.

There are several herbs that help to modulate the microbiome and support the health of the gut lining:

Turmeric

Green tea

Pomegranate

Saffron

Panax Ginseng

and many others, as a herbalist it’s common that I would use hydro ethanol herbal extracts (herbal liquids) that are custom blended depending on each persons unique state of dis-ease.

Working with the diet we may do a rotation or elimination process with different foods to see if there are any major triggers or sensitivities, we can test for these through the functional lab also, however it’s often telling to eliminate the most common culprits and see how the gut responds.

How long does it take to improve leaky gut?

Once we’ve identified the main driving factors in your leaky gut and IBS it generally takes 3-4 weeks to see some improvement in symptoms like, constipation, diarrhoea, bloating and discomfort. If this is something you’ve been struggling with for years it can take 3-6 months to implement the changes necessary to improve the microbiome and help with healing of the gut lining.

If you’ve been on a very restrictive diet for a long time, we need to factor in slowly re-introducing healthy foods and fibres. Do your best to avoid highly restrictive diets long term, they can lead to more health issues down the track, with nutrient deficiencies and other health concerns.

Get your gut sorted now so that you can confidently take an adventure, without needing to worry about staying close to the nearest toilet.

If you have any questions about your gut health please feel free to book yourself in for a complimentary phone consultation down below.

Krystle AlvesIBS naturopath, microbiome test for IBS, IBS and leaky gut, gut health naturopath, gut health testing, naturopath Sydney, gut health and anxiety, gut health clinic