The Leaky Gut Epidemic
**Disclaimer: I am not a licensed medical professional. This is food for thought, not medical advice. Any information presented here has come from various medical sources, some contextual “certifications” & personal experience. Please do your own research, and always consult a licensed medical professional before making any changes to your healthcare routine or medications.
What is Leaky Gut?
Medical studies show Leaky Gut is an epidemic affecting around 80% of Americans. Its is also termed “The Phantom Disease” because often times the multiple symptoms are misdiagnosed & treated separately. Missing the root issue, they continue to evolve, persist & become chronic. We will dive into more detail but at the root, it is a condition where improper functioning of digestive valves and a breakdown of intestinal mucosal lining leads to permeability of the walls, allowing undigested food particles, toxins, and microbes to enter the bloodstream. This breach triggers inflammation and can lead to a chain reaction of symptoms, chronic conditions & immune responses in the rest of the body. You may have leaky gut if you experience:
Headaches, Migraines, Brain Fog & Fatigue
Sudden Mood Swings, Depression, Anxiety & Anger
Constipation, Diarrhea, Gassiness & Bloating
Skin Conditions, Rashes, Hives, Acne
Recurring Infections & Auto Immune Disorders
Persistent Heartburn, Acid Reflux or Ulcers
Arthritis, Back Pain & Inflammation
Some of the main culprits in Leaky Gut...
Leaky Gut has yet another name, “Ileocecal Valve Syndrome”. Improper functioning of this little valve, either being stuck open or stuck closed is often times the root of the chain reaction of malfunctions leading to the complex condition of leaky gut. The function of this valve is to allow digested food to pass from the small intestine to the large intestine and colon for elimination. Improper functioning causes things to move too fast or too slow or even allows toxins to flow backward into the system. This can lead to the other valves not functioning properly as well as the breakdown in the intestinal mucosa.
Another main culprit in LG is stress. Chronically high levels in stress hormones and consistently being in a sympathetic state or “fight or flight” in our nervous system contributes greatly to this imbalance. We all experience stress from time to time, some more than others. There are so many sources for it, some obvious ones are from the events happening in the world, our work environments, sleep deprivation, disharmony in our relationships or less than ideal life circumstances. Environmental stress from pollutants in our surroundings, heavy metals and toxins in our food, water and the air we breathe. Our bodies are so resilient keeping us going amongst all of this but these external factors & especially the ones we take internally can build up and contribute to imbalances in the entire eco system of hormone production and gut brain communication affecting our overall physical & mental health.
Another major contributing factor to breakdown of the digestive biome and lining is pesticides, sedentary lifestyle, pharmaceuticals and poor diets. Pesticides, antibiotics & nsaids kill off the beneficial bacteria colonies and disturb the balance of enzymes that help us properly break down and absorb the nutrients from food. Gradually stripping and eating away at the lining of the intestines leading to that permeability. Highly processed foods with additives & preservatives, gluten, low fiber diet and artificial sweeteners all contribute greatly to inflammation and metabolic imbalance aswell.
The gut-brain connection, spinal alignment and breath in overall health & wellbeing
You may have heard the gut termed as the “second brain”, but most people dont understand what that truly means. The gut-brain connection begins in the womb. During fetal development, the nervous system, brain and gut grow in tandem, linked through the vagus nerve, the main highway of the gut-brain axis. The gut and brain share a bidirectional relationship which means they are always informing and affecting each other in a feedback loop. The gut produces neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine that influence mood, cognition, and overall nervous system function. The skin is also its own very important sensory system and brain informer. Both the gut and the skin are our bodies defense from external invaders. Thats why it will give you signals when there is a toxic infiltration somewhere in the system through various symptoms. Disruptions to the gut brain communication throws off the whole system leading to the wide variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms shared above. For more details about why metabolic health is literally everything and all body systems attached to it click here.
Spinal alignment is another foundational aspect of total system balance. The spine houses and protects the central nervous system and the vagus nerve which orchestrates the body’s functions. Misalignments, or subluxations can disrupt neural communication between the brain, gut, and other organs. The respiratory system is deeply involved in digestive health and keeping the nervous system healthy. The digestive aspect is, deep diaphragmatic breathing actually helps with the contractions that move food along the digestive tract. Some people with LG have a condition called Hiatal Hernia where part of the stomach bulges into an opening in the diaphragm and into the chest cavity. HH is a big player in difficulty swallowing heartburn and acid reflux. We can mediate this with the process explained in the next section. On the nervous system side of things, our abdomen is filled with neuro receptors that help activate our parasympathetic or “rest and digest” nervous system with deep breathing. This parasympathetic activity, is essential for digestion, healing, and reducing inflammation.
Steps to heal Leaky Gut and restore system balance
One of the services I offer is called “The Body Tune Up”. It is a three part system involving manual adjustments for digestive system rebalancing, passive structural alignment and a meal & supplementation plan. We use the intelligence of your body to show us where the imbalance is and what we can do the restore it. The way we ask questions and get answers is through applied kinesiology and muscle testing. We will go through a process of making sure all energy meridians involved in digestion and elimination are active and unblocked. Then we will manually adjust the three main valves in your digestive system. Then we make sure your stomach is positioned properly and your diaphragm is at full function which will help with healing hiatal hernia if you have it. The passive structural alignment portion is a lot like chiropractic process but instead of forced popping and repositioning we apply gentle pressure and use the breath to allow your body to reposition itself. We will adjust your spine, ribs and cranio plates to ensure it is all in alignment. I then thoroughly explain the meal and supplementation plan to you and we set up two follow up appointments to check in and see if any re-adjustment needs to be made and how long you should maintain the meal plan or if we can start integrating in new things.
The length of time it takes to heal your leaky gut varies depending on how far the imbalance has reached. Idealy, you will only need the meal plan for two weeks, more complicated cases a month, then you can go on just eating more intuitively & mindfully while continuing the supplementation to help support and maintain biome health and stability going forward. It takes aproximately three days to build one new layer of intestinal mucosal lining the ideal amount of layers is seven. Its not just a physiological process, its also energetic. The physical condition is a result of the energetic. There are a lot of spiritual and emotional reasons why you got out of whack in the first place. This stuff is going to come up, especially in those first two weeks. I like to think each layer of lining represent each chakra and the themes that can be held there. We hold all our “shit” physically and energetically in our abdomen. This is why its so important to approach this healing in a holistic way not just with the meal plan but also with ongoing lifestyle shifts introducing meditation, breathwork, yoga etc.
Below is a list of ways you can start to get a handle on your gut health without requiring an appointment with me for the physical adjustments. Although, to support your body fully in this healing the adjustment IS an integral part of the process.
Gut-Friendly Diet: Eliminate inflammatory foods like gluten, dairy, and processed sugars. Emphasize whole, nutrient-dense options like vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and fermented foods. You can have free access to the leaky gut meal plan here
Support Spinal Health: Seek regular chiropractic care, practice good posture, and do exercises that strengthen core stability like yoga and mobility practices. If you are in the Verde Valley area I can assist you with spinal alignment and personalised plan to improve your posture & core stability.
Manage Stress: Start practices like meditation, yoga, breathwork or tai chi, to regulate stress and support the gut-brain connection. click here for some great breathwork and positional somatic excersises to get you into a calm and relaxed para-sympathetic state. I also offer extended breathwork sessions & meditation coaching.
Supplementation: Consider supplements like probiotics, L-glutamine, and collagen to repair the gut lining and support microbiome repopulation & diversity. The list of recommended supplements for gut healing are in the meal plan here.
Enhance Vagus Nerve Function: Practice diaphragmatic breathing, cold/heat exposure, and singing or humming to stimulate the vagus nerve. Self massage/vagus nerve stimulation & binural beats frequency music is also fun & helpful.
Address Underlying Conditions: Work with a healthcare provider to identify and treat infections, hormonal imbalances, or other issues contributing to gut dysfunction. What I offer is derived from self study, contextual certification courses and personal experience but I am not a licensed medical professional. this isnt medical advice, it is food for thought. Always do your own research and consult your doctor or natropath to make sure any of these modalities are safe for your specific health circumstances, medications and lifestyle.
