How To Fix Leaky Gut: 9 Natural Ways
If there's a leak, you fix it. Same goes when you want to fix a leaky gut, but there are better and natural ways to do this.
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9 Natural Ways to Fix a Leaky Gut
What Is Leaky Gut?
A leaky gut is a digestive condition in which the lining coating of the small intestines undergo damage. This causes undigested food particles, bacteria, as well as toxic waste to permeate or leak into the intestines and the bloodstream. Foreign particles coming into the bloodstream can trigger an autoimmune reaction in the body. These include allergic reactions, inflammation, eczema, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic fatigue, among others. Leaky gut can be the result of several factors including medications like steroids, antibiotics, pain relievers like acetaminophen and aspirin, as well as foods like soy and gluten. Symptoms of leaky gut include: chronic diarrhea, bloating, poor immunity, fatigue, brain fog, rashes, sugar cravings, joint pain, mood imbalances, and autoimmune diseases like lupus and celiac disease. But there are a number of ways how to treat a leaky gut:
1. Eliminate Trigger Foods
A leaky gut can be a sign that your diet is out of balance. Furthermore, it may be difficult to identify which foods cause the leaky gut unless you undergo a thorough consultation with your doctor. A good first step in the eliminating process is to remove processed foods from your diet. Processed foods include canned, pre-packaged, and cured foods. You can also try to pay more attention to how your body reacts to the food you eat. For example, if eating too much sugar leaves you feeling unwell, it may be a good idea to eliminate sugary foods for at least two weeks.2. Stock up on Whole Foods
After taking out all the processed foods from your fridge and pantry, start stocking up on whole, fresh foods. Processed foods offer up fewer nutrients compared to whole foods, and can even come with heaps of extra sugar, oil, and preservatives. Whole foods, besides having more nutrients, are also gentler on your vulnerable digestive system. Start slowly incorporating more fiber into your diet as it may encourage your good gut flora to recover.
3. Increase Your Intake of Probiotics
Probiotics are live bacteria present in fermented foods like pickles and yogurt. Not only do probiotic foods help fix a leaky gut but they also help strengthen your immunity, protect your gut from bad bacteria, and keep the digestive system running smoothly. Foods rich in probiotics are yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, pickles, tempeh, kombucha, and more. There are even many probiotic drinks available in most dairy sections of supermarkets.4. Go Green
Another easy fix for a leaky gut is to eat more greens. This is because many vegetables, specifically dark green vegetables, are full of prebiotic fiber that good gut bacteria love to eat. Green vegetables high in prebiotics include asparagus, spinach, kale, chard, leeks, peas, and avocados. It's best to eat them intact, as blending them into juice or overcooking them may leech out the fiber and nutrients.
5. Consume Glutamine-Rich Foods
Glutamine is an amino acid crucial in building protein and the immune system. It's also an important source of energy for the immune cells and intestinal cells and helps to fortify the intestinal wall. Foods rich in glutamine include fish, chicken, lentils, beans, rice, beets, tofu, and dairy.
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6. Avoid Medications When Necessary
It may be tempting to keep popping pills to deal with daily hindrances like headaches, pain, and trouble sleeping. But so many drugs can take a toll on your gut health, which may be counter-intuitive when you're trying to help it recover. Drugs that can damage the intestinal wall include antibiotics, steroids, and NSAIDs. Antibiotics are indiscriminate in killing both bad and good bacteria, while steroids may leave you vulnerable to inflammation by suppressing your immunity. NSAIDs or Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs can result in bleeding in the intestines and can slow down recovery from leaky gut. Unless absolutely necessary, avoid taking these types of medications when trying to fix a leaky gut. A leaky gut is best treated the natural way, as it gives the friendly gut microbiome recovery and delivers less stress to the intestinal cells.7. Avoid Getting Stressed
Stress can affect your appetite, trigger diarrhea, constipation, and indigestion. It may also cause serious long-term issues like irritable bowel syndrome. Having digestion issues doesn't help fix a leaky gut at all. It may even take longer time to heal. Reducing your stress levels may help your leaky gut fix itself faster. Exercising, eating healthy, and getting a proper amount of sleep may help reduce stress, as well as taking a few minutes to relax or meditate throughout the day.8. Avoid Alcohol
Sometimes, a glass of wine at the end of the day can help you wind down and relax, but when you have a leaky gut, you may have to give it up for a while. Alcohol may have the ability to make your gut more permeable, which is bad news since its protective lining has already been compromised.
9. Take Probiotic Supplements
Sometimes you may not have the time to commit to a gut-healthy diet. Or it could be the diet alone isn't going to cut it. Taking a high-quality probiotic supplement may be able to help. BIOHM's Probiotic supplement, for example, is packed with 30 billion active cultures waiting to colonize your gut. It's strong enough to survive the acid in your stomach and can help your leaky gut fix itself.
Introducing BIOHM Super Greens from BIOHM Health:
Having a leaky gut may be alarming, but it's nothing a proper diet can't fix. By simply making healthier choices and making sure your stress levels are low, your gut will be digesting healthily eventually.
Have you ever had a leaky gut before? What steps did you take to fix it? Share your experiences in the comments section below!
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