Could A Leaky Gut Be Making You Fat?

Weight control is a major health issue. Not only can it be emotionally stressful (as body image is so closely tied to how we feel about ourselves) but being overweight is a major risk factor for all chronic illnesses, including heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and cancer. 

Many people trying to lose weight notice that diets work for a short time but often the restrictions become unrealistic to maintain for life. We can only calorie cut, point count, and carbohydrate avoid for so long. Then we fall off the wagon – HARD – and quickly put back the pounds we’ve lost and sometimes more.

Is there a way to enjoy food without stressing about every single morsel we put in our mouths and still maintain a healthy body weight? Can healthy foods contribute to weight gain?

The digestive tract is a hollow tube from the mouth to the anus. Each organ and tissue along the tract is designed to perform a specific function – the upper structure (mouth, tongue, teeth) help break food down into smaller portions. Saliva is produced to help moisten the food and allow for passage thru the esophagus to the stomach. The acidic juices of the stomach mix with these food particles, breaking them down even more. Enzymes from the pancreas and bile from the liver and/or gallbladder target specific macronutrients (fat, carbohydrates, protein), helping to break them down to their simplest forms. In the small intestine, the simple nutrients are absorbed thru the lining of the digestive tract. A healthy small intestine is equipped with a variety of mechanisms to protect the body from unwanted invaders. Mucous production and an army of healthy bacteria are especially important defenses. From the small intestine, the remaining indigestible food stuff enters the large intestine where water is absorbed. The formed waste is eventually eliminated with a bowel movement. 

The balance of this intricate system can be thrown off by a variety of things. Infections, food poisoning, medications such as NSAIDs, acid inhibitors, and antibiotics, and FOOD SENSITIVITIES negatively influence enzyme and mucous production and can disrupt the level of healthy bacteria. They also trigger inflammation in the lining of the digestive tract. Without proper enzyme production, larger food particles get into the small intestine. Without the mucous lining and helpful bacteria, the small intestine is left defenceless and the food particles are able to irritate the cell lining. Then we add more irritation from food triggers/sensitivities. We eventually end up with a vicious cycle and a syndrome known as Leaky Gut.

Remember that the small intestine is where most absorption occurs. If the lining of the small intestine is disrupted and the spaces between the cells increase, larger food molecules are able to get into the blood stream. Not only can we experience symptoms on a local level (heartburn, stomach pain, bloating, diarrhea or constipation), we can also experience more systemic complaints (headaches, fatigue, pain, weight gain). 

Big surprise: most of us have some degree of leaky gut. This is true even for those of us who eat “well”. If we do not heal the gut and identify our food triggers, the cycle will continue and the weight may never come off.

Food sensitivities are typically mild reactions to food that are hard to identify. Symptoms such as bloating, digestive complaints, and puffiness can be related to food sensitivities. Generally, however, weight loss can be extremely difficult, if not impossible, until food sensitivities are identified and eliminated.

5 WAYS TO HEAL A LEAKY GUT AND ACHIEVE HEALTHY WEIGHT

1. Chew. Chew. Chew. Become conscious and considerate of your digestive system. Do what you can to support it. The more mechanical breakdown we do with our teeth, the more help we offer to the rest of our digestive organs. Eat mindfully. Enjoy your food.
2. Support digestive enzymes. Enzymes are essential for proper food breakdown and for protection against microbes that enter the digestive system with our food. Digestive bitters, such as gentian root, lemon juice and peel, dandelion, and artichoke, stimulate enzyme production.  Enzymes are also available in capsule as a supplement.
3. Support mucous membranes. The lining of the digestive tract is a barrier to the outside world. We really only want essential nutrients to pass thru, and therefore, need to support the protective mucous membrane. Soothing herbs such as slippery elm and aloe vera are wonderful mucous supports. 
4. Support good flora. Our helpful bacteria are essential for life – they are necessary for proper digestion, immune function, and defence from opportunistic infections such as Candida. Fermented foods such as kefir, unpasteurized sauerkraut, tempeh, and miso are good sources of probiotics. Good bacteria feed off fibre, so having a high fibre diet will maintain optimal levels.
5. Avoid irritants/trigger (NSAIDS, antibiotics, food sensitivities). It’s not always possible to avoid medications, however identifying food sensitivities and following the above guidelines will reduce the need for them. In non-emergency situations, it is always helpful to discuss natural alternatives with your Naturopathic Doctor. In the case of food sensitivities, there are 2 ways to identify problem foods: 
• Many labs offer blood tests. One that we use at The Pear Tree is Rocky Mountain Analytical IgG test. This test does not identify food allergies but food sensitivities. Food sensitivities involve the immune system as IgG antibodies attach themselves to food proteins and create a complex. Normally, our immune system can handle and remove these complexes without much of a problem. If the system is overwhelmed (ex. continuing to consume the trigger food, consuming in large quantities OR in combination with a leaky gut) the immune system cannot remove them effectively and they begin to accumulate. An accumulation of these complexes in our tissues cause inflammatory processes which have been linked with a variety of chronic health concerns. IgG food sensitivities have been implicated in migraine headaches and irritable bowel syndrome (alternating diarrhea and constipation). Bloating and indigestion are also common food sensitivity reactions, as is fatigue. Continued consumption of reactive foods may contribute to weight gain and/or difficult losing weight. 
• Because IgG food reactions take hours or days to develop, this makes it difficult to determine which food is responsible for the reaction without doing testing, however, another common method used to identify food sensitivities is an elimination diet. This diet works by removing more common triggers (wheat, sugar, dairy for example) for a period of time and then reintroducing the foods one at a time. Both approaches have pros and cons that you can discuss with your naturopathic doctor.

Achieving healthy weight is an essential part of any wellness program and involves much more than calorie counting. Identifying food triggers as well as becoming informed about healthy food and lifestyle choices must be part of the plan. Although these changes aren't necessarily easy, having individualized information about what foods work best for you can take some of the bumps out of the path. Speak to your naturopathic doctor about options that will continue to work for you long-term.