Digestion for (not-so) Dummies: Healing a Leaky Gut

We’re in the home stretch, everyone, I promise! Just a couple more posts and we’ll be done with digestion. If you’re new here and want to catch up, you can find the previous posts in this series on digestion here. We’ll finish up our whirlwind tour of the small intestine today, and then all that’s left is the cool, classy colon, also known as the large intestine.

We’ve talked a lot about the small intestine so far: how it works, and all the awful things that can happen when it’s not working properly. So now that we’ve covered compromised intestinal permeability (i.e., a leaky gut), let’s cover some ways to help repair it. ‘Cuz let’s face it: it’s all well and good when your GI tract is functioning well and everything’s going smoothly from top to bottom, but antacids, probiotics, and laxatives wouldn’t be nearly the zillion-dollar moneymaker$ they are if untold numbers of people weren’t experiencing some kind of digestive distress.

The most widely recognized strategy for healing a leaky gut is the “4-R” protocol:

Digestion for (not-so) Dummies: Small Intestine Pt.3 - Gluten & Leaky Gut

Show of hands: who’s been anxiously awaiting the next post in this series on digestion? (*Crickets.*) Whether you’ve been on the edge of your seat hoping I’d get around to it soon or not, here it is.

Last time, we talked about the concept of increased intestinal permeability, aka “leaky gut,” and all the gnarly health problems that can result when bricks start crumbling in the fortress walls of the small intestine. We mostly talked about autoimmune conditions, but that’s barely scratching the surface. A leaky gut can cause all kinds of havoc on our bodies and our minds.

I left off last time saying that we should dedicate an entire post to gluten, because it’s one of the things responsible for causing leaky gut. So here we go.

Digestion for (not-so) Dummies: Small Intestine Pt.2 - Leaky Gut

Hey Everyone! We’re in the home stretch now! It’s taken us a while in this series on digestion, but here we are, covering a few more key things about the small intestine, then it’s on to the large intestine, and we’ll be done! In previous entries, we’ve done some troubleshooting to help digestion in the stomach, the pancreas, and the gallbladder. Today, let’s get into one of the most common—but least recognized by conventional medical and nutrition professionals—consequences from poor digestion: Leaky gut!