Symptoms of Leaky Gut Syndrome

In our previous posts, we discussed about leaky gut syndrome and ways on how to treat it. In this article, we will discuss some of the leaky gut syndrome symptoms.

Symptoms of Leaky Gut

These are some of the most common leaky gut syndrome symptoms:

Digestive symptoms like constipation, gas, diarrhea, heartburn, pain in the abdomen and bloating.

Mood disorders such as anxiety, depression, confusion, memory loss and aggressive behaviors

Shortness of breath, breathing difficulties, mood swings, chronic fatigue and weakness, infections and auto immune disorders.

There are different stages to the appearance of leaky gut symptoms. You will experience some minor symptoms at the beginning and if you let it progress and you don't pay attention to these symptoms, they will worsen over time.

When your leaky gut goes to the more advanced state, meaning that the damage to the gut, either the irritation or the inflammation get worse, the worse the symptoms that you will experience.

Leaky gut can cause auto immune disorders and this is the last thing that you want. Auto immune disorders will make your life miserable so you need to get treated as soon as possible.

Leaky Gut Syndrome Treatment and Diet

First of all, it is very important to know that there is no “instant leaky gut cure”. What I mean by “instant leaky gut cure” are prescription drugs or over-the-counter medicines. But don’t worry, that does not mean that you are doomed to suffer from leaky gut syndrome with no hope of relief. There are ways to deal with your leaky gut syndrome. The most important factor of which is nutrition and your diet.

Treating the symptoms of leaky gut syndrome and getting temporary relief is helpful but don’t be satisfied with just that. These symptoms are sure to return if you don’t deal with the underlying root cause, leaky gut syndrome.

Leaky Gut Syndrome Treatment Tips

Dietary. Foods contain substances that are either helpful of harmful to the healing of the gut. A great way to determine those foods that cause a negative reaction is by following a leaky gut syndrome diet.

Here are some dietary tips that are essential for any leaky gut syndrome treatment:

•     Eat foods that are rich in fiber. Fiber rich foods help in the cleansing of waste in the body. Some examples are: fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, berries, potatoes and squash. Make sure you only eat those that does not cause an allergic reaction.
•     Eat lots of onion, leeks and garlic. These are foods that kills yeast and prevent yeast overgrowth.
•     Drinks lots of water and fresh juices.
•     Make sure that the foods that you eat are gluten free.
•     Stay away from foods that cause an allergic reaction.
•     Avoid packaged and processed foods. These foods are void of nutrients because the nutrients are destroyed during the processing.
•     Foods that contain high amounts of refined sugar should be avoided.
•     Avoid dairy products such as eggs, milk, butter, cheese except for yogurt.
•     Avoid sodas, alcohol and drinks that contain caffeine.
•     Lastly, don’t overeat and only eat when you are hungry. Over eating can slow down the digestion process and this is a detriment to the healing of the gut.

Diet is the most important factor when trying to find the answer to the question “how to heal a leaky gut?”. Make sure that you follow the suggestions above in order to give your gut a fighting chance in healing itself.

Take Supplements.

•     Take probiotic supplements. Probiotic supplements increases the number of beneficial bacteria and is essential in maintaining the balance between the harmful and beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract.
•     Take prebiotic supplements. These are non-digestable ingredients that is said to stimulate the growth of beneficial bacteria in the digestive system.

Other helpful tips.

    Try to reduce the level of stress. Stress is a very common cause of leaky gut. To reduce the level of stress, one may engage in light exercises that clear the mind like yoga or meditation. Also, get plenty of sleep.

    Reduce the intake of medication. Always consult your doctor first before reducing the dosage of medicines that you take, though. Some of these medications have nasty side effects that cause leaky gut syndrome. Examples are: antibiotics and NSAIDs (non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs)

    One common cause of leaky gut syndrome are chemicals that can be found in your surroundings like: household cleaning products and products that you use on your body. If you can help it, try to avoid being exposed to them.

The treatment for leaky gut is very simple but it can be hard to implement because it requires drastic diet and lifestyle changes. It also requires discipline and perseverance. Some patients, however, can’t sustain these changes and give up after a while causing them to suffer from leaky gut needlessly.