Discover the cause of intestinal permeability and heal leaky gut

What is Leaky Gut?

The intestinal barrier, or gut lining, should have tight junctions that absorb fluid and nutrients but don't allow bacteria and waste products to pass through. When those junctions loosen, permeability or "leaking" can occur.

Causes, Signs & Symptoms

Leaky gut can be caused by autoimmune digestive conditions like inflammatory bowel disease and Celiac disease. Chronic inflammation in the digestive tract can gradually decrease the integrity of the cells that line the small and large intestines. It is also associated with stomach ulcers and bacterial overgrowth in the intestines. Chemotherapy and chronic NSAID use can also cause permeability.

Common symptoms of leaky gut are discomfort, pain and burning in the abdomen, diarrhea, and gas and bloating. Some patients experience a combination of these symptoms, as well as fatigue.

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How is Leaky Gut Diagnosed?

Blood panels for intestinal permeability and stool testing to assess absorption and inflammatory markers are typically done together. The most important piece of diagnosis is determining the underlying cause of leaky gut. Testing for SIBO, large intestine bacterial and fungal imbalance, Celiac disease, and Inflammatory Bowel Disease like Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis are necessary to get to the root cause of the symptom.
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What is the Treatment for Leaky Gut?

Treating leaky gut first begins with treating the primary cause. Nutrition changes, natural antimicrobials, supplements, and antibiotics may all be part of a comprehensive treatment plan, depending on what is found during the evaluation and testing.

Why Choose Spark Health?

Spark Health was founded to provide personalized natural medicine to patients who are looking for a long term, lasting solution to their health and wellness challenges. We work as a team to understand your health goals, formulate a unique, individualized treatment plan, and form a partnership based in prevention and wellness. We know that every patient's needs are different, and have multiple providers and treatment options. We offer naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, chiropractic care and aesthetics to patients in San Diego and Southern California.

Frequently Asked Questions

Proper testing is necessary for an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan. Our licensed naturopathic physicians will work with you to determine a testing plan to make sure that treatment is precise and effective. Removing the triggers and causes of leaky gut allow for healing of the intestinal lining.

Recovery and repair time varies with the specific cause of leaky gut. Bacterial imbalance can take a few months to resolve, while damage from autoimmune disease is dependent upon the extent of disease and damage.

Decreasing inflammation in the digestive tract is the key to healing damage to the intestinal lining. While there is no one-size-fits-all nutrition plan, avoiding inflammatory foods will help with restoring a healthy gut lining. Limiting intake of wheat/gluten, dairy, corn, white potatoes and peanuts will help to decrease inflammatory response and support gut healing.

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