8 Tips to Heal Leaky Gut Syndrome & Boost Your Mental Health

Leaky gut syndrome, medically referred to as “increased intestinal permeability,” is becoming more and more widespread. 

What do depression, anxiety, hormone imbalance, and autoimmunity have in common? Studies are showing that many health issues, both mental and physical, likely have leaky gut at their root (source).

The good news is there are things we can do at home to improve gut health and overcome leaky gut. The best place to start, I believe, is in the kitchen.

It can be overwhelming when making lifestyle changes, but it doesn’t have to be. In order to overcome a leaky gut, I like to recommend taking a deep breath and focusing on just four things:

1. Stop the damage to the gut
2. Seal the gut wall with natural supplements, reduce stress, add healthy lifestyle changes, and healing foods
3. Stop feeding pathogens
4. Populate the gut with friendly flora

Supplements like Renew Life’s IntestiNew can help seal the gut wall and increase healthy bacteria.

Let’s look at what foods can help seal a leaky gut, what foods to avoid while the body heals, and other holistic tips for overcoming leaky gut syndrome. 

This is NOT medical advice; it is only meant to inform.

What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Leaky gut syndrome is a common term for a condition in the digestive tract called increased intestinal permeability. The gut lining is supposed to have some permeability in order for us to be able to absorb nutrients from the foods we eat. The problem comes when the junctions in the gut wall become too big, allowing undigested food and other foreign matter into the bloodstream. This is leaky gut syndrome. 

The inside of our digestive tract is coated with a thick layer of bacteria. This layer acts as a barrier that protects against invaders, such as toxins, parasites, and undigested food. If the protective layer gets damaged, the protective barrier is no longer there.

Leaky gut syndrome brings a lot of problems. Undigested food particles enter the bloodstream, where they wreak havoc with brain and immune system function (source). Instead of being a source of nourishment, a leaky gut becomes a major source of toxicity, which can bring mental and physical health issues. 

A leaky gut may be caused by a variety of things, such as antibiotic use, high fiber foods that haven’t been properly prepared, and pesticides, to name a few. 

When we provide the right resources and provide a rest from certain things, our bodies have an amazing ability to rebuild themselves. There are certain key foods we can eat that provide the right nutrients for overcoming leaky gut syndrome, as well as things we can do holistically to support our digestive systems. 

Stop Damaging the Gut

Stress, environmental toxins, pesticides, prescription medications, and a poor diet can contribute to holes in the gut lining. The gut lining consists of two mucosal layers, and a leaky gut is defined by a gap in the intestinal lining. Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity can increase damage to the intestinal lining.

How to Boost Your Gut Health

1. Drink Meat Stock

Bone broth is the clear champion for the best foods for leaky gut syndrome. Meat stock contains the nutrients the body needs to seal a leaky gut. Meat stock contains many amino acids; you might recognize one of these, L-Glutamine, as a supplement recommended for leaky gut syndrome. 

Adding meat stock accomplishes step 2 in the four steps for overcoming leaky gut that I mentioned at the beginning: seal a leaky gut. Meat stock is broth made from cooking the meaty bones of chicken, beef, fish, game, turkey, and any other species for a short time in the water. Adding high-quality salt, spices, and vegetables make for a really delicious stock. See how to make meat stock the right way here. 

Dr. Natasha Campbell-Mcbride, the creator of the GAPS diet, recommends that adults work up to 4-6 cups of meat stock per day for a concentrated period of time in order to overcome leaky gut. Meat stock can be enjoyed in soups, stews, sauces, and in mugs as a warm and nourishing drink. 

2. Take Supplements

Nutrients that improve gut lining include L-Glutamine, Zinc, and N-Acetyl Glucosamine. Additional herbs such as marshmallow root and ginger can help fight off infection and improve overall digestion.

3. Enjoy Cultured Dairy

The next step of healing a leaky gut focuses on repopulating the gut with friendly flora. Restoring the healthy balance of intestinal flora in our microbiome is important to overcome a leaky gut because the flora in the gut lining helps to maintain the integrity of the gut wall. Friendly flora is also key to having a healthy, balanced microbiome, which enables us to enjoy the benefits of a healthy gut-brain connection.

Cultured dairy is one of the most important probiotic foods. Not only do they provide large amounts of beneficial bacteria and yeasts, but high-quality cultured dairy from animals on pasture is also very nutrient-dense. Yogurt and kefir are my favorite cultured dairy products for the leaky gut syndrome.

As new friendly flora comes into the body, the overgrowth of pathogens starts to die. If this happens too fast, some uncomfortable symptoms can happen. I like to recommend my clients start with yogurt first because it is more gentle than kefir. Kefir is a powerful probiotic food that can trigger a lot of die-offs. This is because it contains so many more beneficial strains than yogurt. 

When it is introduced at the right time, kefir is a powerful probiotic food that can really help calm yeast issues and bring balance to the microbiome. 

4. Eat Fermented Vegetables

Fermented vegetables are another essential tool for populating the digestive tract with friendly flora. Some common fermented vegetables are sauerkraut, Lacto-fermented pickles, kimchi, and kvass.

Fermented vegetables are fun to make at home, and the variety can be endless. Sauerkraut is an easy one to start with. The sauerkraut itself and the brine are both wonderful to add to meals. See how to make probiotic-rich sauerkraut here. 

When it comes to fermented vegetables and cultured dairy, I find that it’s important to start introducing them slowly. Going too fast can cause uncomfortable die-off reactions. The body needs time to adjust as the friendly microbes come in and start doing their cleanup work. 

I typically recommend my clients start with just one bite of fermented vegetables, wait a few days, then slowly increase from there as they feel ready. 

4. Add Egg Yolks

This recommendation doesn’t fit exactly in any of the four steps I mentioned in at the beginning, but I had to include it. People with leaky gut aren’t able to absorb nutrients well, which results in nutritional deficiencies over time.

The body needs a lot of resources when it undertakes a big job like sealing a leaky gut, so it’s important to eat foods rich in nutrients and support the body well during this time. Egg yolks are some of the most nutrient-dense foods out there.

However, it is wise to take a food sensitivity test to make sure you do not have any issues with eggs before consuming them regularly. Food sensitivities can cause further gut damage and worsen other allergies.

Egg yolks contain a wide variety of nutrients (source), including:

• Vitamin A
• Folate
• Vitamin D
• B vitamins
• Phosphorus
• Selenium
• Vitamin E
• Vitamin K
• Calcium
• Zinc

Raw egg yolks are one of the most easily digestible foods on the planet. This is important because we want to provide a leaky, healing digestive system with foods that are easy to assimilate. A leaky gut needs less work, not more when it comes to digestion.

I recommend my clients add egg yolks to their soups. My favorite thing to do is to add yolks to blended soups – they disappear right in! After working up to 6 yolks per day, I recommend advancing through the cooking techniques: soft-boiled eggs, then scrambled, and so on. 

5. Eliminate Grains

Now let’s talk about step 1 of the four steps: Stop the damage to the gut. It’s important to know what foods to avoid while focusing on overcoming leaky gut syndrome. 

The biggest offenders when it comes to foods that damage the gut are grains. Grains are some of the hardest foods to digest. They also contain various anti-nutrients that can block the absorption of nutrients in the digestive system and are high in starches (more on starches later). 

The high fiber in grains is also very irritating to a leaky gut lining. Think of it like sandpaper on an open wound – ouch! It’s important to give a leaky gut a break from trying to digest grains, including gluten-free grains, and stop eating these for a while. 

After the gut has healed and is no longer leaky, most people can go on to enjoy properly prepared grains, like sourdough bread, without old symptoms returning. This is because traditional food preparation techniques (like fermenting grains when making sourdough bread) pre-digest grains, making them easier for our bodies to digest, and making the nutrients more available. 

6. Avoid starches

This one fits with step 1, as starches are harder to digest, and it is also an important part of step 3: Stop feeding the pathogens. 

What’s the deal with starches? Starch feeds all gut flora, friendly and unfriendly, indiscriminately. When sealing leaky gut, we want to increase the friendly flora and decrease the unfriendly flora. Avoiding starches for a time goes a long way in bringing balance to the microbiome, which supports a healthier gut lining. 

Examples of high starch foods to avoid for a time:

• Grains, including gluten-free grains
• Potatoes, white and sweet
• Corn
• Arrowroot
• Thickeners and stabilizers 

7. Avoid Certain Sugars

Natural and artificial sugars are another important food group to consider.

Certain sweeteners are both hard to digest and tend to feed the unfriendly flora. Other sweeteners are easier to digest and contain important nutrients. I like to recommend my clients include the following sweet foods listed below and avoid all others for a while, including cane sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup, corn syrup, and artificial sweeteners. 

Sweet foods that are gut-friendly:

• Raw, local honey
• Dried fruit
• Fresh, ripe fruit

8. Detox

Another important aspect when it comes to gut health is supporting healthy detox. An unhealthy gut becomes a major source of toxicity in the body (source). As the body tries to deal with the flow of toxins from a leaky gut, the detox pathways become overburdened and in need of support. 

Some ways to support healthy detox are to reduce our general toxic load and eliminate common outside sources of toxins, including unnatural personal care items, cleaning products, and anything around the house and yard that contains toxic chemicals. As we become more aware of the impact of toxins on our bodies and the environment, it’s becoming easier to source more natural body and home products. 

Other ways to support healthy detox can be to add these actives to a self-care routine:

• Skin brushing
• Epsom salt baths
• Oil pulling
• Juicing
• Sunbathing

Conclusion

Having a leaky gut can be a huge problem and bring a lot of difficult symptoms. Thankfully, there are tried and true ways to support the body in natural ways and overcome leaky gut syndrome. 

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Originally posted 2022-04-19 17:52:04.