Leaky Gut Syndrome Symptoms

The gut refers to the small intestine. It is a convoluted tube that connects the stomach and the large intestine. The small intestine is lined with millions of leaf like structures called villi and they are in turn lined by millions of microvilli. The villi and microvilli have beneficial bacteria and yeast residing in them which helps the small intestine to perform its function. The main function of the small intestine in our body is to break down food into nutrients that can be absorbed by the body and move the waste material to be eliminated to the large intestine or bowel.

When a person has Leaky Gut Syndrome, the wall of the small intestine becomes more permeable than usual. This causes incompletely digested fat, starch and protein to move into the blood stream. Also there are chances of waste and toxins to enter the blood stream. This in turn results in a series of inflammatory and autoimmune reactions in the body. The body starts identifying the larger undigested molecules as foreign particles and create antibodies to fight them. Thus develops allergies, inflammatory and autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue, Crohn’s disease, asthma to name a few. The liver starts working overtime in its effort to detoxify the blood.

Since the main reaction of the body to the leaky gut syndrome is the reaction of the immune system, the signs and symptoms of this disorder can be varied. It could be a rash or a type of allergic reaction. It might result in swelling of the face when exposed to cigarette smoke or other strong smells. Other symptoms could include severe headaches like migraine and fatigue. It could also cause poor concentration and increase irritability. In severe cases it could also lead to memory loss, confusion and brain fog. The symptoms associated with Irritable Bowel Syndrome are also common like diarrhoea, constipation, gas and feeling of bloating after meals.

Leaky Gut Syndrome can also lead to lack of minerals being absorbed in the body. The minerals are carried by protein carriers which get damaged because of the inflammatory reaction. This leads to poor absorption of the minerals resulting in magnesium, zinc, calcium, manganese and copper deficiency. These deficiencies could result in muscle pain and spasms, loss of hair and baldness, osteoarthritis, high blood cholesterol levels just to name a few effects.

The cause for the Leaky Gut Syndrome could be anything that harms the small intestine lining including antibiotics, excessive amounts of non steroidal anti inflammatory drugs like aspirin and ibuprofen, prescription hormones like birth control pills, alcohol and caffeine consumption.

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