THE LEAKY GUT SYNDROME: Allergies, Autoimmune Diseases, and Autistic
Spectrum Disorders
I have learned a great deal from the Naturopathic and Osteopathic students
who have visited my clinic. They have taught me most of what I know about the
Leaky Gut Syndrome. In this syndrome, the lining of the colon and small
intestine becomes inflamed and allows partially digested proteins to be
absorbed into the body. The immune system reacts to these foreign proteins
triggering allergy symptoms, autoimmune diseases, speech delays, and behavioral
abnormalities. There are several good books on the topic of the Leaky Gut Syndrome
such as Renew Your Life: Improved Digestion and Detoxification written by
Brenda Watson, N.D., Children With Starving Brains by Jaquelyn McCandless, M.D,
The Body Ecology Diet: Recovering Your Health and Rebuilding Your Immunity by
Donna Gates and Linda Schatz, and Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Natasha
Campbell-McBride, M.D.
There are many things about the American diet and Western medical practices
which weaken the immune system and result in the Leaky Gut Syndrome. To begin
with, exposure to antibiotics, especially in the first two years of life,
destroys good intestinal bacteria and thereby promotes the overgrowth of yeast
in both the large and small intestines. Yeast in the intestinal tract acts as a
parasite and in essence steals many vitamins and minerals before they can be
absorbed through the intestinal wall.
In addition, the American diet with its overabundance of and reliance on
simple carbohydrates such as candy, breads, and pastas, depletes the body of
zinc, magnesium, chromium, and several B vitamins. These simple carbohydrates
rapidly convert to sugar and trigger the pancreas to secrete too much insulin.
Because insulin requires trace minerals and B vitamins as co-factors in sugar
metabolism, the more the body consumes sugar, the more the body's B vitamins
and trace minerals are depleted. The immune system as well as the metabolic
system and brain can not function well when zinc and B vitamins are deficient.
This typical American diet, often consisting of fast foods such as
hamburgers, french fries, sodas, and milkshakes, also lacks fiber and enzymes.
Plant enzymes, which naturally occur in raw fruits and vegetables, help break
down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in the food we eat and allow this food
to be more readily absorbed in the small intestine. Without a daily diet of raw
vegetables and fruit, the body is stressed and overburdened by having to
produce these enzymes in the pancreas. The pancreas now is overworked. In
addition to secreting insulin for glucose metabolism, it must also secrete
digestive enzymes to break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in the small
intestine. As a result, metabolism becomes sluggish. Now, partially digested
proteins and undigested fats and carbohydrates end up in the large intestine,
where they ferment and create abdominal discomfort and odorous gas.
Because of a lack of fiber in the diet and the failure to drink enough water
between meals, constipation occurs. The increased pressure it takes to push
stool out of the colon often causes fecal material to travel backwards up into
the small intestine by forcing the valve between the small and large intestine
to open. Now yeast, parasites, and unhealthy bacteria set up residence in the
small intestine as well and directly block the absorption of minerals,
vitamins, amino acids (proteins), and fats. In addition, we often do not eat
foods that would provide a consistent source of good intestinal bacteria, such
as fermented vegetables and quality unsweetened yogurts.
With the good bacteria gone, yeast overgrows and burrows into the intestinal
wall, causing inflammation. Now, instead of partially digested proteins being
excreted in the stool, these proteins get reabsorbed back into the lymphatic
and blood streams through this leaky intestinal wall. Partially digested
proteins, including pollens that are swallowed, act like foreign proteins and
trigger the body's immune response (IgG antibodies) resulting in chronic
allergies, asthma, eczema, and autoimmune diseases. Once children or adults
have developed a leaky intestinal lining, their bodies will react to numerous
proteins in food and the environment.
Some of the most difficult proteins to digest include casein from milk
products and gluten from wheat, barley, and oats. Breakdown products from
gluten are believed to cross the blood brain barrier and cross react with
receptor sites for speech, causing language delay and the type of speech
patterns noted in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. The milk protein,
casein, if reabsorbed back into the body is thought to trigger eczema and
create allergy-related conditions of sinusitis and serous otitis.
What can be done to heal the body and strengthen the immune system? Here is
what I have learned so far:
1) To restore normal intestinal bacteria:
a) Take a good pro-biotic (usually the best are in powder form and
refrigerated). A good probiotic contains resident strains of intestinal
bacteria such as Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacerium bifidum, and
Bifidobacterium longum (infants need Bifodobacterium infantis). Probiotics
should be taken for 4 months after any antibiotic use. In my practice, I
recommend PB 8 for older children and adults. Children take 1 capsule at
bedtime while adults take 2 capsules at bedtime for four months. The capsules
can be placed in applesauce so they are easier to swallow. For infants, I
recommend Life Start by Natrens.
b) Consume fermented foods and drinks containing good intestinal bacteria
(e.g. fermented cabbage and lactic acid-fermented beverages). Look in the book
Nourishing Traditions written by Sally Fallon, for recipes. When looking for
fermented vegetables at health food stores, check to see that vinegar is not
listed among the ingredients.
c) Make your own yogurt and kefir. I make yogurt or kefir by adding 1/2 cup of
yogurt starter (can use1/2 cup of Strauss organic whole milk yogurt) or 1/2 cup
of a live kefir culture (check the website for sources of DomÕs kefir) to 16 oz
raw organic whole milk from a certified dairy. Now pour the mixture into
pint-sized jars and cover with a paper towel or cheese cloth. I place the jars
with the kefir mixture on my counter for 24 hours and then refrigerate. You now
have kefir. I heat the yogurt mixture gently to room temperature and then place
jar(s) of the yogurt mixture into a cooler that contains another jar full of
boiling hot water, which serves as the heat source. Close the cooler and
recheck after 6 to 8 hours. You now have yogurt.
d) Eat plenty of organic raw nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables. They serve
as a source of fiber for the good intestinal bacteria which can't survive
without them. Fiber also bulks up the stool and stimulates the bowel to
contract which ensures regularity. Flax seeds are a great source of fiber, both
soluble and insoluble. It is recommended that 14 grams of fiber (an apple
contains about 4 grams of fiber) be consumed for every 1000 calories of food
eaten each day. Another great source of fiber is to juice 5 large carrots, 5
stalks of celery, 1 big green cucumber, 1-2 red beets, and 1-2 red apples in a
juicer. Now mix some of the juice with the pulp and mix in a blender. This
smoothie can be eaten with a spoon and is loaded with fiber .
e) Drastically reduce sugar in your diet and avoid concentrated fruit
juices, white bread, candy, and sodas. Sodas, besides containing lots of sugar,
contain phosphoric acid which leaches calcium from the bones and contributes to
the development of osteoporosis and loss of cartilage.
f) Increase alkaline-forming foods such as organic fruits, vegetables,
herbs, and almonds. Make these foods 80% of your daily diet.
g) Drink an herbal tea which is highly alkaline or tea made from fresh lemon
juice. These teas help to discourage yeast growth . In my practice I also
recommend drinking Liver Tea from Uriel Pharmacy and/or taking Amara Drops from
Weleda Pharmacy which both contain bitter herbs like dandelion and yarrow. Both
support digestion and liver function. Chinese medicine also recommends teas
made from bitter tasting herbs. Bitter herbs, in general, also stimulate bile
secretion which helps with fat absorption in the small intestine and serves as
a way for the liver to excrete toxins from the body.
h) Consume plenty of fresh garlic (see my detox mineral soup recipe) since
garlic discourages growth of yeast. There also are anti-yeast formulations of
herbs that come in capsules. These capsules often contain grapefruit seed
extract, garlic, uva ursi, neem leaf, olive leaf, oregano leaf, berberine, and
calcium undecylenate from the castor bean. These capsules are often taken
orally before breakfast and before bedtime for a period of 15 to 30 days.
Another approach is to take natural plant enzymes for three weeks at bedtime,
on an empty stomach. These enzymes will help the body break down the cell wall
of yeast and destroy parasites in the intestine.
i) Make organic chicken bone broth by putting a whole organic chicken in a
large stainless steel soup pot filled with good quality water and 1 Tbsp of
apple cider vinegar. Remove the chicken after 8 to 12 hours and consume but
continue simmering the bones and the broth for another 12 to 16 hours. Now
strain the broth of bones and put in the refrigerator. Remove the soft chicken
fat that forms a thin layer on the top of the broth. Now the broth is ready to
heat and serve in other soup recipes or on rice. This bone broth helps to heal
the intestinal lining as well as providing a lot of minerals. Dr.
Campbell-McBride recommends consuming 1/4 to 1/2 cup of bone broth before every
meal. See Nourishing Traditions Cookbook by Sally Fallon, and Gut and
Psychology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride for recipes.
2) To reduce casein and gluten protein sensitivities:
a) First, stop all milk products for two weeks then add back milk products on
day 15 and see if congestion increases, eczema worsens, or snoring increases.
Naturopathic physicians have taught me that it takes at least two months to
clear the casein protein from the bloodstream and the lymphatics, but symptoms
will worsen when milk products are re-introduced on day 15. Repeat this same
process with all products that contain gluten (e.g., wheat, oats, barley, and
rye). Children and adults may need to stay off casein and gluten products for
the next four to six months while the intestinal wall heals and the beneficial
intestinal bacteria are restored. A great website to help with the
casein/gluten-free diet is www.Tacanow.org. Be careful of store bought :gluten
free" products that may contain other ingredients that are hard on the intestinal
lining. When re-introducing milk products, homemade yogurt or kefir made from
raw organic milk is the easiest to digest.
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