Is Leaky Gut aThing?

Me2

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http://www.healthywomen.org/content/blog-entry/10-signs-you-have-leaky-gut—and-how-heal-it
What is leaky gut?

Leaky gut, or "intestinal permeability," as Victor explained, is a condition in which the lining of the small intestine becomes damaged, causing undigested food particles, toxic waste products and bacteria to "leak" through the intestines and flood the blood stream. The foreign substances entering the blood can cause an autoimmune response in the body including inflammatory and allergic reactions such as migraines, irritable bowel, eczema, chronic fatigue, food allergies, rheumatoid arthritis and more
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The description here sounds like bunk to me, but I've never heard of it. If undigested food particles and bacteria were crossing directly into the blood stream from the intestines, then I'd expect that would be an emergency situation, not a chronic condition.
 
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From the UK's NHS website...
While it's true that some conditions and medications can cause a "leaky" gut (what scientists call increased intestinal permeability), there is currently little evidence to support the theory that a porous bowel is the direct cause of any significant, widespread problems.

There is also little evidence that the "treatments" some people claim help to reduce bowel leakiness, such as nutritional supplements and herbal remedies, have any beneficial effect for most of the conditions they supposedly help.
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https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/leaky-gut-syndrome/

As for the 10 signs on the Healthy Woman site...
The "leaky gut syndrome" theory
Exponents of "leaky gut syndrome" – largely practitioners of complementary and alternative medicine – believe the bowel lining can become irritated and leaky as the result of a much wider range of factors, including an overgrowth of yeast or bacteria in the bowel, a poor diet and the overuse of antibiotics.

They believe that undigested food particles, bacterial toxins and germs can pass through the "leaky" gut wall and into the bloodstream, triggering the immune system and causing persistent inflammation throughout the body. This, they say, is linked to a much wider range of health problems, including:

However, there is currently little evidence to suggest these conditions are in fact caused by having a leaky gut.
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and as for 'treatments'
However, you should be wary of treatments offered by people who claim to be able to "cure leaky gut syndrome", as there is little scientific evidence to suggest they are beneficial for many of the conditions they are claimed to help.

Some of the dietary changes suggested for "leaky gut syndrome" (such as a low FODMAP diet) can help people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but these seem to work irrespective of the presence of a "leaky" gut.

Generally, eliminating foods from the diet is not a good idea unless it's strictly necessary (for example, if you have coeliac disease) and done on the advice of a healthcare professional, as it can lead to nutritional deficiencies.
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Other reputable medical sites have similar advice, for example WebMD says
“From an MD’s standpoint, it’s a very gray area,” says gastroenterologist Donald Kirby, MD, director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Cleveland Clinic. “Physicians don’t know enough about the gut, which is our biggest immune system organ.”


"Leaky gut syndrome" isn't a diagnosis taught in medical school. Instead, "leaky gut really means you’ve got a diagnosis that still needs to be made,” Kirby says. “You hope that your doctor is a good-enough Sherlock Holmes, but sometimes it is very hard to make a diagnosis.”


“We don’t know a lot but we know that it exists,” says Linda A. Lee, MD, a gastroenterologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Integrative Medicine and Digestive Center. “In the absence of evidence, we don’t know what it means or what therapies can directly address it.”
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https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/features/leaky-gut-syndrome#1

So in nutshell...
Does it exist? - Sort of, but it is a complex symptom, rather than an ailment in its own right.
Can it be cured? - This depends on treating the underlying cause rather than 'eating certain foods' or other alt-health woo-isms.
Are the health woo peddlers blowing it up out of all proportions to spread panic and plug their suppliments? - you bet.
 
Yes it is a thing, but leaky gut syndrome is not a recognized medical condition.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/leaky-gut-syndrome/
What can cause a "leaky" bowel?
The inside of the bowel is lined by a single layer of cells that make up the mucosal barrier (the barrier between the inside of the gut and the rest of the body).

This barrier is effective at absorbing nutrients, but prevents most large molecules and germs passing from inside the bowel into the bloodstream and potentially causing widespread symptoms.

In some circumstances, this barrier can become less effective and "leaky", although this in itself is not generally thought to be sufficient to cause serious problems.
...
While it's true that some conditions and medications can cause a "leaky" gut (what scientists call increased intestinal permeability), there is currently little evidence to support the theory that a porous bowel is the direct cause of any significant, widespread problems.
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Edit: @Whitebeard beat me to it.
 
Slightly reitterating what's already been said here, but with a different source. The main theory behind "leaky gut" is basically that digestive materials such as food particles or foreign bacteria escape the lining of the gut and fall into the blood stream. This then causes the white blood cells in the body to attack these particles instead of attacking genuine viral or bacterial threats, and this confuses the immune system and thus results in it attacking healthy cells, causing auto immune disease. It's essentially a theory to try and explain and understand what causes auto immune diseases, and a possible white flag to help investigate and potentially reduce the harm and side effects to individuals who are predisposed to these conditions.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5440529/

Abstract

The intestinal epithelial lining, together with factors secreted from it, forms a barrier that separates the host from the environment. In pathologic conditions, the permeability of the epithelial lining may be compromised allowing the passage of toxins, antigens, and bacteria in the lumen to enter the blood stream creating a “leaky gut.” In individuals with a genetic predisposition, a leaky gut may allow environmental factors to enter the body and trigger the initiation and development of autoimmune disease. Growing evidence shows that the gut microbiota is important in supporting the epithelial barrier and therefore plays a key role in the regulation of environmental factors that enter the body. Several recent reports have shown that probiotics can reverse the leaky gut by enhancing the production of tight junction proteins; however, additional and longer term studies are still required. Conversely, pathogenic bacteria that can facilitate a leaky gut and induce autoimmune symptoms can be ameliorated with the use of antibiotic treatment. Therefore, it is hypothesized that modulating the gut microbiota can serve as a potential method for regulating intestinal permeability and may help to alter the course of autoimmune diseases in susceptible individuals.
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From the UK's NHS website...

Some of the dietary changes suggested for "leaky gut syndrome" (such as a low FODMAP diet) can help people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but these seem to work irrespective of the presence of a "leaky" gut.

Generally, eliminating foods from the diet is not a good idea unless it's strictly necessary (for example, if you have coeliac disease) and done on the advice of a healthcare professional, as it can lead to nutritional deficiencies.
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I disagree with that last statement. I'm a firm believer that diet can play a huge role in a person's general well-being. To say that generally you shouldn't eliminate foods unless on the advice of a healthcare professional because it can lead to nutritional deficiencies sounds like the author thinks that the average person without a medical degree is pretty dumb and doesn't know what constitutes a healthy diet.
A couple of years ago I was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition and was basically told by my doctor to just wait and see if I start getting symptoms (like hair falling out and chronic fatigue) and then I could get medication for it. Rather than waiting for hair to start falling out I did my own research (I do have a biology degree and a lot of experience reading/analyzing scientific papers), and found enough reason to try eliminating certain foods from my diet. My most recent blood test showed that my markers for the condition are pretty much in the normal range. I feel healthier and stronger than I have in years. I used to think that I was just getting tired and achy all the time because of my age. But now I'm convinced that it was mostly my diet.
Whether or not those foods were passing through my gut, into my bloodstream, I have no clue...

ETA: just realized that this topic is a few months old. I missed it the first time around :)
 
the author thinks that the average person without a medical degree is pretty dumb and doesn't know what constitutes a healthy diet
I'm thinking the average person is. I think I know all about what it takes to maintain a healthy diet, but I don't know what I don't know. I'm still a bit confused about iron, it's in Flintstone vitamins which I used to eat like candy. :( But now I pay xtra to avoid any supplemental iron (Sometimes I worry I eat too much spinach -yea yea I should cut down on the red meat but pfft). I did try researching it but different sites saying different things.. I'm still confused.

Pretty sure it's safe to eliminate Hot Pockets from your diet. They probably mean things like bread as you may not get enough thiamine. and if you don't know you need thiamine, you probably won't replace it.

So basically you have to research every single thing. It's easier to consult a health care professional.
 
They probably mean things like bread as you may not get enough thiamine. and if you don't know you need thiamine, you probably won't replace it.

So basically you have to research every single thing. It's easier to consult a health care professional.

You motivated me to look up thiamine deficiency :p (I think I'm OK there...)
 
Whether or not those foods were passing through my gut, into my bloodstream, I have no clue...

Neither do medical professionals, which is why the advice is given the way it is. The gut-body literature is moving a little fast for me to keep up with these days but my impression is that we still don't understand a lot about how the gut/microbiome interact with diet to influence health. At least not enough to know how to reliably manipulate our guts using diet in a positive way. I believe your story but at face value it is an "n of 1" that does not have empirical value on its own. Just trying to clarify why the UK NHS web site says that.

That's not to say that people shouldn't try to take their health into their own hands, it just means that, in this context, giving medical advice that we know can be helpful to the majority of people is really challenging.
 
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