How does a leaky gut develop?

Tight junctions

Tight junctions determine which nutrients can be absorbed through the intestinal wall and which cannot. The foods mentioned in this article, medications and early life stress for example can damage the intestinal wall. This creates small holes in the tight junctions which allow undesirable substances to pass through. Those substances are usually, when the tight junctions are working perfect, not absorbed into our blood. These substances include poorly digested food particles, bacteria and fungi, but also many toxins. These unwanted substances repeatedly activate the immune system. This is how a leaky gut develops.

Poorly digested gluten, dairy products, casein (found in cheese) and soy can do enormous damage to our bodies. The exorphins, which are found in large quantities in these foods, can cause later on in this damaging process particular damage to the brain. Together with all the other toxins and pathogens that enter the bloodstream, they can seriously disrupt the hormones and neurotransmitters in our brains. Even to the extent that we no longer experience a feeling of happiness and get depressed. Mental illnesses and depression are often seen in my patients and are treated by repairing the leaky gut and restoring the brain chemistry. Within just weeks the depression will totally fade away.

Exorphins

Exorphins from food cause a lot of damage in the brain. With an overload of exorphins we can start to feel depressed, which often disappears over time. We can also become very tired, accompanied by a foggy brain. Furthermore, our brains can be over-stimulated, and we can suddenly become very angry or regularly irritated. Stress and pressure are therefore much harder for us to handle. What we eat has a big effect on how our personality is expressed through our brain. When next to that the microbiomal wall is that damaged that it does not make the DPP-IV enzym what breaks off the exorphins out of food, mental problems will definitely arise. The horror of all of this is that a psychologist is total not aware about the gut/brain connection and especially not about the enormous effect on our mental and emotional wellbeing.

If your immune system needs to be continuously working as a result of all the undesirable substances and stress, Low Grade Inflammation (LGI) eventually occurs. When your immune system is in overdrive for a long period of time, autoimmune diseases (in severe cases) and neuroinflammation can develop.

In addition to the above symptoms, hives, poor memory, decreased concentration, fatigue, exhaustion, mood swings and/or general malaise may also occur. Anxiety, hormonal disturbances, diabetes, obesity, muscle and joint pains, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) can also be seen in the development of a leaky gut. So, it is very important that our gut is not leaky!

Adrenal glands

A chronic working immune system depletes the adrenal glands. The immune system needs a lot of energy. Adrenaline, together with glycogen stored in the liver, flows into the blood. From this, the glucose is made that turns the immune system “on”. The hormone cortisol, which is produced together with adrenaline by the adrenal glands, turns the immune system “off”. The adrenal glands become exhausted due to this chronic activation of the immune system. This is how for example burnout eventually occurs. So many of my patients are coming in with anxiety and very high level of adrenalin, they can’t sleep and our very stressed out. This is often just related to a chronic working immune system what needs that adrenal to fire up. The body just can’t get rid anymore of all that adrenalin and chronic stress and anxiety attack are often a result to that.

The pancreas also reacts constantly to the amount of glucose present in the body, and pumps a lot of insulin into the bloodstream in order to be able to store the excess glucose. Receptors on the cells that are supposed to open the cell, to be able to store the glucose, become insensitive to insulin due to its constant presence in the blood. This is how insulin resistance develops. Insulin resistance is the precursor illness for getting diabetes. A leaky gut as you start to understand has an enormous effect the health of our organs.

Visceral fats

Visceral fatty acids arise from insulin resistance. Once you create insulin resistance, you slowly get a fatter belly compared to the rest of your body. This is due to the visceral fat under the abdominal wall (so you can’t grasp the fat between your fingers). Glucose that no longer enters the cells will then be stored by the body in fat cells. This fat is very difficult to burn off again. This dangerous, pathogenic fat, which accumulates around the organs, must be eliminated as soon as possible. Insulin resistance is as we above mentioned a precursor to Diabetes, but also to Alzheimer’s disease. This disease has already been given the name Type 3 Diabetes.

Obesity also arises from this vicious circle. So many people are battling those sudden cravings for sugar and loads of carbohydrates. Think about the immune system that is in deep need of glucose to do its job fast and perfect. These cravings arise when the body can’t produce the glucose fast enough to provide the fuel needed for the activated immune system. These cravings are because of that big need in glucose mentally very hard to resist. Obesity is therefore one consequence of low grade inflammation, a leaky gut and so often because of all kinds of food intolerances.

Stay healthy

To stay healthy and not develop permanent symptoms, a good lifestyle, diet, avoidance of stress and repairing the leaky gut and the brain chemistry are therefore essential. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Youtube and TikTok to stay in the loop with our articles, or register by leaving your email.

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