Organic Pharmacy Knowledge Base

Leaky Gut Syndrome

"Leaky Gut Syndrome" is a popular phrase for issues involving intestinal permeability.

"Leaky Gut", or impaired intestinal permeability, means that large food molecules, endotoxins, xenobiotics and other less than desirable environmental particulate matter can pass straight into the bloodstream from the small intestine without complete and thorough digestion and processing.

From there, it is believed that these partially digested foods and toxins can reek havoc in the pathways of liver detoxification as well as negatively influence all organs and systems of the body. In simple terms, you are being unknowingly poisoned from within at a microscopic level.

It is now well established (and I've seen it frequently in my clinical practice) that inflammation of the intestines and a resultant increased permeability of the intestinal mucosal wall has a connection with conditions such as infection, food allergy, Crohn’s disease, coeliac disease, dermatological conditions, colitis, or auto-immune diseases (such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, eczema, etc.). I also have seen a direct correlation to emotional and mental states that biochemically triggered.

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