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Leaky Gut Diet

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The health of the gut profoundly influences Enter Search Term...

the health of the brain. Studies link gut
problems with depression, mood disorders,
schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, memory
loss, and brain lesions. This may come as
no surprise if you have found certain foods
alter your mood, personality, focus, or
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concentration. DR. K. NEWS
Gut flora, the several pounds of bacterial Sign up for brain health
news and more:
organisms we carry in our intestines, affect
brain chemistry and imbalances can cause
depression and psychiatric disorders. Poor Thyroid news
diets, stress, excess sugars and carbs,
repeated antibiotic use, and other factors
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tip the balance of gut flora so that harmful bacteria outweigh the beneficial.

Intestinal permeability, or leaky gut, is a condition in which the walls of the I'm a practitioner
intestine become inflamed and porous, allowing undigested food, bacteria, toxins,
and other antigens into the bloodstream. This provokes the immune system and
causes inflammation throughout the body. Leaky gut can also cause brain enter email
inflammation and has been linked with depression and autoimmunity.

How do you know if you have leaky gut?

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How do you know if you have leaky gut? You may have mild to moderate
gastrointestinal symptoms, such as such as bloating, gas, abnormal bowel
movements, systemic inflammation, and food sensitivities. You may also have
developed reactions to foods that include skin rashes, headaches, abdominal pain,
joint pain, body aches, swelling, or bloating.
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If leaky gut is inflaming the brain, this may cause depression or brain fog, thanks to
decreased nerve conduction. Systemic inflammation from leaky gut can impact
energy levels and cause fatigue, poor muscle endurance, or poor recovery from
injuries. Or perhaps the inflammation is perpetuating pain from a previous injury
and you have trouble healing.

It’s also important to know many people with leaky gut have no intestinal or
inflammatory symptoms, especially if they already eat a healthy, non-inflammatory
diet. Therefore, leaky gut should always be considered for anyone with brain fog,
persistent depression, chronic systemic inflammation, or any autoimmune

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condition—even if you don’t have digestive symptoms.

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Unwinding leaky gut Oral Tolerance Course
Although a variety of factors contribute to leaky gut, diet is paramount to repairing
it. Unwinding leaky gut consists of following a restricted diet and taking nutritional
compounds that help reduce intestinal inflammation and repair the intestinal
membranes.

You will need to follow the diet religiously. I admit these gut-repair diets can be
difficult and make you feel left out and deprived, especially in social situations.
However, many people struggling with chronic autoimmune disease whose quality
of life is seriously compromised have found it’s a small price to pay for getting their
health back.

The length of the program can vary. The average leaky gut program will take 30 to
60 days. However, if you have an autoimmune disease or celiac disease, staying on
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the diet and nutritional support long term provide the best outcome. People with
autoimmunity will struggle to varying degrees with intestinal permeability Alzheimer's
throughout their lives. There is no exact and predictable time frame for leaky gut
support. If you do not have obvious symptoms, the only way you can be certain is Autoimmunity Blog
with lab testing before and after the program. Brain Fog Brain Health

The leaky gut diet Brain Injury Celiac

Dairy Depression
Eat regularly and do not allow yourself to
become overly hungry—stabilizing blood Dopamine Fellowship
sugar is a primary aim to avoid the stress of
Gluten Gluten-Free
low blood sugar. For more resources
supporting this diet, visit my web site. Hashimoto's

Hypoperfusion
Foods to avoid
Hypothyroidism
• ALL sugars and sweeteners, even honey
Inflammation
or agave
• High-glycemic fruits: watermelon, mango, pineapple, raisins, grapes, canned Insulin Resistance
fruits, dried fruits, etc. Leaky Gut Diet
• Tomatoes, potatoes, and mushrooms
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• Grains: wheat, oats, rice, barley, buckwheat, corn, quinoa, etc.
Neurological Disorders
• Dairy: milk, cream, cheese, butter, whey, etc.
Neurotransmitters
• Eggs or foods that contain eggs (such as mayonnaise)
Parkinson's Plasticity
• Soy: soy milk, soy sauce, tofu, tempeh, soy protein, etc.
• Alcohol Serotonin

• Lectins—a major promoter of leaky gut—found in nuts, beans, soy, potatoes,

tomato, eggplant, peppers, peanut oil, peanut butter and soy oil, among others
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• Instant coffee: Many brands of instant coffee appear to be contaminated with
gluten. It’s important to eliminate it to be sure it’s not an immune trigger.
• Processed foods
• Canned foods

Foods to eat

When confronted with this diet the first thing people ask is what can they eat. In
fact you’ll be eating the way people ate for most of human history—there’s plenty
of food that doesn’t come from a factory or an industrialized farm.

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• Most
Homevegetables
Author (except
Braintomato,
Book potatoes, and mushrooms):
Patient Stories Diet asparagus,
Blog spinach, Clinic
Resources
lettuce, broccoli, beets, cauliflower, carrots, celery, artichokes, garlic, onions, DuckDuckGo
zucchini, squash, rhubarb, cucumbers, turnips, and watercress, among others.
• Fermented foods: sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled ginger, fermented cucumbers, DuckDuckGo
coconut yogurt, kombucha, water kefir, etc. You will probably need to make your blocked this content
own or buy one of the few brands that are genuinely fermented and free of to prevent
Facebook from
sugars or additives. Also, search for information about anaerobic fermented foods tracking you
in air-tight containers. These ferments do not produce histamines that some
We blocked Facebook
people react to (including rashes, digestive upset, inflammation) in aerobic, or
from tracking you
open, ferments typically using mason jars.
when the page
• Meats: fish, chicken, beef, lamb, organ meats, etc. Best choices are grass-fed and loaded. If you unblock
pastured meats from a local farm. Second best is organic. Avoid factory-farmed this content,
meats that contain antibiotics and hormones. For a source of good meat near Facebook will know
you, contact your local Weston A. Price chapter leader or farmer’s market. your activity. Learn
More
• Low-glycemic fruits: apricots, plums, apple, peach, pear, cherries and berries, to
name a few.
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• Coconut: coconut oil, coconut butter, coconut milk, coconut cream
• Herbal teas
• Olives and olive oil

Following the leaky gut diet

Fortunately, ample support exists on the internet today. There are online “tribes”
for many variations of this diet. They include Paleo, primal, GAPS, SCD, and more.
Many, many people have adapted some version of this diet and are happy to help
and support others.

I don’t like to give hard and fast rules as to what to eat or how many grams of
carbs to eat beyond the guidelines in this chapter. Your health and your symptoms
are the best feedback—getting trapped in dogma or group-think can sabotage your
ability to monitor your body and how it responds to the foods you eat. I do like
people to pay attention to their blood sugar symptoms and markers and keep blood
sugar stable, often a good basic guideline with which to start.

Leaky gut diet recipes

This diet can seem daunting at first, and planning is essential to

success. You must have the right foods on hand at all times. It is
difficult to find recipes that accommodate all the restrictions,
however I have found an online menu planning service that
provides five weeks of menus and shopping lists. They are
created by Sarah Schatz of Allergy-Free Menu Planners.

Also, there is a new cookbook on the market geared

toward this diet called the Autoimmune Paleo
Cookbook by Mickey Trescott, developed to meet all
the criteria of this diet by someone who follows it
herself.

Many embarking on this diet are entering new

territories of food. You may need to shop at different
stores or order things online. I have supplied a list of
popular sources on the resource page.

Nutritional support during the leaky gut diet

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The emphasis of the leaky gut diet is on reducing

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intestinal inflammation and repairing the intestinal
membranes. The literature shows a variety of botanicals and nutritional compounds
restore and maintain the intestinal lining. They support tissue during intestinal
inflammation or discomfort, help regulate the enteric nervous system and motility,
and support the secretion of digestive enzymes.

These nutrients can be taken therapeutically for anywhere from a few days to a few
months, depending on the severity of the gut permeability. The time each person
should be on a gut-repair diet and protocol depends on the individual and his or her
circumstances. There isn’t a time period set in stone; it depends on when you start
to see symptoms diminish and disappear. A person with severe issues may need to
adapt it for months or longer.

For more information on nutritional support, refer to my book Why Isn’t My Brain
Working?

Addressing subconscious beliefs about food

For those battling a history of weight issues or an eating disorder, this diet can be
filled with emotional triggers. In these cases I highly recommend support for
underlying subconscious beliefs about food, eating, and your body. Ideas include
hypnotherapy, emotional freedom technique (EFT) workshops or instruction, guided
meditations and visualizations. You will find plenty of instruction online.

Subconscious beliefs aside, many are pleasantly surprised to find cravings and
obsessions with food diminish or disappear once they remove immune reactive
foods, stabilize blood sugar, and eat a nutrient-dense diet. Make sure you don’t
allow yourself to get too hungry or hypoglycemic by including sufficient fat and
protein in your diet. Also, cravings are often a disguise for thirst, so stay hydrated
and add electrolytes to your water if need be.

For this diet to be successful it’s extremely important to pay attention to blood
sugar symptoms, keep blood sugar stable, and be aware of which foods trigger
your symptoms. These are always good basic guidelines with which to start whether
you are waiting to work with a practitioner or are going it alone.

I am working on a book dedicated to leaky gut, gluten, and autoimmunity that I

hope to have done by the end of 2013.

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