Relationship Between Leaky Gut Syndrome and Weight Gain
The term leaky gut syndrome is very unfamiliar to most people, and it feels even more like it’s far away. But in reality, 80% of people have the leaky gut syndrome and just never realize how serious it is. Excessive intestinal permeability (commonly known as leaky gut) is a condition that leads to systemic inflammation and hormonal imbalance.
Inflammation, intestinal flora imbalance, and hormonal imbalance can cause disharmony in the body, which can be one of the reasons for weight gain. If you’ve been trying to lose weight but repeatedly failing, gaining weight instead of losing it, and your metabolism has become disrupted, it’s time to start thinking about the health of your gut!
What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?
The digestive tract in our body is where food is broken down and nutrients are absorbed. The digestive tract also plays a very important role in protecting the body from harmful substances, and most of our immune system is in the intestinal tract.
In a healthy intestinal wall, the endothelial cells are tightly connected, forming an impenetrable barrier that allows water and nutrients to pass through while preventing harmful substances from entering the bloodstream and other body organs.
When this barrier becomes loose, the intestine becomes more permeable, which makes it easier for bacteria and toxins to enter the bloodstream from the intestine. This phenomenon is often referred to as “leaky gut”. Once the intestinal wall becomes “leaky” and bacteria and toxins enter the tissues and organs of the body, it can cause widespread inflammation and trigger a response from the immune system.
How Does Leaky Gut Cause Weight Gain?
A leaky gut can affect your weight in three ways：
1. Chronic inflammation
Chronic inflammation is the root cause of many diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. Many studies have also shown that chronic inflammation can lead to weight gain.
And microbes in the gut play an invaluable role in controlling inflammation. An unhealthy diet and lifestyle habits can cause an imbalance in the gut flora, in other words, a far greater number of bad bacteria than good bacteria.
When bad microorganisms rule the intestinal micro-ecology, a large number of harmful by-products are produced. These byproducts can enter the bloodstream and initiate an inflammatory response and can lead to increased fat storage and reduced fat consumption output.
2. Insulin resistance
A leaky gut can cause insulin resistance, which can cause weight gain and even diabetes. When the microecology in the intestine is dysregulated, it directly affects the metabolism of carbohydrates, which affects body weight. And chronic inflammation caused by a leaky gut activates and increases the expression of several proteins that inhibit insulin signaling pathways, making the body less responsive to insulin and increasing the risk of insulin resistance.
3. Leptin
Leptin is a hormone in the body, and high levels of leptin can make you feel full and reduce your appetite and the amount of food you eat. Eat less, and naturally lose weight. If you often eat high-sugar, high-carb, deeply processed foods, those calories that the body can not burn off will be converted into fat stored in the liver.
Similar to insulin resistance, over time your body becomes resistant to leptin, and even though you eat more, your brain does not receive signals of satiety. So, even though your body no longer needs food, you will still feel hungry. The more you eat, the fatter you become.
As a result, more and more waste accumulates in the digestive tract that cannot be broken down and absorbed, which in turn accelerates the “leakage” of the intestines, releasing more harmful substances into the bloodstream and causing inflammation. At the same time, the inflammation encourages more fat cells to be stored.
If this vicious circle is not solved as soon as possible, you will continue to gain weight and various chronic diseases will follow!
What Causes Leaky Gut?
The underlying causes of leaky gut include：
- Genetic factors: Some people are born more sensitive to environmental changes, thus “triggering” their body’s autoimmune response and making them more likely to develop leaky gut.
- Poor diet: This includes, in particular, allergens and inflammation-prone diets such as added sugar, genetically modified foods, refined oils, synthetic food additives, conventional dairy products, deeply processed foods, and high-carbohydrate diets.
- Chronic stress: Work and life are chronically stressful without relief.
- Excess toxins: We are exposed to over 80,000 chemicals and toxins each year, but the worst contributors to leaky gut include antibiotics, pesticides, detergents, bleach in tap water, and more.
- Flora imbalance: Also known as gut ecology dysbiosis, this means an imbalance between beneficial and harmful bacteria in the gut.
There is now substantial evidence that the intestinal microbiota is important in supporting the epithelial barrier and preventing autoimmune responses. At least 10% of all gene transcripts associated with immunity, cell proliferation, and metabolism found in intestinal epithelial cells are regulated by the gut microbiota.
What Are The Dangers Of Leaky Gut Disease?
- Gastric ulcers
- Infectious diarrhea
- Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
- Inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)
- Small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)
- Celiac disease
- Esophageal and colorectal cancers
- Allergy
- Respiratory tract infections
- Acute inflammation (sepsis, SIRS, multi-organ failure)
- Chronic inflammatory diseases (e.g. arthritis)
- Thyroid disorders
- Obesity-related metabolic disorders (fatty liver, type I diabetes, heart disease)
- Autoimmune diseases (lupus, multiple sclerosis, type I diabetes, Hashimoto’s, etc.)
- Parkinson’s syndrome
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Weight gain or obesity
All of these diseases have been associated with leaky gut. Although scientific evidence has not fully confirmed that leaky gut syndrome is the cause of these conditions, it strongly suggests that leaky gut and other dysfunctions often occur together.
How is Leaky Gut Syndrome Treated?
Dr. Josh Axe, a Doctor of Natural Medicine, and Clinical Nutritionist in the United States, has developed a four-step process (4R program) to help heal leaky gut after years of research and patient care.
1、REMOVE
Remove foods and other factors that damage the health of the intestines. Such as foods that cause inflammation, and intestinal infections
2、REPLACE
Add nutrients such as digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid, and bile acids to aid digestion and absorption.
3、REPAIR
Provide essential nutrients to help the intestine repair itself, such as L-glutamine, an amino acid that helps rejuvenate the lining of the intestinal wall.
4、REBALANCE
Restoring healthy levels of beneficial bacteria (probiotics) in the intestinal tract to recreate a balance of flora.
If you want to start with your diet to solve the problem of leaky gut, it is also very easy to see good results by changing your diet and diet structure properly. The main thing is to avoid deeply processed foods, added sugars, genetically modified foods, refined oils, synthetic additives, etc.
Foods for curing leaky gut syndrome include：
- Bone broth
- Yogurt, butter, and raw cheese
- Superfoods chia seeds, flax seeds, and hemp seeds
- Fermented vegetables (sauerkraut) and other foods containing probiotics
- Coconut products
- Herbs and spices
- Foods containing omega-3 fatty acids, especially fresh fish and other wild-caught fish
- Other nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory foods, such as grass-fed beef, lamb, other fresh vegetables, and most fruits, apple cider vinegar, etc.
In Addition to diet, supplementation with probiotics is also an excellent way to go.