Test Results and Changes: Intestinal Permeability (Leaky Gut)

I am going to talk about a few of the things that showed up in my test results individually so that I can address the actual results, what those mean, and what I am doing about it. The first thing that I want to address is leaky gut. 

You can find lots of info about leaky gut and how to treat it, but I especially like my beloved Kresser's post (I also like this post by Dr. Axe). Chris Kresser gives the following explanation:

"When the intestinal barrier becomes permeable (i.e. “leaky gut syndrome”), large protein molecules escape into the bloodstream. Since these proteins don’t belong outside of the gut, the body mounts an immune response and attacks them."

Take a look at those two posts to learn more about leaky gut and what to do about it; they say things better than I ever can. But I'm going to use this post to show you my test results as well as the supplements and lifestyle changes that I am using to address my leaky gut. 

Looking at the the following image, you can see that my body was working overtime trying to deal with all of the invaders that were a result of my leaky gut.

What am I doing about it?
Different articles may have differences in the specific recommendations, but this is the program that Dr. Antoine uses:

The 6 "R" Gut Healing Program

• Remove - food allergies and sensitivities, food toxins, abnormal bacteria, etc. 
• Replace - with healthy nutrients 
• Restore - the lining of the GI tract (glutamine, omega-3 fats, vitamin D, etc.)
• Reinoculate - with probiotics 
• Rebalance - with stress reduction, prayer, meditation, breathing exercises, etc. 
• Rotate - the foods you are eating to receive a variety of nutrients (and avoid harmful affects of having too much of a certain food)

Remove:

1. Food allergies and sensitivities 

  

Above is the list of everything that was included in the food panel. The first two images are from the IgG. An IgG measures your immune response to foods. If the food is black, there was no response; if the food is red there was a response. The asterisks (and numbers 1-3) indicate the level of sensitivity. The fact that there are a lot of red foods (as well as other test results) point to intestinal permeability (or leaky gut), because a person should not have an immune response to food. The third image is the IgE (or allergy) test, and you can see that I have a true allergy to cow's milk. My scores for egg white and wheat were also close to an allergy score, so that could be a sign that those will remain as sensitivities. We'll see.

The IgG identifies the list of things that have to come out of the diet. Any food on the list that is a 2 or 3 come out until we test again (around 6 months from when I received my test results, which falls in August). Any food that is a 1 should be kept out for at least two months but can be introduced and enjoyed no more than once a week. When introducing a food, you have a serving with each meal for one day, and you have successfully reintroduced the food if you do not have any symptoms within three days. The only food that I have tested and reintroduced so far is beef. Once the gut is healed, a response should indicate a true sensitivity. There is a good chance that if I am diligent about healing my gut and excluding problematical foods from my diet, I should be able to reintroduce some of the foods that showed up as sensitivities on this test.

2. Food Toxins
It is important to eat unprocessed, non-GMO, organic foods. The Vine diet also excludes shellfish and pork (see Why You Should Avoid Pork) because of the toxins in the meat. I exclusively buy organic produce that is on the the dirty dozen list, but I am a little more lenient for things that are on the clean fifteen for the sake of our budget. With meat, I try to buy grass-fed beef, free range poultry, and wild-caught fish as much as possible. From research that I've done, most toxins are in the animal's fat. So if you have to buy conventional meat, it's better to stick to lean cuts. I am also trying to limit my animal fat consumption and my toxic exposure for other reasons that I'll address in separate posts.

3. Abnormal Bacteria

My stool sample did show a lack of beneficial bacteria (which I will address in the Reinoculate section) as well as an overgrowth of "additional" bacteria. The additional bacteria is not necessarily harmful, but it can become harmful if you have too much bacteria that is nonessential or beneficial. I also have a slight overgrowth of candida.

This is where my first supplement comes in. I am taking a supplement to kill bacterial overgrowth:

 

The ingredients that fit in with this category are:  

• Magnesium Caprylate (to treat Candida) 
• Berberine Sulfate (to treat Candida)
• Grapefruit Extract (for yeast overgrowth. I also found that there is research around grapefruit's ability to lower cholesterol and treat headaches, stress, and depression, as well as other things.) 

Restore
Other R's can begin to restore the gut lining, but I am also taking a supplements to aid the process. These supplements may have other benefits, and if so I will touch on those in the corresponding post.

The optimal levels are the middle numbers, 30-100. In January I was at 20. 

Read more here.

Omega 3 fats reduce inflammation. 

I use protein powder as a meal replacement for breakfast if I need something to take on the go. 

The protein powder also contains these GI benefits. From Dr. Axe's post, linked above: "Glutamine is an essential amino acid that is anti-inflammatory and necessary for the growth and repair of your intestinal lining.  L-glutamine acts a protector and coats your cell walls, acting as a repellent to irritants."

Reinoculate 
This one is pretty straight forward: it's important to introduce beneficial bacteria. In this case, I'm doing that with probiotics. Diversity is good, so getting bacteria from other sources is a bonus. I cannot have dairy, so sources like yogurt or kefir are out. But I love things like fermented vegetables and kombucha, and I try to have a serving several times a week in addition to my daily probiotic.

I have made my own sour kraut and I love it, but Bubby's is an awesome option that you can pick up in the store. They also have a relish that's great. 

Rebalance 
I will talk more about stress reduction in another post. But one thing I will address here is  removing stress by eating as often and as much as your body needs. Because my hormonal imbalance affected my appetite, I was consuming very few calories in a day because I just wasn't hungry. I would skip meals and eat the majority of my calories in the evening, at dinner; but that didn't come close to meeting my daily calorie need. I put my body under unnecessary stress when I didn't eat enough or as often as I should. I haven't missed breakfast since my first appointment in January, and I eat at least three meals a day, with snacks between meals if I need them. I find that I really need a snack in the afternoon between lunch and dinner, especially on days that I commute to work, because we usually won't sit down to dinner until 7:00 or later.

Rotate
Not much to say about this one. :) Eat a variety of foods. I try to mix up our proteins and veggies every week. It can help to simply buy whatever is on sale or in season that week. Having habits help me, so I will just keep it simple. For example, I have a big salad for lunch almost every day, but I switch out the kinds of greens and toppings/additions that I use every day and try I try to buy different things to choose from each week.