Cabot Health

Health Topics > Allergies > leaky-gutsyndrome

What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Food allergies are often triggered when only partially digested foods are absorbed from the intestines, which may occur in those with an inflamed lining of the small and large intestine. This is also known as “leaky gut syndrome”. The liver finds it much harder to break down large molecules in only partially digested foods and this will overload the liver and can cause food intolerances. In this situation it is vital to take some form of digestive enzymes in the middle of eating your meal. Pancreatic enzymes are available in tablet and capsule form, and contain the full complement of digestive enzymes to break down food particles into small easily absorbed molecules. You may need to adjust the dosage under the supervision of your practitioner, as some people require much higher doses than others.

You can read more about Leaky Gut Syndrome by visiting www.liverdoctor.com

Diet

Maintain the vital principles for a healthy liver, found in “The Healthy Liver and Bowel Book”,and make these principles a way of life.

Apart from eliminating obvious problem foods, the diet should be aimed at balancing your immune function. The body needs to be provided with the correct nutrients required by the metabolic and detoxification pathways to effectively improve the liver function. This needs to be a combination of correct eating principles that should be followed generally as a way of life and the correct supplementation to support the organs of elimination.

Patients must source a reliable supplier of organically produced meats, fruits and vegetables and use a high quality water purifier as their overloaded liver cannot cope with environmental toxins. They need to consume foods that are high in natural sulphur compounds to support the liver’s detoxification pathways. The best foods for this purpose are garlic, onions, leeks, radishes, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts and cauliflower) and eggs. If they are allergic to any of these foods they should be replaced with other foods high in sulphur to which they are not allergic.

If you want to follow the "Liver Cleansing Diet" recipes and yet feel apprehensive because you have multiple food allergies, it is suggested that you check each recipe carefully before trying it. If there are foods in some of the recipes to which you are allergic, it is easy for you to substitute the offending ingredient with another ingredient to which you are not allergic

Allergy Substitutes

Cow's milk: Soy, Rice, Almond, light Coconut or Oat Milk
Butter or Margarine: Tahini, Hummus, Pesto (cheese free), nut spreads, honey, garlic paste, tomato paste, miso, avocado, olive paste
Cheese: Soy Cheese - grill or grate
Yoghurt: Soy Yoghurt
Ice Cream: Fruit Sorbet, Fruit Ice blocks, Tofu Ice-cream
Chocolate: Carob, Halva
Wheat Rice: Corn, Quinoa, Buckwheat, Teff Flours and pastas made from Soy, Millet, flaxseed, Cornmeal, Amaranth, Lentils

Dairy

To improve your liver function and assist with allergies we recommend to avoid ALL dairy foods including milk, cheese, cream, butter, ice cream, yoghurt, chocolate, etc. - dairy foods contain high levels of antibiotics, steroids and artificial growth hormones, as this is what the herds are often treated with in today's high tech dairies to prevent disease and boost milk production.

As with humans where substances go through into breast milk it is the same for cattle - only they neglect to tell you this in the advertisements when they are telling you how great milk is. If you need further info on this please visit www.notmilk.com

Try some different brands and varieties of soy as they vary greatly. The fresh soy products in the dairy cabinet are much lighter and not as strong in taste as the long life products. There are also rice milks and oat milks to try.

Artificial Sweeteners

Avoid artificial sweeteners - see www.dorway.com

Healthy Sweetener Guide

Sweeteners to avoid:

Aspartame
Neotame
Sucralose (Splenda)
Acesulfame-K (Sunette, Sweet & Safe, Sweet One)
Cyclamates
Saccharin

Sweeteners to Use:

Nature Sweet Sugar Substitute*
Stevia *
Barley Malt
Evaporated Cane Juice
Fruit Juice
Rice Syrup
Honey
Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) *
Amasake

* Safe for Diabetics

Raw Juicing

Have a fresh raw vegetable juice daily! Recommended juice recipes from "Raw Juices Can Save Your Life"are:

"Anti Allergy Juice" numbers 1, 2 and 3 on page 42
"Anti Allergy Smoothie" on page 43

Carrot juice is particularly beneficial for those with allergies, as this is an excellent source of beta carotene – a precursor to vitamin A. This vitamin helps to soothe inflamed mucous membranes of the nose and throat and eyes.

Recommended books

"Can't Lose Weight? You Could Have Syndrome X" book - The Syndrome X book is dairy and wheat free and contains recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinners and snacks.

Orthodox Medical Treatments

Probably the most commonly used of these are anti-histamines which, as their name suggests, counteract the actions of histamine and other histamine-like chemicals. They are only partially effective and some anti-histamines have nuisance sedative side-effects.

In this regard, drugs like cetirizine, fexofenadine and loratadine, are preferable as they do not cause drowsiness.

Decongestants such as pseudoephedrine and over-the counter nasal drops and sprays are widely used for hayfever and sinusitis but should be restricted to short term use of no longer than one to two weeks.

Corticosteroids are a very effective treatment including nasal sprays for hayfever, creams for eczema and hives and even oral prednisolone for more severe allergic reactions. The corticosteroid nasal sprays are quite low dose and can be safely used for one or two months at a stretch, for example commencing just prior to the start of seasonal symptoms. Use of cortisone creams requires a little more care as they can cause thinning and weakening of the skin if continued for too long. If required, restrict use to one or two weeks maximum. Oral corticosteroids should definitely be a last resort, but are sometimes necessary. In emergency situations such as an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting, subcutaneous injections of adrenaline and/or hydrocortisone are given.

When these treatments fail or are thought to be inappropriate, allergists will often employ a technique called desensitization. This involves making up a cocktail of the particular substances a patient is allergic to, and injecting it subcutaneously in gradually increasing amounts at one to two weekly intervals. It seems that in this fashion the patient learns to tolerate the allergen or in other words is desensitized to it. Allergists are claiming moderate success with this treatment. An alternative technique of desensitization using drops under the tongue instead of injections is, in our opinion, less likely to be effective.

Recommended supplements

L-Glutamine powder

Take one 5ml metric teaspoon and dissolve in water or juice. Can also be sprinkled on cold food. Do not add to hot foods or liquids. L-Glutamine is a natural amino acid that is vital for healthy intestinal function. May be helpful for inflammation of the intestinal tract.

Digestive enzymes

Take 1 to 2 capsules with meals 3 times daily - Digestive enzymes enhance sluggish digestion of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. They also assist in improving symptoms of poor digestive function such as bloating, excessive flatulence or burping, constipation, diarrhoea, indigestion, heartburn, mal-absorption, acid reflux, food intolerance or candida overgrowth.

Liver tonic powder or capsules

Take 1 teaspoon twice daily or 2 capsules twice daily - A powerful liver tonic consisting of St Mary's Thistle, B vitamins and Taurine will help assist and enhance the liver's ability to break down toxic chemicals via the Phase One and Phase Two detoxification pathways.

Detoxing tablets

Take 1 tablets three times daily. Use a formula with barberry, wormwood and thyme which has been traditionally used to alleviate gastro-intestinal infections and is the basis of any protocol to treat a sluggish or under-functioning digestive system .

LEAKY GUT SYNDROME