As for the question about addressing it. Avoiding certain foods (especially the ones you are reactive to) and possibly some of the more inflammatory ones (like gluten, dairy and soy) can definitely help the healing process. However, if you think about it, the problem is not really the food. Your immune system will only react to the foods that actually get through the “leaky” barrier. And those don’t have to be any of the allergenic foods. If you have a “leak”, anything you are eating can be getting through. So, we use the avoidance of foods temporarily to decrease the inflammatory affect they have on an already inflamed gut. Then we use supplements (also temporarily) to allow the gut to heal.

I hope that answers your question!
Dr. Cari

Great question! Using digestive enzymes is definitely one of the keys to healing a leaky gut. We use them to make sure that all of your food is broken down properly. This way we minimize the number of “unbroken down” particles that could possibly “leak” through your gut, be absorbed and trigger an inflammatory and immune response. You also want to make sure you are giving your “gut” the nutrients it needs to heal (glutamine is the main one), probiotics to replace the good bacteria, anti-oxidants to neutralize toxins and fiber to bind up the toxins while keeping your bowels moving.

Hope that helps!
Dr. Cari

Cheers,
//D

Thank you,
//D