Leaky Gut Syndrome:
Leaky Gut Syndrome is a newly diagnosed pathology characterized by the fact that patients may present headache, tiredness, diarrhea, abdominal swelling, food intolerance, difficulty losing weight, joint pain, nervous system disorders, depressive symptoms, without an apparent cause. As it presents such a non-specific clinical picture, it is a pathology that is difficult to diagnose.
Leaky Gut Syndrome is an alteration of the small intestine wall that causes substances and microorganisms to pass this barrier and reach the bloodstream.
In a healthy person, the mucosa of the small intestine has an extended surface area of between 400 and 600 square meters. It is the largest protective barrier of the human body with the outside, placing the skin in second place. Unlike the skin, which has several layers, the intestinal mucosa only has a protective layer, the so-called enterocytes.
This protective layer of the intestinal mucosa is covered by a protective mucus where there is first a layer of bacteria (the microbiota) and below it a layer of immunoglobulins A, which serve as protection and defense. The enterocytes are linked to each other by intercellular junctions that are selective proteins that selectively allow the passage of nutrients between two enterocytes, not allowing molecules with a size greater than 50 Armstrong to pass through. There are nutrients and minerals that can pass through the enterocytes. They are the transit routes of transcellular or paracellular substances and select what passes and what does not enter the bloodstream. If there is something that affects these junctions or enterocytes, undesirable substances such as heavy metals, toxins, bacteria, viruses and food additives, can pass into the bloodstream. Depending on the system to which these undesirable substances have reached (nervous, hormonal, immune, joint, etc.) the patient may suffer different symptoms.
One of the causes of the intestine becoming permeable is the stress of modern life, which causes inflammation in the intestinal mucosa. This stress can cause lowered defenses, poor diet, lack of sleep, etc. Although among the causes of permeability there are also pathologies of the intestinal wall, such as ulcers, Celiac Disease, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, gastritis, food intolerances, and irritable bowel, among others.