Can Leaky Gut Syndrome Cause Weight Gain?

Weight loss resistance can make all your efforts feel futile when the belly remains extended. Most health professionals may tell you to try some medication, supplement, or a particular diet. They hardly ever address digestion.

Does this Sound Familiar?

• You’ve tried every diet to lose weight with little to no success
• You suffer from bloating, inflammation, constipation, or acid reflux?
• You feel tired all the time and some days you can hardly get out of bed
• Your joints hurt and you get headaches regularly
• Your latest blood test shows an increase in your glucose

There’s a tangible and specific cause for all these symptoms. Changing your diet is one piece of the puzzle, but it’s not the whole solution. The root cause is in the gut. It’s possible you have small-intestinal bacteria overgrowth (SIBO), or an imbalance in your gut-flora called “dysbiosis.” You may also have IBS (inflammatory Bowel Syndrome.) Gut health should be addressed first.

Leaky gut syndrome results from damage done to the gut lining from SIBO, food allergies, or other injury to intestinal lining.  When dealing with  leaky gut syndrome, infections and inflammation can cause a wide variety of symptoms that often fool health professionals into thinking they’re dealing with diabetes or auto-immune disease. They may prescribe medications that miss the true cause of your discomfort and often can make your symptoms worse. When you take medication, your liver has to work harder and needs nutrients to dispose of the drug residues (detoxification). Overtime, you can become depleted of vitamin B complex, zinc, magnesium and your need for antioxidants will be even higher. The result is chronic fatigue, difficulty sleeping, joint pain, headaches, and other symptoms you may not feel or see.

What is Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Leaky gut is when the lining of the intestines (a surface covering about 4000 sq. feet) has holes in it and food particles that are normally broken down at the brush border by enzymes, end up slipping whole through the damaged intestinal wall. Bacteria can also go through these spaces and reach the bloodstream. This leads to inflammation, allergies, and many other aches and pains that some people just learn to live with.

The MicroRiche™ Solution to Heal Leaky Gut

Along with an anti-inflammatory diet, the patient also needs to supplement with vitamins, minerals, and amino acids such as L-glutamine, tryptophan, and glycine to repair the gut lining. It’s not enough to remove the offending foods or to eliminate the bad bacteria, we also need the repair phase which includes the aforementioned nutrients, fiber, and probiotics. This is known as the 4Rs:

• Remove foods that irritate the GI or cause allergies
• Replace with soothing foods, digestive enzymes, and fiber
• Reinoculate with probiotics to rebuild the intestinal flora
• Repair the mucosa for healthy barrier for permeability and defense against pathogens

Claire, a 50 year old accountant, had been suffering from digestive problems for years. She called me when her doctor diagnosed her with Type 2 diabetes. Her belly was so swollen, she said strangers asked her when she was due. Her health deteriorated so much, she was too tired to even walk her dog.

The first thing I noticed about Claire was how swollen and hard her belly was. This is typical of an unhealthy digestive system. Even her fingers looked like hotdogs. She felt foggy and had difficulty concentrating at work. Regardless of how much sleep she got or how well she ate, she kept feeling worse. I ran a stool test and an organic acid test which revealed the presence of SIBO and leaky gut syndrome. These problems always interfere with nutrients absorption and as expected, the test showed deficiencies in most essential nutrients.

I started Claire on botanical supplements to treat SIBO and I adjusted her diet to feed the gut flora to restore balance and prevent a SIBO recurrence. She followed a nutrition plan to address the deficiencies, restore the gut lining, and lower the glucose all at the same time.

Do you suffer from leaky gut syndrome? Tell us about it.

This is what Claire had to say:

“I never thought I would have a normal belly again. I went from size 10 to size 8 in just 3 months. My energy level is up. I no longer have bad breath which is such a relief when I stand next to my colleagues. I now feel energized after eating instead of lethargic. I no longer have constipation or gas. Instead, I go to the bathroom like a normal person. I know I still have a long road ahead of me but I feel so much better that I am motivated to do whatever my nutritionist recommends. She’s been right so far!”

Our clients are more than happy to talk to you about their experience. If you still need more convincing, give us a call, and will put you in touch with them.