Leaky Gut Warning Signs: What You Need To Know

by Eric Bakker N.D.

There is a ton of science the supports the existence of leaky gut syndrome. Despite the research that supports the presence of leaky gut, there are still people who call the condition “completely fictitious.”

One study that I looked at reported that most autoimmune diseases have their genesis in leaky gut.

I’ve completed well over a 1000 intestinal permeability tests. It’s amazing how many people have a leaky gut.

Leaky gut is most commonly caused by stress, diet, and medications. Proton pump inhibitors and antibiotics are two of the drugs commonly associated with increased intestinal permeability. It’s important to recognize if you have leaky gut or not. The following are ten warning signs that your intestinal permeability is a problem:

1. Problem with your bowel: Gas, bloating, constipation, and diarrhea are commonly the result of abnormal intestinal permeability. If you don’t have one to two good motions per day (10-12 inches of stool per day), there is a chance that your gut is leaky.

2. Poor immune system function throughout the body: A large proportion of the immune system resides in the small intestine. The first three inches of the small bowel holds 60 to 70 percent of the body’s immune function. If you have a leaky small bowel, there is a significant chance you have a dysfunctional immune system. You will be more susceptible to Candida overgrowth, bacterial overgrowth, and a parasite problem. This can present in many ways.

3. Headaches, aches and pains, brain fog, and impaired memory: When you have a lot of these problems, it could very well be related to your small bowel. I have had a lot of clients who have had their brain fog go away after recovery from their leaky gut.

I’ve also seen a big link between lack of bifidobacteria in the colon and “brain fog.”

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4. Nutritional deficiencies. It stands to reason that if you have a leaky gut and are not digesting and absorbing nutrients properly, you are going to have a problem with your health. Often this will lead to symptoms such as fatigue. Your cells become starved. You leak tiny fragments of food rather than digesting them if you have an intestine that is too porous.

5. Fatigue: Tiredness is a very common symptom of intestinal permeability. Tiredness can also reflect a hormone problem, such as thyroid deficiency or cortisol deficiency. Anemia can also cause fatigue. If you have daily fatigue, it needs checking out.

6. Skin rashes such as eczema, acne, and rosacea: I’ve seen skin repair beautifully when a leaky gut has been healed. When the Candida is dealt with, and the bowel is functioning well again, the nutrition needed for good skin becomes available.

7. Cravings, most commonly for sugar: If your body is tired and not getting the fuel it needs, you’ll find yourself craving ice cream, pop, and candies.

8. Joint pains and arthritis: This is due to toxic build up around the joints. Also, the joint cells aren’t provided the nutrients they need to stay healthy if you have a leaky gut.

9. Anxiety and depression: The small intestine is very much linked to mood and anxiety. The small intestine is involved in the production of neurotransmitters. I believe that the psychiatrist of the future will be a gut expert. There is a critical connection between mood and leaky gut.

10. Autoimmune syndromes: This is the most common symptom of leaky gut that we see in our clinic. Autoimmune disorders are very much associated with intestinal permeability. Many patients who have serious autoimmune problems, had a leaky gut for years that was never addressed.

If you have several of the above symptoms, further investigation is warranted. If you have a leaky gut, you will want to identify it as soon as possible so the healing can begin.

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About Eric Bakker N.D.

Eric Bakker ND has completed almost ten years of study and has almost almost 25 years of clinical experience in natural and integrative forms of medicine, and has pursued continuous post-graduate study in Australia, America, India as well as in New Zealand.

Eric is the past Vice President of the NZ Natural Medicine Association and is currently on their editorial advisory board.