Did you know that tucked neatly inside your tummy, you have over 4,000 square feet of intestinal lining? This maze of complex lining that covers the innermost surface of your intestines has a tricky job – to keep waste and toxins sealed up tight while still allowing essential nutrients to pass through and enter your bloodstream.
But sometimes, this delicate balance of blocking and allowing gets thrown out of whack – compromising the integrity of this crucial barrier in a condition known as leaky gut syndrome. Today we’re going to explore exactly what leaky gut syndrome is, the symptoms associated with a disruption in your gut lining, what causes this complex condition, and most importantly – what steps you can take to begin healing if you’re grappling with a leaky gut.
Leaky Gut Syndrome Defined
Leaky gut syndrome is also sometimes referred to as increased intestinal permeability. You see, your gut is designed to act as a highly selective barrier that keeps waste and toxins sealed up tightly in your intestines while selectively allowing nutrients to pass through the barrier and into your bloodstream. This ability to selectively allow substances to penetrate or pass through is known as your gut’s “permeability” and is regulated by proteins known as tight junctions.1
These tight junctions are tiny proteins that adhere to the cells that line your intestines – creating a seal or joint between two cells to prevent leakage. But when these tight junctions are compromised, the tiny gaps that allow nutrients to selectively pass through grow larger and larger – until eventually tiny particles never meant to enter your bloodstream start squeezing their way through.
This increased permeability and “leakage” of materials through your gut wall are why this condition has been dubbed “leaky gut syndrome”. And this seepage of waste and toxins into your bloodstream can have some serious consequences for your health.
What Are the Symptoms of Leaky Gut Syndrome?
Since leaky gut syndrome stems from your gut, many symptoms manifest in the form of digestive issues such as:2
- Inflammatory bowel diseases like ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease
- Celiac disease
- Food intolerances or sensitivities
- Frequent digestive disturbances like diarrhea, constipation, bloating, gas, etc.
- Gastric ulcers
But because your gut is intricately intertwined with other body systems – like your immune system and your hormones – leaky gut syndrome can also manifest in some less obvious ways. Some conditions that can often be traced back, at least in part, to leaky gut syndrome include:3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11
- Allergies
- Asthma
- Chronic heart failure
- Inflammatory skin conditions
- Obesity, weight gain, or difficulty losing weight
- Mood issues including depression, anxiety, mood swings, fatigue, irritability, and more
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Thyroid problems
- Metabolic conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease
- Autoimmune disorders like Type 1 diabetes, Hashimoto’s, and psoriasis
So as you can see, a disruption of your tight junctions and your intestinal barrier function is no small matter. Now that you have an understanding of the serious domino effect that leaky gut syndrome can have on your health, let’s dive a little deeper into what exactly causes this tight junction malfunction in the first place. Research is finding it might boil down to a tiny molecule known as zonulin.
What Is Zonulin?
Recent research has found that nutrients don’t simply pass through your intestinal barrier haphazardly. Rather, the tight junctions that seal up your intestines are tightly regulated by a specific signaling molecule known as zonulin. Zonulin is a protein secreted by your own intestinal cells that communicate with your tight junctions – signaling them to “relax” and become more permeable to allow molecules to pass out of your intestines and into your bloodstream.12
This system is designed to work in a delicate balance – with just enough zonulin being released to allow appropriate nutrients and molecules to be absorbed into the bloodstream. But sometimes, this delicate balance can get thrown out of whack.
The Link Between Zonulin and Leaky Gut: Does Zonulin Cause Leaky Gut?
In some cases, your cells can inadvertently begin secreting far too much zonulin. This influx of zonulin causes your tight junctions to open up too much – subsequently allowing a flood of unwanted substances to leak into your bloodstream. So what exactly causes your cells to begin overproducing zonulin in the first place?
Research has found there are a number of things that can trigger your cells to go into overproduction mode and begin secreting elevated levels of zonulin. Some of these triggers include:13,14
- Dysbiosis or bacterial overgrowth: Your gut microbiome is a delicate ecosystem of microbes that live in harmony with your own cells. If this fragile ecosystem is thrown off balance and harmful pathogens begin to overpopulate your gut, they can release toxins that then activate your own cells to increase zonulin production.
- Exposure to gluten and other gut-irritating foods: Exposure to the protein gluten found in grains like wheat, barley, and rye has been found to be a potent inducer of zonulin secretion.
- Immune-mediated conditions: Underlying conditions that activate the immune response – like allergies, autoimmunity, and inflammatory conditions can impair intestinal barrier function and stimulate increased production of zonulin. This creates a vicious cycle of inflammation that further increases gut permeability, which furthers inflammation, and so on and so forth.
So the answer to the question, does zonulin cause leaky gut is – yes and no. Healthy, balanced levels of zonulin are crucial for a well-functioning gut and proper nutrient absorption. But an overflow of this important protein can do more harm than good and directly impair gut permeability and lead to leaky gut syndrome.
This discovery of zonulin’s pivotal role in modulating gut permeability has opened the door to some exciting treatment options when it comes to addressing leaky gut syndrome.
Leaky Gut Treatment: How Do I Lower My Zonulin Levels?
Research has found that certain medications may be useful in lowering zonulin production to facilitate healing in leaky gut. In particular, studies have found the following medications to show potentially promising results when it comes to lowering zonulin levels:
Berberine
Berberine is an herbal plant extract that has been well-documented to have a wide variety of benefits – serving as a potent antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and cholesterol-lowering compound. But as it turns out, this herbal extract may also be able to help lower zonulin levels and remedy leaky gut syndrome.
Studies have found that berberine can decrease the expression of tight junction protein signaling molecules (like zonulin), decrease intestinal permeability, and reverse tight junction barrier dysfunction.15
Larazotide
Larazotide is an amino acid peptide that acts as a zonulin inhibitor – essentially blocking the release and action of zonulin. By inhibiting zonulin, larazotide prevents the breakdown of tight junctions, aids in restoring intestinal barrier function, and limits the movement of molecules through the intestinal wall.16 Unfortunately this drug is still in clinical trials and not yet FDA approved to treat celiac or other conditions related to leaky gut and zonulin.
While these interventions certainly show significant promise in the treatment of leaky gut syndrome, truly treating this complex condition requires much more than a round of these zonulin-reducing compounds.
How Else Can I Address Leaky Gut Syndrome? Heal Leaky Gut Naturally
Healing the underlying root causes that are driving leaky gut syndrome in the first place requires a big-picture approach. Here’s what I recommend:
- Eliminate gut-irritating foods: Certain foods like gluten, conventional dairy, seed oils, artificial sweeteners, and refined sugars can spike inflammation and impair your gut integrity. While you don’t have to eliminate these foods forever, it can be immensely helpful to entirely eliminate them as you try to heal and include them sparingly moving forward.
- Incorporate gut-healing supplements: It can be helpful to up your intake of nutrients and compounds your gut needs to rebuild and rejuvenate your intestinal barrier. Supplements like Collagen Boost and Gut Shield and Gut Calm powder can help speed up recovery and give your gut the boost it needs to repair itself.
- Correct gut dysbiosis: Your microbiome plays a critical role in your intestinal permeability. Help correct any dysbiosis and support a thriving, diverse ecosystem of beneficial microbes by reinoculating your gut with friendly bacteria like those found in my Probiotic Daily Essentials and in my Spore Probiotic Plus IgG.
- Minimize inflammation: Things like an elevated toxic burden, sleep deprivation, chronic stress, and nutrient deficiencies can all drive inflammation. And chronic, low-level inflammation can make healing the gut an uphill battle. Taking steps to minimize inflammation from every angle can go a long way in restoring your gut health.
While all of these steps are certainly a great place to start, because of the often complex nature of leaky gut syndrome, it can also be highly beneficial to partner with an experienced Integrative and Functional Medicine Practitioner. They can help identify all of the underlying factors that may be contributing to your gut imbalance and any symptoms you're experiencing. And from there, they’ll help you come up with a comprehensive plan to begin healing from the inside out.
Are You Concerned About Leaky Gut Syndrome?
If you’re concerned that you might be grappling with symptoms linked to leaky gut syndrome and are looking to dive deeper in how you can heal your digestive system and support a healthy, balanced gut, I’ve got tons of free resources available on my blog and YouTube channel. And I’m regularly releasing new content to keep you up to date on the latest research – so be sure to subscribe to my email list by entering your name and email address in the form at the bottom of this page to stay in the loop.
Leaky gut syndrome is a complex condition that can have a ripple effect – impacting just about every facet of your health. Because this condition is complex and treatment often requires a variety of lifestyle tweaks, I cannot overemphasize the importance of working with an Integrative and Functional Medicine Practitioner. Their guidance can help shortcut your path to recovery. And even more so, their support can be invaluable when things feel frustrating or hopeless along the complicated and sometimes arduous path to healing.
I know firsthand how bleak and disheartening it can feel to deal with complex diagnoses that are not always well understood by family, friends, or even conventional medical professionals. So if you’re currently in the midst of a challenging diagnosis or are searching for an explanation for your persistent symptoms and are feeling lost or alone, I encourage you to read my upcoming book Unexpected: Finding Resilience Through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith.
I have poured my heart and soul into this book to give you not only practical, real-life tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way as a Functional Medicine Doctor, but also a glimpse into my own personal journey with a plethora of health obstacles and life lessons. My hope is that this book will help you feel a little less alone, inspire you to continue fighting for and creating the life you envision, and empower you with tools to feel your very best. Click here to learn more and claim your exclusive pre-order bonuses today!
Has there ever been a time in your life when you’ve felt alone or unsure where to turn for answers?
In Unexpected: Finding Resilience through Functional Medicine, Science, and Faith, Dr. Jill Carnahan shares her story of facing life-altering illness, fighting for her health, and overcoming sickness using both science and faith so that others can learn to live their own transformative stories.
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Resources:
- Regulation of Tight Junction Permeability by Intestinal Bacteria and Dietary Components | The Journal of Nutrition | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
- Table – PMC (nih.gov)
- Gut permeability and food allergies – PubMed (nih.gov)
- High prevalence of abnormal gastrointestinal permeability in moderate-severe asthma – PubMed (nih.gov)
- The emerging role of the gut in chronic heart failure – PubMed (nih.gov)
- MICROBIOTA AND GUT-LIVER AXIS: A MINI-REVIEW ON THEIR INFLUENCES ON OBESITY AND OBESITY RELATED LIVER DISEASE (nih.gov)
- The gut-brain barrier in major depression: intestinal mucosal dysfunction with an increased translocation of LPS from gram negative enterobacteria (leaky gut) plays a role in the inflammatory pathophysiology of depression – PubMed (nih.gov)
- The gut-brain barrier in major depression: intestinal mucosal dysfunction with an increased translocation of LPS from gram negative enterobacteria (leaky gut) plays a role in the inflammatory pathophysiology of depression – PubMed (nih.gov)
- Normalization of leaky gut in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is accompanied by a clinical improvement: effects of age, duration of illness and the translocation of LPS from gram-negative bacteria – PubMed (nih.gov)
- Intestinal permeability – a new target for disease prevention and therapy | BMC Gastroenterology | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)
- The “Perfect Storm” for Type 1 Diabetes (nih.gov)
- Intestinal Permeability and its Regulation by Zonulin: Diagnostic and Therapeutic Implications (nih.gov)
- Zonulin and Its Regulation of Intestinal Barrier Function: The Biological Door to Inflammation, Autoimmunity, and Cancer | Physiological Reviews (physiology.org)
- All disease begins in the (leaky) gut: role of zonulin-mediated gut permeability in the pathogenesis of some chronic inflammatory diseases (nih.gov)
- Berberine Ameliorates Intestinal Epithelial Tight-Junction Damage and Down-regulates Myosin Light Chain Kinase Pathways in a Mouse Model of Endotoxinemia | The Journal of Infectious Diseases | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
- Zonulin Antagonist, Larazotide (AT1001), As an Adjuvant Treatment for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children: A Case Series – PubMed (nih.gov)
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The product mentioned in this article are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information in this article is not intended to replace any recommendations or relationship with your physician. Please review references sited at end of article for scientific support of any claims made.
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