Leaky Gut? Is this a real problem?

[leftyladyfrommo]

I keep hearing about Leaky Gut. I've been looking into gluten free diet and Leaky Gut is mentioned there, too.

Is it really possible for the gut to leak into the rest of your system and cause lots of problems?

[Ian David]

1. There is no such thing as a "leaky gut" in the real world. It's a hoax/quack thing.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-leaky-gut-syndrome.htm

If your gut were REALLY "leaking" you would have sepsis and you'd be in the emergency room.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrointestinal_perforation

[jemsan]

6. Yes, there is such a thing as "leaky gut". It always amazes me

how small-minded some of the du posters can be about certain medical issues that they claim are "hoaxes". I've know I have leaky gut for about 1 1/2 years and have been treating it with a product called Repairvite by Apex Energetics. There is also a definitive blood test from Cyrex Labs in Phoenix that can tell you if you have it and to what degree. They also have new, very accurate tests for gluten intolerance that test for all types of gluten and not just one or two as were previously tested. My leaky gut is MUCH better now but I will probably continue to treat it for another six months, then be retested. Don't listen to naysayers. Just do your own research and see for yourself. Good luck!

[Ian David]

8. I've done some research, and I've found an alternative treatment I think you should try.

Please try this, unless you are closed-minded or something.


Complete Guide Urine Therapy
(Coen Van Der Kroon)

Urine consists of 95% of water, 2.5% of urea and the remaining 2.5% is a mixture of minerals, salts, hormones and enzymes. Only urea , the substance after which urine is named, can be poisonous when present in the blood. However, this is irrelevant in the practice of drinking urine, as urine is not immediately put back in the bloodstream. In small amounts urea gets back into the body, it is purifying, and clears up excess mucus. Urine is entirely sterile after secretion and has an antiseptis effect.

One of the liver's most important functions is detoxification of the blood. The liver removes poisonous substances from the blood and either stores them or secretes them into the gall bladder. In the latter case, the poisonous substances end up as bile in the intestinal canal. They then leave the body in the form of defecation. After the blood is detoxified by the liver, it flows to the kidneys.

The kidney's most important function consists of balancing out all elements in the blood. They remove all superfluous vital substances from the blood, and filter out a surplus of water. This water and the vital substances consequently form urine. In order to save energy and bring the blood into balance, the kidneys remove unused enzymes from the blood. The same goes for hormones, minerals and other substances. It is clear that urine is full of vital elements, which can hardly be called waste products.

Human urine has strengthening and curative characteristics concerning many deficiencies. A mixture of potato and sulphur powder, mixed with heated, old urine helps against hair loss. One should rub this mixture into the scalp; this slows down loss of hair. All kinds of throat inflammation can be helped by gargling with urine to which a bit of saffron has been added. Trembling hands and knees can be helped by washing, and rubbing one's own warm urine into the skin directly after one has urinated. An universal and excellent remedy for all distempers inward and outward. Drink your own water in the morning nine days together and it cures the scurvy, makes the body lightsome and cheerful. It is good against the dropsy and Jaundice, drunk as before. Wash your ears with it warm and it is good against deafness noises and nost other ailments in the ears. Wash your eyes with your own water and it cures sore eyes and clears and strengthens the sight. Wash and rub your hands with it, and it takes away numbness, chaps and sores and makes the joints limber. Wash any green wound with it and it is an extraordinary good thing. Wash any part that itches and it takes the itch away. Wash the fundament and it is good against piles and other sores. More than any other method, urine therapy represents the principles of natural medicine. One's own urine is a specific medicine for anyone who is ill. It is made for him or her personally and is just right for what he or she needs at the present moment, because it changes its composition all the time. It is not only something that cures, but it also sustains health when taken as a preventative. Taken energetically, one could consider urine to be an exact hologram of both healthy as well as diseased body fluids. All information from the body fluids is collected and stared in the urine. One's own urine is the best medicine for the kidneys that we could imagine. It is clear for any hotistic health practitioner that all cycles within the body are interconnected, and this means that the healing of one of those cycles will have a positive effect on the others. Urine was often used at the front, for lack of other medication and as a disinfectant for surgery instruments. A Russia doctor treated many people from far and wide, and was able to alleviate or completely cure illnesses with nothing else than urine therapy, while other methods up until then had failed.

More:
http://www.universal-tao.com/article/urine_therapy.html

[Warpy]

10. What you call "small minded" is what other people call "educated."

Medical education is hard work. It's no wonder relatively few people take it on.

[TheWraith]

13. It amazes me how credulous some DUers can be about hoaxes and quackery.

Case in point, you're being scammed for something that isn't a real medical condition, and any credible doctor would tell you that.

[MineralMan]

14. Apex Energetics is a notorious provider of

homeopathic remedies. Any company that touts homeopathetic remedies should not be trusted with anything. Homeopathy is completely, and unequivocally bogus.

As for the "definitive blood tests" from Cyrex Labs, I'd have to wonder why they have these exclusively. If they were valid tests, I'd think they'd be available everywhere.

I'm sorry, but I'm very skeptical about all of this.

[leftyladyfrommo]

7. That's what I thought, too.

But it seems .lke a lot of people are really buying into this stuff.

[Warpy]

15. You say you are tempted to go gluten free

I would suggest you get the blood test for celiac to rule that out before you do. Celiac can only be diagnosed while you're still eating gluten. Once you stop, the disease process reverses.

I had to go gluten free because of allergy, not celiac. It is a major pain in the ass and I can't imagine doing it unless I'd been forced to, which I was.

Eating gluten is life threatening for true celiac sufferers. It's just a pain in the neck for me, enough of one that I avoid it when I can but itch and wheeze when I'm eating out and can't avoid it without offending the hostess.

[newfie11]

11. agreed

Sepsis would be my thought.

[elleng]

2. Maybe.

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA361058/what-is-leaky-gut.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_gut_syndrome

[Ian David]

5. Even Dr. Weil is skeptical, and he's usually on the front lines of accepting woo-woo.

If he's not completely bought into it yet, then it's gotta be REALLY far "out there."

[cbayer]

3. Let me just say this - if your gut is leaking....

you are in very serious trouble.

[Blue Owl]

4. Uh oh, Dubya's thinking organ is leaking again

n/t

[Warpy]

9. The only people who have this are people with underlying pathology

like ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and celiac sprue, all of which are characterized by degradation of the walls of the gut and/or ulceration. People without these conditions, all of which must be diagnosed by a real doctor instead of any "alternative medicine practitioner," are being scammed by quacks.

Quacks will cite this made up syndrome to explain everything from halitosis to losing at the slots and they're all very willing to sell you diet plans and bottles of pills.

[mysuzuki2]

12. My gut leaks from its distal end at least once a day, especially

just after I eat a large meal. It's been happening all my life. Should I be concerned?

[bemildred]

16. Babble. Expensive babble. nt

[LeftishBrit]

18. It's possible - but if it happens, you'll be in the intensive care unit in hospital

The bowel can perforate, and therefore leak. But this is not something that you''ll be walking around with!

ETA: Some people do benefit from a gluten free diet, and those who have celiac disease seriously need to follow such a diet. But it has nothing to do with leakage!

[uppityperson]

21. Thank you. Best answer here.

[Celebration]

19. it sounds like a vernacular term

which is why you get all the skepticism here. Wikipedia has a pretty good explanation of what it involves.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_gut

The "tight junctions" are compromised in "leaky gut" due to mucosal barrier being compromised.

I'm not sure why people are joking about it.

[Odin2005]

20. It's complete BS woo-woo.

As mentioned above, even Andrew Weil, the king of health woo, is skeptical of it.

It's usually spouted by the EXACT same idiots who think vaccines made their kids autistic.