Want to learn how to cure a leaky gut? Are you ready to start feeling better and have your painful, leaky gut be a thing of the past? Well, you are in the right place!
Here you will learn the absolute BEST tips on How to Help Cure a Leaky Gut, from someone who has experienced it first-hand! Having an unbalanced, leaky gut is the worst! I suffered for YEARS with having leaky gut symptoms and not knowing what was wrong.
When I was in my early twenties, I began experiencing intense abdominal pain and bloating after nearly every meal. I suffered from fatigue and brain fog that made it difficult to focus at work. After years of painful digestion issues and no real answers, I finally decided to see a gut health nutritionist. I was diagnosed with a leaky gut syndrome caused by stress, poor diet, and overuse of NSAIDs for my headaches.
When I consulted a gut health specialist and discovered the 4 Rs of naturally healing my gut, is when I FINALLY saw results.
So, let's make this YOUR year to finally move past your digestive troubles and cure that aggravated, leaky gut of yours. Follow these easy steps in How to Cure a Leaky Gut and be on your way to better digestion and (hopefully) less pain.
Here you will learn about the best ways to help heal a leaky gut. We will talk about anything from a removing potential irritants, eating more nutrient-rich foods, taking digestive supplements, and so much more!
After learning about all of the ways how to heal a leaky gut, you'll soon be on your way to getting the digestion that you'll love...and deserve!
This post is all about "How to Cure a Leaky Gut".
Key Takeaways:
A leaky gut, also called intestinal permeability, is when tight junctions between intestinal cells loosen, allowing bacteria, toxins, and undigested food to leak into the bloodstream. This can lead to inflammation, food sensitivities, and autoimmune issues.
Some causes of a leaky gut include stress, infections, certain medications, inflammatory foods, and chronic diseases like IBD or celiac. Identifying and modifying lifestyle factors contributing to intestinal damage is an important first step.
Ways to help heal your leaky gut include: 1) removing gut irritants like pathogens, processed foods, and sugar from your diet 2) eating a nutrient-rich, anti-inflammatory diet 3) taking supplements like probiotics, digestive enzymes, L-glutamine 4) seeing a functional gut health specialist to customize a gut healing plan.
Key leaky gut supplements aid the repair process by restoring beneficial flora balance, providing missing nutrients for cell regeneration, and directly healing the intestinal lining. Dietary changes reduce triggers and optimize the environment for gut lining recovery.
Implementing lifestyle changes such as regular low-impact exercises, proper hydration, mindful eating, and daily meditation can significantly aid in healing leaky gut syndrome. These practices are as important as dietary changes and taking the right supplements for a holistic approach to gut health.
What Is Leaky Gut Syndrome?
If you suffer from a leaky gut, you're not alone. It's estimated that between 80-90% of people have some form of intestinal permeability—the technical term for a leaky gut syndrome. Crazy, right?
Not sure if your digestive system is leaking? Read on to learn about symptoms and solutions and find out more about how to cure a leaky gut.
The gut, or bowel, is the part of your digestive system that takes in nutrients and breaks them down so they can be absorbed into your bloodstream. It's also where your immune system begins. And a healthy gut is essential for good health.
When your gut isn't working properly, it can lead to a condition called leaky gut syndrome (LGS). This is when the lining of the intestines becomes damaged and starts to allow bacteria and toxins into the bloodstream.
Leaky gut syndrome can cause several symptoms, including bloating and gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and constipation. It may also lead to food sensitivities and autoimmune conditions such as eczema or psoriasis.
Symptoms of a Leaky Gut
A leaky Gut can trigger a variety of symptoms including:
Food sensitivities or intolerances
Allergies
Autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Chronic fatigue syndrome/fibromyalgia
Brain fog and memory loss
Skin issues like eczema and psoriasis
What Causes Leaky Gut Syndrome?
A variety of factors can contribute to the development of leaky gut syndrome. Understanding what causes damage to your intestinal lining is an important first step to healing it.
Leaky gut syndrome happens when tight junctions between cells in the gut wall are loosening, allowing bacteria, toxins, and undigested food particles to leak out into the bloodstream, resulting in an overgrowth of bad bacteria in your intestines.
These microbes produce toxic substances that irritate and inflame the lining of your digestive tract. This triggers widespread inflammation and autoimmune issues.
Four of the main culprits that create the perfect storm for leaky gut syndrome:
Chronic stress
Infections
Medications
Inflammatory foods
Chronic inflammation (due to diseases such as IBD and celiac disease)
Identifying and modifying key lifestyle habits plays a pivotal role in sealing a leaky gut for optimal health.
(My recommended) 4 Easy Steps in How to Cure a Leaky Gut
Step 1: Remove Irritants
The first critical step to healing a leaky gut is removing gut-disturbing pathogens, inflammatory processed foods, and excess sugar from your diet.
Why is this so important? Well, these elements can cause intestinal permeability, alter gut flora balance, and keep the gut wall from properly healing.
Pathogens like yeasts, parasites, bacteria, and viruses directly damage the intestinal lining leading to increased permeability. Sugary and processed foods feed pathogens allowing them to proliferate. They also create an inflammatory internal reaction.
Eliminating pathogens means avoiding contaminated water and undercooked meat (or even sushi) which may contain bacteria, viruses, or parasites. Removing yeast and fungi overgrowth comes from cutting out carbs and sugar they feed on.
Most people are also surprised to learn that sugar can strongly contribute to a leaky gut. The reason for this is that sugar can damage the intestinal wall, creating tiny holes in it called micro-tears. These micro-tears allow bacteria, viruses, and toxins to leak out of the intestines and into your bloodstream. It also causes an immune response which is what makes you feel sick after eating sugar.
Processed foods are another major cause of leaky gut because they contain an abundance of processed sugars, chemicals, and preservatives that damage the intestinal wall and lead to inflammation in the body.
When removing these things from your diet, it's important to replace them with healthy alternatives such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds so you don't feel deprived while healing your gut!
Step 2. Eat More Nutrient-Rich Foods
After removing gut-disturbing foods, the next step is replacing them with a gut-health diet that is nutrient and fiber-rich whole foods to reduce intestinal inflammation and promote healing. Eating more produce, herbs, spices, bone broth, healthy fats, and fermented probiotics nurtures gut lining integrity.
Foods rich in antioxidants like deeply colored vegetables help quell inflammation from leaky gut-induced reactions. Cruciferous vegetables, berries, citrus, leafy greens, and herbs like turmeric contain high antioxidant levels to soothe irritation.
A clean diet with high-quality protein and healthy fats also repairs enterocytes while supporting nutritional status. Wild-caught fish, pasture-raised poultry and eggs, nuts, seeds, coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado aid this process.
Fermented foods rich in probiotics like kimchi, sauerkraut, kefir, and kombucha help restore beneficial flora destroyed by pathogens and processed foods. They crowd out bad bacteria, strengthening gut immunity and intestinal cell connections.
Eating more real, whole foods directly gives your gut enterocytes the vital nutrients they need to maintain barrier function during leaky gut healing. Reduce irritation and inflammation while optimizing the repair process with a micronutrient-rich leaky gut diet.
Step 3. Take Digestive Supplements
While dietary changes build a gut-healing foundation, strategic supplements can accelerate the leaky gut-healing process. Some key supplements to integrate include digestive enzymes, probiotics, L-glutamine, and zinc carnosine.
Digestive Enzymes
A digestive enzyme supplement is a great way to start healing your gut and improving your digestion.
My absolute favorite digestive enzymes are the TriEnza Enzyme for Digestive Intolerances.
Digestive enzymes help your body break down food, which is especially important if you're having trouble digesting foods that are difficult for you to process. If you eat meat, taking a digestive enzyme will help your body digest it more easily by breaking down the protein in it.
This can be especially helpful if you have an inflamed intestinal lining or leaky gut syndrome because it can reduce the inflammation in your gut and improve how well the nutrients from your food are absorbed into your bloodstream.
Probiotics
Probiotics are another important step in helping with leaky gut syndrome because they're beneficial bacteria that live inside our bodies and help fight infections, boost immunity, and promote healthy digestion.
They do this by supporting the growth of good bacteria while killing off any bad bacteria that might be causing an infection or other problems.
When there's an imbalance of good vs bad bacteria in our bodies (which is what happens when you have leaky gut), probiotics can help restore balance.
This exact MEGA Sporebiotic is a spore probiotic that I would highly recommend. I am very partial to spore probiotics because they are generally more resistant to your stomach acid. Meaning they are able to deliver more of the nutrients to your intestines (versus getting destroyed by the acid in your stomach).
L-Glutamine
L-glutamine is an amino acid that's naturally produced by your body — it's found in every cell of your body, including your intestines and colon. Glutamine helps repair damaged cells and tissues, boosts immunity, and maintains good digestive health.
When I was pregnant and having major digestive issues, this was my go-to L-Glutamine powder. It was recommended to me by my doctor and I very much second her recommendation.
You can generally get L-Glutamine in various forms such as powder, capsule or liquid. From the research that I've done, it seems like the powder form is the way to go as it is supposed to absorb better and have less additives than capsules.
Zinc Carnosine
Zinc carnosine and L-glutamine are both very effective for healing a leaky gut. These two ingredients work together to repair the lining of the intestines and restore normal digestion.
Zinc carnosine is an amino acid found in high concentrations in the small intestine. It helps regulate intestinal permeability by reducing inflammation and repairing intestinal tissues. It also heals small wounds caused by ulcers, bruises, and burns.
Taking zinc carnosine supplements along with probiotics may help reduce stomach pain caused by leaky gut syndrome.
I really love the Seeking Health brand and would recommend this zinc carnosine product to help restore your gut health.
Step 4: See a Gut Health Specialist
The last and probably most important step is to see a functional gut health specialist.
While making diet and lifestyle changes provides the basics for healing leaky gut, there are definitely some advantages to seeing a gut health specialist.
First of all, they can run labs to analyze your microbiome balance, and intestinal cell health, and check for hidden infections. This testing reveals underlying causes specific to your condition for precise treatment.
They can also make personalized recommendations based on your microbiome and identified root cause triggers.
A specialist will also closely analyze your symptoms and medical history to determine a customized protocol for your leaky gut that targets any found pathogens, repairs specific nutrient deficiencies, identifies accurate supplement dosing, and fine-tunes your dietary changes for optimal impact.
Consulting a practitioner experienced in healing complex digestive issues provides invaluable guidance as you navigate dietary protocols, supplement regimens, stress reduction techniques, and gut-supportive habits.
More Tips for Improving Gut Health
So you've tried removing gut irritants and taking supplements, but you're still looking for that extra boost to improve your gut health?
We have put together a few more tips that will help you nourish your gut from the inside out.
Mindful Eating
Cultivating mindfulness around how, when, why, and what you eat can have profound benefits for healing leaky gut. When we eat while distracted, stressed, or on the run, digestion suffers. But mindful eating strengthens the gut-brain connection allowing us to tune into hunger cues, chew thoroughly, pair foods properly, and detect triggers.
A few simple mindful eating tips:
Eat without multi-tasking - avoid eating in the car or while working on your computer
Chew each bite thoroughly - around 20 chews helps signal fullness
Check in before, halfway through, and after meals about true hunger levels
Pause before getting second helpings even if delicious
Notice how specific foods physically make you feel – energy, pain, bloating?
Tuning into these elements and your body’s feedback cultivates intuitive eating to support gut healing. Additionally, by staying connected to your food and the act of eating, you naturally reduce consumption of inflammatory items that can exacerbate intestinal permeability. The simple ritual of eating mindfully empowers you to make choices aligned with curing your leaky gut.
Exercise
Regular exercise reduces stress, boosts mood, and supports gut health making it pivotal when healing a leaky gut. However, intense workouts requiring extreme exertion can actually irritate an already aggravated digestive system. Focusing on low-impact activities allows you to gain benefits without gut irritation.
Great leaky gut-friendly workouts include:
Walking - Simple and restorative, aim for 30-60 minutes daily at a brisk pace. The motion gently supports the intestines.
Yoga - Gentle flowing sequences, twists, and simple stretches help reduce inflammation and stress.
Pilates - Controlled core work improves posture and alignment easing GI pressure points.
Swimming - Low-impact laps incorporate cardio while supporting joints.
Hydration
Proper hydration is vital when treating issues like leaky gut syndrome. Water helps transport nutrients, remove waste, keep bowels moving, and aids overall digestive health. Make clean, filtered water your primary beverage aiming for at least eight 8-ounce glasses daily.
Tips for staying hydrated:
Always start your day with a large glass of lukewarm lemon water to stimulate digestion
Carry a BPA-free water bottle with you throughout the day for easy sipping
Opt for herbal teas like ginger, peppermint, or chamomile between meals
Eat water-rich foods like cucumber, berries, grapefruit, and lettuce
Adequate water intake keeps the gut environment balanced preventing constipation and diarrhea which further irritate the intestinal lining. Assisting the body in efficient waste removal also decreases toxin accumulation that could perpetuate inflammation.
Make tracking and increasing your daily water intake a priority. Proper hydration energizes cells, transports healing nutrients, flushes bacteria, and aids every body system making it an invaluable part of your leaky gut treatment plan.
Meditation
Since chronic stress strongly contributes to developing intestinal permeability, reducing overwhelm through meditation significantly aids gut healing. Daily mindfulness practice decreases inflammation, balances nervous system responses, and cultivates embodiment.
Benefits of meditation include:
Lowers cortisol and stimulates vagus nerve to engage the parasympathetic relaxation response
Shifts brain activity boosting emotional resilience and impulse control
Increases intestinal motility and healthy movement supporting microbial balance
Promotes acceptance, perspective, and inner calm amidst digestive discomfort
Approach meditation by:
Starting small with 5-10 minutes daily
Choosing guided meditations on apps to ease beginners
Focusing on deep belly breaths or mantras repeating "heal”
Regular meditation provides space to process stress and tensions that impact gut health. By rewiring neural pathways, it empowers more mindful responses that reduce anxiety and overreactions over time. Set yourself up for gut healing success by making mindfulness a fixture of your wellness routine.
Summary
Following these gut healing steps can help those suffering from intestinal hyper-permeability and leaky gut-related symptoms find relief.
Identifying and removing factors that damage the gut barrier allows it to properly seal and recover. Strategically chosen supplements provide the raw materials for regenerating intestinal cells and restoring their ideal state. Eating nutrient-dense whole foods reduces inflammation and optimizes the environment for healing. And consulting a functional medicine practitioner experienced in complex digestive issues makes developing a custom gut healing protocol possible.
Committing to digestive wellness through all of these suggestions should give you a plan to help cure a leaky gut and recapture your whole-body health.
Lastly, the role of lifestyle modifications, such as regular, low-impact exercises, sufficient hydration, mindful eating, and daily meditation practices cannot be overstated. These habits, coupled with dietary modifications and the right supplements, embody a holistic approach to achieving optimal gut health.
By following these four steps we hope that your symptoms will start to ease and your body will begin to heal from within.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the most common symptoms of a leaky gut?
Some of the most common leaky gut symptoms include food sensitivities, allergies, autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus, IBS, chronic fatigue, skin issues like eczema, and brain fog. If you suffer from multiple unexplained symptoms, intestinal permeability may be the culprit.
What lifestyle factors contribute most to developing leaky gut syndrome?
Leading causes of leaky gut include chronic stress, infections, overuse of NSAIDs or other medications, a diet high in inflammatory foods like sugar, gluten, and dairy, and chronic inflammatory illnesses. Tackling factors like stress, diet, and gut infections are key to sealing a leaky gut.
What supplements are most beneficial for healing leaky gut?
Helpful leaky gut supplements provide missing nutrients for intestinal repair and sealing like L-glutamine, balance good gut flora with probiotics, improve digestion with enzymes, and directly heal the gut lining with zinc carnosine. A strategic supplement protocol can accelerate the healing, and it's always best to consult a gut health specialist to get the best, most accurate protocol.
Is there a special diet recommended for curing leaky gut?
Yes, following an anti-inflammatory, gut-friendly diet is vital. It should emphasize whole, nutrient-dense foods while eliminating irritants like sugar, processed items, gluten, some dairy, and certain vegetables. Replacing inflammatory foods with produce, bone broth, healthy fats and fermented items heals the gut.
