Advice on Leaky Gut

[BadgerGB7]

What advice can people give me. Here is what is going on. One day my gut is good and I start feeling full and hungry but then I wake up and its bad again. Should I avoid all whole grains and beans? I get a tingling in my brain as well. I take 2 probiotics and last night I ate beans and then I pooped a decent amount but usually it is very small. It seems like I'm on a roller coaster going up and down. I take a lot of glutamine and my gut heals but then goes backwards. I'm wondering if it is the grains right now. I don't eat meat or dairy either. My urine is also yellow as well.

My roof of my mouth is yellow as well.

It is also hard controlling how much I eat when I don't feel full. I try to eat smaller meals but somedays I overeat. I feel as though I will never get over this. What is the most helpful thing you can offer and has worked for you?

 

[SB_1108]

From my knowledge of leaky gut, you should be eating meat.

This is a good protocol to follow to heal your gut - The Four Rs:
http://www.amymyersmd.com/2013/01/heal-your-gut-heal-yourself/

The 4 R Program

1. Remove
Remove the bad. The goal is to get rid of things that negatively affect the environment of the GI tract such as inflammatory foods, infections, and gastric irritants like alcohol, caffeine or drugs. Inflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs and sugar can lead to food sensitivities. I recommend The Myers Way® and IgG food sensitivity testing to determine if any foods are a problem for you. Infections can be from parasites, yeast or bacteria. A comprehensive stool analysis is key to determining the levels of good bacteria as well as any infections that may be present. Removing the infections may require treatment with herbs, anti-parasite medication, anti-fungal medication, anti-fungal supplements or even antibiotics.

2. Replace
Replace the good. Add back in the essential ingredients for proper digestion and absorption that may have been depleted by diet, drugs (such as antacid medications) diseases or aging. This includes digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid and bile acids that are required for proper digestion.

3. Reinoculate
Restoring beneficial bacteria to reestablish a healthy balance of good bacteria is critical. This may be accomplished by taking a probiotic supplement that contains beneficial bacteria such as bifidobacteria and lactobacillus species. I recommend anywhere from 25 -100 billion units a day. Also, taking a prebiotic (food for the good bacteria) supplement or consuming foods high soluble fiber is important.

4. Repair
Providing the nutrients necessary to help the gut repair itself is essential. One of my favorites supplements is L-glutamine, an amino acid that helps to rejuvenate the gut wall lining. Other key nutrients include zinc, omega 3 fish oils, vitamin A, C, E as well as herbs such as slippery elm and aloe vera.

No matter what your health issue is, the 4R program is sure to help you and your gut heal. I have witnessed dramatic reversal of chronic and inflammatory illnesses in a very short period of time by utilizing this simple approach.

As far as digestive enzyme - NOW Super Enzymes are the best, in my opinion.

 

[Old Bones]

Gut issues are certainly challenging -- I've been struggling for years. I'm currently a member of a Gut Health Meetup Group organized by a holistic nutritionist and a psychologist -- mothers of children with severe digestive issues. Both are trained GAPS diet practitioners. This is the diet they are following in their households, because they believe it is most effective in healing the gut. The ultimate goal is to be able to eat more, not fewer, foods. I say "ultimate", because the introductory phases are very restrictive -- no grains (whether refined, or not), legumes, starches, sweeteners (except raw honey), dairy (except fermented, as tolerated). You mentioned not eating meat. The medical doctor who developed the GAPS diet believes meat (and specifically meat broths) are essential for healing a leaky gut. Having said that, I have a friend who healed her gut while on a strict vegan diet, so we are all unique.

Other group participants are following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD), Wahl's protocol (often recommended for MS patients), and Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) -- all variations on a similar theme. I've been on the GAPS introduction diet for six months, with some good, and some not so good things to report. First, I almost immediately lost the bloat that made me look permanently seven months pregnant. And, my joint issues related to Rheumatoid Arthritis improved. I was also able to cut back my dose of medication for Hypothyroidism. And, I lost a lot of weight -- too much, actually.

The best thing about a restrictive diet is it helps to identify what the problem really is, or at least might be.
Adopting the GAPS diet confirmed my suspicion of Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), and also that histamine intolerance contributes to many of my unpleasant sensations. But, being too restrictive in one's diet long-term brings its own risks -- the reason I'm starting to add in a few starches. I ultimately realized I'm eating too few carbohydrates.

Yellow urine is often due to not drinking enough liquids, although you probably already know this. And, the fact that the roof of your mouth is also yellow is confusing, and concerning.

The only thing I can suggest is taking a look at the information on-line regarding the above-mentioned diets. Perhaps one of them stands out as something you'd be willing to try. Record what you are eating, and how your body responds. Realize that you are in control, and if what you are doing isn't working, try something else. Even the enthusiastic GAPS diet practitioners I know acknowledge the benefits of customizing any dietary protocol to meet the specific needs of the individual.

 

[ahmo]

I've had good results w/ GAPS diet. Nothing is quick. There are dozens of GAPS blogs, yahoo groups.

 

[Hip]

One day my gut is good and I start feeling full and hungry but then I wake up and its bad again.

"Good" and "bad" are not very descriptive.

 

[PandaDarling]

@BadgerGB7 Are you a vegan? I am too. I would be very hesitant with people telling me I 'need to eat meat' to cure a gut problem (given that humans are not designed to consume dairy once they have been weaned as babies). I can get upset by beans and grains sometimes too. When my stomach is bad I eat gentle things like pasta and oats. Also good fats like peanut butter and avocados. Often I live of bananas too if my tummy is playing up.
Panda x