Good Explanation of Leaky Gut?

[Zizzle]

The more I read about Leaky Gut Syndrome, the more I realize MC is probably 100% a result of our leaky guts. This explanation by a holistic veterinarian (Doctor J) was one of the easiest to comprehend, and very thought provoking. I can't verify if his assertions are all accurate, but it's making me wonder if we should be avoiding corn too - and drinking more vinegar and alcohol!

http://dogtorj.com/?page_id=3295


These comments are very interesting:

"Some celiac researchers now believe that everyone is gluten sensitive but only 1/3 of the population is showing symptoms at any given moment. Wow! That is quite the quantum leap from being a “rare disorder” just ten short years ago. But this is in keeping with what I started to write a while back: “Today’s man-made gluten is not good for anyone or anything that consumes it. It is simply better tolerated by some than others.”


"The two things that help to remove the big 4 “glue foods” from our villi and help them to heal are alcohol and vinegar... Yes, these glues from casein, gluten, soy and corn are not water or even acid soluble. They are alcohol and alkaline soluble. That’s why they survive the digestive process of simple-stomached animals, leave that stomach, and adhere to the villi. But alcohol and vinegar will help get them off.

How have Italians survived as celiacs?
Understanding this principle gives us tremendous insight into how Italians have survived over the years being a pasta-based culture. They drink wine with their meals and eat their oil and vinegar-soaked salad after their meals. Their appetizers (antipasto) are usually high fat meats (e.g. salami, prosciutto) and those items marinated in olive oil or vinegar. The fat and oil protects the villi from the attachment of gluten and casein in their upcoming main course while the vinegar and wine washes clean what does manage to attach. The fiber from the salad then scrubs the villi clean"

CAN THIS BE TRUE??

[Gabes-Apg]

My research of leaky gut from medieval times gelatin was used to heal a leaky gut.

this would mean making soup or preparing dishes from scratch, using meat on the bone and slow cooking it

this cooking principle is used alot in italian cooking.

[tex]

CAN THIS BE TRUE??

Well, if Dr. Symes says it, I personally wouldn't argue against it. He is without question one of the foremost researchers in the area of food sensitivities, and he's not afraid to think out of the box, so when he speaks, I listen. (Thinking out of the box seems to scare the heck out of most GI docs, because they just don't do it).

DogtorJ tends to stay on the cutting edge of this type of research, so he's usually waaaaaaaaaaay ahead of most authorities on the topic.

Tex

[Ginny]

Tex, I've been out of pocket for a couple of days but I remember you saying in one of these threads last week

This may not apply to anyone else here, of course, but if my memory is accurate, alcohol is the number one cause of the leaky gut syndrome, (LGS), and sugar is the number two cause.

and I wanted to get back and ask a question. I have that very article from Dr. Symes printed out and was a little confused just because of what Zizzle has quoted above. Just interested in your thoughts. Ginny

[tex]

Hi Ginny,

Hmmmm. You do know how to ask a good, thorny question, don't you. LOL. OK, here are my thoughts on this issue:

While Dr. Symes chose to call his article, What is the “Leaky Gut”?, he didn't discuss the details of the mechanism by which The Leaky Gut Syndrome, (LGS), actually allows oversize and "forbidden" objects to leak into the bloodstream. Instead, he chose to focus on the agents which, in his opinion, cause the destruction of the villi of the small intestine. While it is certainly true that destruction of the villi is somewhat closely linked with LGS, technically, they are separate events, and one event doesn't necessarily guarantee that the other event will be a result, (though there are obviously indirect connections, depending on the types of immune system responses which occur).

I could be wrong, but IMO, LGS must be present before the villi begin to develop atropia. In reality, of course, the two events almost certainly occur somewhat simultaneously, over a relatively long period of time, but it is probably necessary for LGS to allow a sufficient number of pathogens, or allergens, to pass through the tight junctions, before damage to the enterocytes comprising the mucosal surface, can begin, since most of the damage to the enterocytes is initiated from below, (in the submucosal region), by killer T-cells, and intraepithelial lymphocytes.

The critical connection, though, is the fact that as the enterocytes are damaged/destroyed, the local tight junctions are obviously going to fail, and the integrity of the entire mucosal surface will soon be in dire jeopardy, resulting in an accelerated failure rate, as more and more junctions open, allowing more and more "forbidden" items to escape into the bloodstream.

The most unique aspect of his description of the issue, of course, is the observation that it is the glutenous nature of the respective prolamin proteins in the offending foods, that is key to the destructive results of the process. I don't recall seeing it described that way, by any other authority. Certainly, the excellent article by Dr. Fasano, that appeared in the August, 2009 issue of Scientific American, never mentioned than an agglutinating effect was involved in the process.

http://somvweb.som.umaryland.edu/absolu ... 8.2009.pdf

So is DogtorJ right? As I said, I wouldn't argue against him, because what he says is certainly logical. All of the offending prolamin proteins that contain the peptides to which gluten-sensitive individuals react, are certainly agglutinating agents, and the peptides involved are lectins, to boot. Nor are any weak spots apparent in his description. If scientific proof of this theory has been published, I certainly haven't seen it, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't exist, nor does it mean that scientific proof will not be forthcoming, at some point in the future.

From a macroscopic viewpoint - if such a glutenous mass were to glom onto the surface of the mucosa, and refuse to let go, it is easy to visualize a smothering effect, that could result in a desperate attempt by the immune system to break it up, in the only way it has available - by killing the mucosal cells, (the enterocytes), that the mass is attached to, so that the whole mess will float away.

That's my 2 cents worth, FWIW.

Tex

[tex]

Ginny,

It just occurred to me that your question may have been directed to the apparent conflict between my statement about alcohol and sugar being major issues for LGS, while DogtorJ says alcohol is a good medium for washing away the gluten. If that's the case, let me clarify:

LGS can initially be caused by many things, including, but not limited to, yeast overgrowth, drugs, parasites, bacteria, refined carbohydrates, alcohol, caffeine, antibiotics, chemicals, enzyme deficiencies, mycotoxins produced by molds or fungi, stress, zinc deficiency, etc.

It has been noted that alcoholics have a major problem with LGS, because the liver already has more than it can do to handle the alcohol in the blood, so the additional "trash" in the bloodstream just adds insult to injury, for an already overwhelmed liver.

It's very likely that people with multiple food intolerances have LGS, incidentally.

While it is true that about 20% of the alcohol consumed is absorbed in the stomach, (alcohol, by the way, is the only "nutrient" absorbed by the stomach), the other 80% is absorbed in the small intestine, and obviously, if it is going to be absorbed there, it will need to wash the gluten out of the way, so that it has access to the mucosa, where it can be absorbed. I would surmise that as long as the diet includes moderate amounts of alcohol, consumed the way that DogtorJ laid out for a "typical" Italian, then LGS should never become a problem. It is excess amounts of alcohol, on an empty stomach, that causes LGS.

If none of this addresses your question adequately, please point me in the right direction, and I'll try to do a better job of discussing it.

Tex

[Ginny]

Tex, like my DH you are a walking library . Yes, you answered both concerns/questions that I had. Your comment:

While it is certainly true that destruction of the villi is somewhat closely linked with LGS, technically, they are separate events, and one event doesn't necessarily guarantee that the other event will be a result,

That I find interesting. Looking back on the beginning of this disease, I am wondering what came first...........the MC or possibly LGS? I say this because I did not have a true diagnosis for 8 months and during that time spent a lot of time worrying (making the matters worse) and adopted a high carb diet that worked for 2 months but consisted of quality white bread, pastas, rice, potatoes, root veggies; rarely would have eaten prior to MC.

Anyhow it is an interesting concept as is Mast cells. I'm afraid my body does not like much of what I put in my mouth. However, I have adopted your regime; rice (in place of potatoes), meat and very little fiber. It does get old, but I have fortitude when it comes to food. Because my test results were initially high, I now believe it will take a long time to heal.

Always appreciate your input and am glad I have this website to discuss the issues; friends and family try but don't really understand. Ginny

[Zizzle]

In my case, I firmly believe LGS developed after one or two episodes of traveler's diarrhea 10 years ago. That set the stage for antigens to enter the bloodstream and over time, develop sensitivities to those antigens, and eventually LC. To me it all makes sense. I also tell anyone suffereing from gastroenteritis to avoid all allergenic foods while they are recovering because their gut is leaky during that period of inflammation. So many people think the T in "BRAT diet" is TOAST not TEA! There's a reason Bananas, Rice, Applesauce and Tea work. They are GF/DF/YF/SF!