What's The Deal With Leaky Gut?

In a lot of ways, digestive health signifies overall health. Our brains, our immune system and even our moods are connected to the microbiome in the gut, so when things are a bit off balance, we can feel it unlikely places. Mood swings, foggy brain, migraines, indigestion, food allergies, are just a few of the symptoms we experience when our gut isn’t happy. When the good to bad bacteria ratio is consistently off balance (aiming for 75% good and 25% bad), we can get what’s called a leaky gut.

How the Gut Gets Leaky

The intestine lining has a few jobs. The GI tract is considered the “second brain” of our body, and the lining acts as a barrier, protecting the GI tract and communicating with microbes and the immune system. Leaky gut (or intestinal permeability) is a condition where the small intestine lining is damaged. When the lining becomes permeable, our bodies struggle to digest food, and toxic waste products and bacteria "leak" out of the intestines and flood the blood stream. All these bacteria trigger autoimmune responses in the body like rheumatoid arthritis, migraines, food allergies, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic fatigue, and eczema. (See, we told you the gut is connected to everything!). After awhile, the damaged cells in your intestine can’t produce enzymes that help break down our food. All this autoimmune behavior starts to overwork our immune system, making the body even more susceptible diseases and hormone imbalances.

Leaky gut is sneaky, uncomfortable, and very common--but there are some easy nutritional fixes you can make to get your leaky gut, well un-leaky! For many people, leaky gut is most likely to be associated with certain diets. Foods such as gluten, grains, refined sugar/artificial sweeteners, and refined vegetable oils make for a weak digestive tract.

• Gluten is known to up the production of zonulin, a protein that breaks down junctions that are in your digestive system. If you have sensitivities to gluten, you likely have high levels of zonulin. This causes inflammation in the body, and that can lead to a host of icky symptoms.
• Refined sugars contribute to yeast production, making inflammation and damage to intestinal lining easier. This triggers immune responses such as joint pain, diarrhea, and headaches.
• Antibiotics, pain relievers and medications (like aspirin and acetaminophen), and steroids can trigger intestinal permeability because of constant irritation and inflammation.

A combination of all these pretty nasty contributors pave the way for leaky gut.

Prebiotics + Probiotics to the Rescue!

Lucky for us, our own bodies load us up with prebiotics and probiotics. These bad boys are responsible for preventing illness, allergies, helping us digest food, and affecting our emotions. You see, prebiotics are the fuel and partner of probiotics, but together they help our bodies do the dirty work when it comes to digestive health. With the right diet and nutrients, prebiotics have the potential to strengthen immune systems, rev up absorption of calcium and magnesium (making our bones stronger), and lowering our risk of weight gain. Without these bacterias we wouldn’t have a fighting chance for a healthy digestive system, which is the key to overall health and feeling 100% every day.

Our Rowdy Bars are made up of all the good stuff you need to power up those prebiotics and probiotics. These bars pack in the foods that the good bacterias need in order to kick leaky gut and bring in some digestive health. Get your Rowdy Bars now.