How to Heal Leaky Gut: A Case Study

Dr. Jamie Doughty, NDCase Studies, Newsletter Articles

Research indicates that hypersensitivity reactions to food are implicated in many health problems and can be acquired throughout a lifetime.

Times of emotional stress, too many processed foods, acid blocking medications, antibiotics and alcohol can cause an inflammatory reaction in the digestive tract that leads to leaky gut syndrome.

LGS (leaky gut syndrome) leaves you susceptible to developing adverse food reactions. Hypersensitivity reactions are mediated by your immune system towards seemingly benign food substances. The top 5 allergens I see in clinical practice are to wheat/gluten, corn, dairy, soy and eggs.

Case: Justin, a 44-year-old male, presented with chronic abdominal bloating and distension with constipation for several years. His bowel movements were small and incomplete. He also experienced indigestion and stomach upset after most meals. His food journal revealed eggs and yogurt for breakfast daily, whey protein shakes after workouts, fast food lunches during the week and a glass of milk with dinner nightly. He rarely ate any vegetables except for salads occasionally.

We began a series of colonics that were challenging initially due to the significant bloating, so I recommended digestive enzymes and betaine HCl with meals to help breakdown his food stuffs. He elected for food sensitivity testing as well.

His results revealed highly sensitive immune reactions to all dairy proteins and eggs. Within 2 weeks of strict elimination of his inflammatory foods his abdominal bloating and distension were markedly decreased and his colon hydrotherapy sessions were finally moving waste material out.

Justin’s energy is improving, his bowel movements have become more formed and complete and he feels much less inflamed in his abdomen. In the next month, we’ll be focusing on repairing and restoring his gut lining to resolve the leaky gut and re-introduce foods.

Dr. Jamie Doughty ND, Medical Director