Leaky Gut: Why You're Bloated, Tired, and Over It (And How to Fix It)

Your gut isn’t just leaking vibes, it’s leaking everything: nutrients, toxins, inflammation, and yes, probably your patience.

What Even Is Leaky Gut?

Leaky gut (aka "increased intestinal permeability") is when the lining of your gut gets damaged and starts letting stuff through that really shouldn’t be in your bloodstream like undigested food particles, bacteria, toxins, and inflammatory molecules. Your gut lining is meant to be a selective bouncer. When it gets compromised, the whole club (your body) goes into chaos.

And once those intruders hit your bloodstream? Your immune system throws a tantrum. You get inflammation. You get confusion. You get everything from breakouts to brain fog because your body’s basically going: “Who let these uninvited guests in?”

This is how food sensitivities develop, how autoimmunity kicks up, and how your nervous system ends up acting like it’s in a permanent group chat with chaos.

Do You Have Leaky Gut?

Maybe. Probably. Honestly? If you’re asking, it’s worth assuming. But if you need more than vibes:

Common symptoms:

• Bloating after meals
• Brain fog
• Food sensitivities
• Skin issues (eczema, acne, rashes)
• Fatigue (like, "dead inside by 2pm" tired)
• Joint pain
• Anxiety and mood swings
• Autoimmune flares
• Candida that just. won’t. die.
  

Is There a Test?

There are a few, but most aren’t perfect.

• Zonulin blood test: measures the protein that opens the gut tight junctions
• Lactulose/mannitol test: pee test for how much sugar leaks through your gut
• GI map or stool test: looks for gut imbalances, candida, inflammation markers

Honestly though? Your symptoms are usually your best detective. If your gut feels like a war zone and your mood is hostage to your meals, you’re probably dealing with permeability issues.

Related Realness: MTHFR + Candida

• MTHFR mutation = poor detox, high inflammation, low methylation = gut wall can't rebuild properly
• Candida overgrowth = literally drills holes into your gut lining, weakens immunity, triggers food sensitivities
• Histamine intolerance, sluggish liver, IBS, adrenal fatigue = all love to piggyback on leaky gut

It’s not one thing. It’s the whole damn ecosystem.

How to Seal the Deal (Fix It)

Quick detour: WTF is histamine and why should you care?

Histamine is a chemical your body uses for way too many things—digestion, immune response, and as a messenger in your brain. Normally, it’s no big deal. But when your gut is leaky and your detox pathways (hello MTHFR) are backed up, histamine doesn’t clear out. It builds up. Then every innocent food becomes a drama.

High-histamine foods? Think fermented anything, leftovers, aged meats, vinegar's, tomatoes, spinach, and even some probiotics.

Low-histamine foods? Freshly cooked meals, coconut, zucchini, chicken, blueberries, and gut-friendly herbs like thyme and oregano.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled healing:

Phase 1: Remove Triggers

• Ditch gluten, dairy, sugar, and alcohol (I know, sorry)
• Cut out fermented foods (sorry again), lectins (plant proteins that act like bouncers with a bad attitude—hard to digest and known to irritate a compromised gut lining, especially found in nightshade veggies like tomato, capsicum, eggplant, and potato), and processed oils
• Avoid NSAIDs like ibuprofen—they literally poke holes in your gut
  

Phase 2: Calm the Inflammation

• Bone broth (real or powdered)
• Slippery elm (think: mucilaginous magic for your gut lining), marshmallow root, aloe vera
• Glutamine powder (gut fuel)
• Zinc carnosine + quercetin = anti-inflammatory tag team
• Dandelion root tea (gentle, liver-loving and surprisingly soothing)
• Chamomile or peppermint tea (gut-calming OGs)
• Curcumin (if tolerated — go for liposomal or low-histamine versions)
• Omega-3s (from fish oil or algae oil — inflammation’s worst nightmare)
  

Phase 3: Rebuild + Rebalance

• Methylated B12 + folate if MTHFR is in the mix
• Saccharomyces boulardii (good yeast that kills bad yeast)
• Digestive bitters or enzymes
• Reintroduce low-histamine probiotics
• Dandelion root, taurine, milk thistle for liver support

How Long Does It Take?

If you’re consistent: 8 to 12 weeks for mild-moderate cases, longer if you’ve been inflamed since flip phones were a thing. But you’ll likely start feeling better within 2-3 weeks once you remove the right triggers.

Eat This:

• Steamed veg (zucchini, spinach, carrot, kale)
• Clean protein (chicken, turkey, lamb, fish)
• Bone broth
• Coconut oil, ghee, olive oil
• Fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, oregano)
  

Avoid This:

• Gluten, dairy, alcohol, sugar
• Nightshades (tomato, eggplant, capsicum)
• Fermented anything (yes, even kombucha)
• Seed oils (canola, sunflower, soy)
• Leftovers over 24 hrs old (hello histamine)

Final Word:

Leaky gut isn’t a vibe—it’s a full-body burnout with a marketing problem. The good news? You can absolutely fix it. It just takes some radical honesty, kitchen witchery, and a few gut-soothing powders that taste like wallpaper paste.

Still feel like your gut is running the show? It might be time to tag in a professional. A naturopath or functional medicine doctor can run deeper tests, look at your full health picture, and map out a protocol that doesn’t involve you Googling at 2am in a turmeric-stained hoodie.

We’ve made it easy—check out our Wellness Directory to find someone who speaks your gut’s love language.

But your mood? Your skin? Your sleep? Totally worth it.

Start with your gut. Everything else follows.