Comprehensive Leaky Gut Syndrome Test

A Leaky Gut Syndrome Test can be completed in a few different ways. Not all tests are created equal and not everyone has leaky guy who has a gut problem or ailment.

Also, Taking a test may or may not be necessary. Leaky gut can be assessed in certain ways that do not require blood being drawn and paying for testing. A self assessment based on symptoms experienced that are in alignment with leaky gut could be enough to start treatment and get results.

Most important is to determine if you are in fact leaking in your gut, and then address that issue at it’s root. Addressing it directly with healing interventions that will reverse the real problem and not only the symptoms.

An increase in your intestinal permeability, aka leaky gut syndrome, affects your life in many ways. It can affect you for long periods of time without being diagnosed. Having gas, bloating, loose stool, fatigue, restless leg syndrome, irritability, hypothyroidism etc, are things that can be associated with a leaky gut.

Experiencing those things are interpreted by many people as just part of life. Just things that the doctor will treat with a pill and then you’re on your way.

They are not.

You can keep these things out of your life with the proper interventions.

Know what you have as the condition, address the root cause, and get healthy as heck!

This video is a great explainer about leaky gut, or increased intestinal permeability from doctor Yousef Elyaman.

Leaky Gut Syndrome aka Increased Intestinal Permeability aka “Leaky Gut” or “Leaky Bowel”

• INTESTINAL PERMEABILITY is a phenomenon of the gut wall in which leakage of molecules and ions below 0.4 nm occurs from the gut lumen into blood circulation. This paracellular leakage occurs through tight junctions between epithelial cells. Elevated paracellular leakage has been implicated in many disorders including type 1 and type 2 diabetes, obesity, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, Parkinson’s disease and cancer. source

As you may already know, Leaky Gut Syndrome is also known medically as Increased Intestinal Permeability. Permeability of the gut lining leads to food particles and other macromolecules to pass from the gut into the body system. The body sees these antigens as harmful and creates antibodies and inflammatory responses to combat the foreign matter.

Food, waste and unabsorbable molecules are going from where they belong, in the digestive tract, to where they do not; into the bloodstream and therefore become antigens.

Antigens are harmful particles that the body, in response to the antigens, will produce antibodies to combat the harmful substances.

Why would your body form an antibody to food particles. Because the food particles end up where they don’t belong.

When the food and other ingested materials gets through the gut barrier, it gets into the body system and the blood. This increased permeability then causes inflammation in the body.

The inflammation can manifest in many different forms:

Arthritis, bowel diseases, gout, GERD, etc. Any inflammation linked issue can come from the body being inflamed.

And every person is different. Among a large group of people all having Leaky Gut Syndrome in some form and to some degree; they all can have different reactions. And to different degrees depending on the person and how well their body deals with the increased permeability and resulting inflammation or antibody production.

What is a Leaky Gut Syndrome Test?

A leaky gut syndrome test is used to determine if there is an higher than normal amount of intestinal permeability in your gut. Everyone’s gut has permeability, aka the ability for nutrients to pass through the gut wall. The gut wall can also be referred to as the gut barrier.

Nutrients and other molecules must be exchanged from the gut into the body system as a whole. Hence the reason the gut needs to leak “a little”. In the appropriate amount allowing the appropriate substances to pass into other areas of the body.

The problem is with increased intestinal permeability or leaky gut. The leaky gut syndrome test is made to detect and assess the leaking severity.

According to Dr. Leo Galland “Monitoring the intestinal permeability of chronically ill patients with Leaky Gut Syndromes can help improve clinical outcomes.” source

Leaky Gut Syndrome Test Options

There are a lot of “options” in the medical world for testing intestinal permeability. The charts below show all the different types.

We are going to focus on 2 of the leaky gut syndrome tests available:

Lactulose/Mannitol Challenge Test – Sugar Test
IgG, IgA and IgM – Food Sensitivity Testing for immunoglobulins A G and M in the blood. These are antibodies produced by your body.

As a note, the first leaky gut syndrome test, Ussing Chamber test, is the “best test” for judging true increased intestinal permeability. It is also very invasive and requires biopsy of the intestinal wall. This is not possible for most people or doctors to justify.

As explained in detail in BioMed Central by Stephan C. Bischoff

Intestinal permeability and integrity can be measured in many ways. The techniques used for permeability and integrity assessment vary depending on the setting (in vitro versus in vivo measurements), the species (human or animal models), the marker molecules used for assessment (ions, carbohydrates of different sizes, macromolecules and antigens, bacterial products and bacteria), and the compartments used for measurement of the marker molecules (peripheral blood, portal vein blood, urine). If one focuses just on the epithelial barrier, the flux of molecules is very much dependent on the type of molecules and the type of defects, as illustrated in Figure 4. To measure such dysfunctions, the Ussing chamber is widely used, both for human and animal studies. This ex vivo approach to measure intestinal permeability requires intestinal tissue specimens, either biopsies or surgical specimens.

In vivo assessment of intestinal barrier function and permeability in humans is currently possible by using intestinal permeability assays, and by the assessment of biomarkers of epithelial integrity such as soluble adhesion molecules, other biomarkers of immunity or inflammation, or bacterial markers like circulating endotoxin (Tables 4 and 5).

With all of that being explained…

There are 2 main to complete a leaky gut syndrome test and determine leaky gut being present in the body.

Lactulose/Mannitol Challenge Test – Sugar Test
IgG, IgA and IgM – Food Sensitivity/Antibody Testing

Lactulose/Mannitol Challenge Test for Leaky Gut

The Lactulose Mannitol Challenge Test, aka “The Sugar Test” measures permeability directly. The test measures ability of two non-metabolized sugar molecules, lactulose and mannitol, to permeate the intestinal mucosa. The patient drinks a premeasured amount of lactulose and mannitol in the morning preferably. The degree of intestinal permeability or malabsorption is reflected in the levels of the two sugars recovered in a urine sample collected periodically over the following 6 hours.

Here’s the nitty gritty on how the test works in all its forms

Typically, the when you take the test you would do an overnight fast. Both probe sugars are passively absorbed from the intestine, not extensively metabolised, and excreted unchanged in urine in proportion to the quantities absorbed (source). That ratio is measured and if there is an increase in lactulose absorption, which the intestinal tract is impermeable to, the leaky gut is deemed present.

Completing this type of leaky gut syndrome test will allow the doctor to see malabsorptions or increased permeability based on how the sugars are absorbed and excreted through your urine and in what ratios.

A Leaky Gut Syndrome Test that is this easy to administer will allow for ease of testing and increased awareness for more patients.

IgG IgA IgM Testing for Leaky Gut Syndrome

Here, immunoglobulin G and A levels are measured according to certain sensitivities of macromolecules. If macromolecules are passing through your gut barrier, you effectively have leaky gut syndrome. Indirect measures of gut permeability include titres of IgG antibody directed against antigens found in common foods and normal gut bacteria. source

Immunoglobulins, also called antibodies, are proteins produced by plasma cells. They target specific “threats” and play a key role in the body’s immune system. Immunoglobulins are produced in response to exposure to bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms as well as other substances that are recognized by the body as “non-self” harmful antigens. Source

What they test for

Tests for immunoglobulins will show sensitivities for up to 154 different

Here is an example of the ImmunoLabs Bloodprint 154 test:

A second test was taken 23 months later with decent results after elimination protocols being followed. This patient is me, I have Ulcerative Colitis and Leaky Gut Syndrome according to my doctors and the testing I’ve taken.

Issues With This Leaky Gut Syndrome Test

For example, one test for celiac disease detects the IgA class of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibody (anti-tTG). If a person has a deficiency in IgA, then results of this test may be negative when the person, in fact, has celiac disease. If this is suspected to be the case, then a quantitative test for IgA may be performed.

How will a Leaky Gut Syndrome Test Help Me?

The leaky gut syndrome test itself is a direct and fairly definitive way to tell if you in fact have true leaky gut syndrome. Like we’ve said before, everyone has permeability or leakiness in their gut. Nutrients pass through the gut barrier to nourish our bodies, so the gut must leak.

What we want to avoid is our gut leaking large antigen type particles or macromolecules that can be harmful to our overall health.

And that is what the test will determine.

What Are Some Potential Causes of Leaky Gut Syndrome?

Inherent weak digestion (All children fall into this category)
Stress
Over consumption of refined sugar
Inadequate consumption of dietary fiber
Excessive alcohol intake
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS)
Food sensitivities or allergies
Radiation and cytotoxic drugs
Parasitic infections
Candida (an imbalance of intestinal flora)
Antibiotics

Symptoms of a Leaky Gut AKA Increased Intestinal Permeability

Fatigue and malaise
Arthralgias
Myalgias
Fevers of unknown origin
Food intolerances
Abdominal pain
Abdominal distension
Diarrhea
Skin rashes
Toxic feelings
Cognitive and memory deficits
Shortness of breath
Poor exercise tolerance

http://www.mdheal.org/leakygut.htm

Diseases Associated With Increased Intestinal Permeability

Inflammatory bowel disease
Infectious enterocolitis
Spondyloarthropathies
Acne
Eczema
Psoriasis
Urticaria
HIV infection
Cystic fibrosis
Pancreatic insufficiency
AIDS, HIV infection
Hepatic dysfunction
Irritable bowel syndrome with food intolerance
CFIDS
Chronic arthritis/pain treated with NSAIDS
Alcoholism
Neoplasia treated with cytotoxic drugs
Celiac disease
Dermatitis herpetiformis
Autism
Childhood hyperactivity
Environmental illness
Multiple food and chemical sensitivities

Increased Permeability of the Intestinal Wall and the Consequences

Once a leaky gut syndrome test in any form has been performed by your doctor and the results are positive, intervention is in order. The leaky bowel you’re experiencing may have been present for an extended period of time without being diagnosed.

The leaky gut syndrome test having uncovered this problem, advice for correcting the issue must be followed.

Most likely an elimination of inflammatory and sensitive foods will be in order. Along with other supplements being introduced to the body. Following the protocols laid out based on the results of your leaky gut test is extremely important.

Sources:

Leaky Gut: concept or clinical entity? – https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26760399

EnzyChrom™ Intestinal Permeability Assay Kit – https://www.bioassaysys.com/Intestinal-Permeability-Assay-Kit.html

http://www.mdheal.org/leakygut.htm

https://www.doctorsdata.com/intestinal-permeability/

http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0099256

https://www.gdx.net/product/intestinal-permeability-assessment-urine

http://www.immunolabs.com/patients/products/total-immunoglobulin-e/

http://www.immunolabs.com/patients/products/blood-print/#154

http://www.ei-resource.org/articles/leaky-gut-syndrome-articles/leaky-gut-syndromes-breaking-the-vicious-cycle/

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/leaky-gut-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx

http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome/Pages/Introduction.aspx