Leaky gut syndrome

This article is about a speculative medical condition. For the phenomenon whereby the intestine wall exhibits permeability (Leaky Gut), see Intestinal permeability.

Leaky gut syndrome is a speculative medical condition where the intestines exhibit excessive intestinal permeability. This results in not fully broken down food products and/or gut bacteria leaking into the bloodstream triggering immune response and systemic inflammation and leading to generalized non specific symptoms.

Conceptual basis and background

While some intestinal permeability is a normally occurring phenomenon recognized by mainstream science, claims for the existence of "leaky gut syndrome" are mostly made by some nutritionists (not the same as a dietitian) and practitioners of alternative medicine. These supporters say that undigested food particles can pass through the "leaky" bowel wall and into the rest of body, leading to a large number of conditions ranging from migraines to autism.

Diagnosis and treatment

While leaky gut syndrome is not a recognized medical diagnosis, there are simple tests that measure intestinal permeability. An intestinal permeability test measures the ability of two sugar molecules, lactulose and mannitol, to permeate the gut lining. The test checks for levels of the two sugars present in the urine from a sample collected over the six hours after ingesting them.

Critics

Quackwatch calls leaky gut a "fad diagnosis". Stephen Barrett writes that its proponents use the alleged condition as an opportunity to promote a number of alternative health remedies including diets, herbal preparations, and dietary supplements.

Skeptics and "mainstream" scientists generally agree that most marketing of treatments for leaky gut syndrome is, at best, misguided, and at worst, an instance of deliberate health fraud.}}

See also

• Autistic enterocolitis
• List of questionable diseases