Leaky Gut Syndrome

I often find that the one thing that is holding most people back from healing their leaky gut is that they are not willing to make the necessary changes to their lifestyle for the healing to take place. In reality, this is nothing more than a mental obstacle that you yourself must learn to circumvent. If you are your own worst enemy then you will struggle to heal anything that ails you. But if you are willing to rise above yourself then you will find that there is no ailment that you cannot overcome.

When healing leaky gut, you have to understand up front that for most of you, it was your lifestyle that that resulted in your leaky gut syndrome to begin with. I am not saying that you have to completely change your life but most people have a lot of room for improvement. Even by beginning with the small steps such as slowly removing the problem foods from your diet is a good step in the right direction. The goal is to keep the momentum going as these subtle changes get easier and easier. But never lose sight of the goal because many small changes can up to something much bigger.

For those who struggle with change, I would like stimulate your thinking on this subject by sharing with you some sayings from Albert Einstein who, at least for me, had a way with words.

“You cannot solve a problem with the same thinking that created it.” – Albert Einstein

Think about it for a minute. In a nutshell, Einstein is saying that in order to solve any problem that you have created, you must alter your state of mind and make a conscious effort to change your thoughts in order to solve it.

This is very important for a couple of reasons. Most importantly, you must realize that nobody but you is responsible for your leaky gut syndrome. In fact, we are all responsible for everything in our lives, good and bad, because we create our own reality.

Taking the first step and assuming responsibility for your life and your leaky gut is one of the most powerful things you can do. This is because once you make this connection you will see that you can heal leaky gut just as easily as you created it.

Another reason that this quote is so important is because your mind controls your actions so if you want to change your actions, you have to start with your mind first. Our minds are programmed to work efficiently. For example, the first time you threw a ball it probably felt very awkward. But after many repetitions the feeling becomes natural because the brain encodes this motor pattern into your nervous system.

This is exactly what happens with your lifestyle as well. You become accustomed to the way you eat, sleep, think, etc. This is all programmed into you and you have learned to live very efficiently this way. So naturally if you try to change these patterns it feels difficult and uncomfortable. But over time they become your new patterns and everything becomes easy once again. It is only a matter of consistency, effort, and time.

“Insanity is repeating same behavior and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein

Here is another quote we can all learn a lot from. This is simply saying that if you are not getting the results you want then you have to change what you are doing and try a different angle.

There are many examples of this but one of the most common is with weight loss. People always want to lose weight and many will continue the same diet for months or years waiting for results that never happen. The key here is that if you are not getting results then try something new. When you do get results then make the most out of what is working. Anything else is utter insanity.

The point that Einstein has helped me make is that if you truly want to cure leaky gut then you must make the necessary changes in your lifestyle to promote the healing process. Most people though like the idea of healing much more than the act of healing. But if you are able to overcome your own mental roadblocks then you will be amazed at how much impact a little change to your lifestyle can have on your health.

The winner of the free copy of the Leaky Gut Cure goes to Joseph Pacheco for his poetic post…

Tis sad but true,
my leaky gut got me blue,
many a times I cried at night,
early in the morning I feared the light,
prayer after prayer till my knees be bloody,
hoping pleading help from somebody,
no more candies and holiday treats,
nothing left but veggies to eat,
my body is weak I’ll soon turn to dust,
I cannot survive on water and trust,
then came along this Leaky Gut Cure,
my heart is pounding there is hope for sure!

~Joseph

I loved the creativity!

And a special thanks to everyone that took the time to post a comment.

In health & happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure

***This post has been updated with the new dates***

There is nothing better than working with me in person but the next best thing is to have all of my protocols completely laid out for you to follow step by step. This is exactly what I have done with the Leaky Gut Cure program.

But I have even better news for you. Today is your one and only chance to win a free copy of the complete Leaky Gut Cure program.

You’ll get the Leaky Gut Cure Program Manual, the Diet Guide, the 10-Week Step-by-Step Implementation Guide, the Food Intolerance Video, the Metabolic Typing Guide, the Supplement Guide, and Your Guide to Health Hormones.

Now that is a lot of tools to use at your disposal!

So how do you win?

It is simple and easy.

All you have to do is answer this one question…

“How would having the Leaky Gut Cure program help you achieve your health goals?”

But hurry, you only have 48 hours to enter your comments below…the contest ends Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 10pm EST. Winners will be announced by email on Sunday, January 17th, 2010.

It doesn’t matter if you have minor health struggles or if you have been battling some major chronic symptoms for years, everyone has an equal shot of winning the program.

I want to hear your story. I’ve already been able to help so many people in my practice and I want to hear what getting the Leaky Gut Cure program would mean to you.

Just enter your comments below.

But if you don’t win then don’t worry because starting Sunday, January 10th 2010, at Midnight EST, the Leaky Gut Cure will be available at 50% off the regular price. But it will only be for 3 days so get it before the price goes up.

I look forward to hearing from you!

In health & happiness,

Karen Brimeyer

Author of the Leaky Gut Cure

P.S. – Don’t forget you only have 48 hours to enter your comments below…the contest ends Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 10pm EST. Winners will be announced by email on Sunday, January 17th, 2010.

I just wanted to let all my readers know that the Leaky Gut Cure will be released next week.

The pre-launch is set for next Sunday (Jan 10th 2010) at Midnight and only for 3 days. The pre-launch price will be 50% off so you won’t want to miss it. After those 3 days, the price goes back up to

If you want an email reminder of the pre-launch then you’ll want to sign up for my free reports.

I hope you are excited as I am and I can’t wait to start hearing your success stories with the Leaky Gut Cure!

In health & happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure

I’ve been around my fair share of leaky gut. I think it should go without saying that if you have any sort of gut dysfunction then you have dysbiosis. That is the part that everyone seems to agree upon. Where the disagreement arises is in how to properly correct it.

If you don’t already know, let me explain exactly what dysbiosis is. Your digestive tract is host to billions and billions of bacteria, yeast, fungus, etc; both good and bad. For a healthy gut, it is all about balance. A healthy gut contains a balance of both good and bad bacteria, of bacteria to yeast, and so forth. When that balance exists, then each does its part to keep the others in check.

This healthy balance is somewhere on the order of 80% beneficial bacteria to 20% harmful bacteria. And typically there are the majority of bacteria to the minority of yeast and fungus.

But for many reasons, this balance can be thrown off. In our society, I can say with certainty that the two most common reasons are because of the Standard American Diet (SAD) full of processed food and sugar and the overuse of antibiotics.

SAD Diet

You see, the beneficial bacteria feed on many of the whole food fiber sources in your diet like inulin (plant or vegetable fiber). The harmful bacteria however feed on sugar. So with poor dietary choices, which is most often the case, consisting of few vegetables and an abundance of sugar it is easy to see how the harmful bacteria take charge. This results in a reversal of roles in the gut where the harmful bacteria make up the 80% and the beneficial bacteria a mere 20%. This is one way dysbiosis develops and can easily lead to Leaky Gut Syndrome.

Antibiotics

I think you would agree that antibiotics are very effective at killing bacteria that cause infection. But they are also just as effective at killing beneficial bacteria. When you use antibiotics you are literally wiping the slate clean in your gut. This leaves the re-growth of bacteria up to a rat race. Take into account the SAD diet and the lack of natural sources of beneficial bacteria in your diet and all odds are in favor of the harmful bacteria and yeast. This is why antibiotics are a major cause of leaky gut.

The Great Debate

There are many health practitioners who claim that correcting dysbiosis is as simple as adding a probiotic (beneficial bacteria) supplement to your daily regime. This would be true if the harmful bacteria and yeast were not overgrown. But that is rarely if ever the case, especially when leaky gut is present.

But still, many of the health practitioners do just that. They give you a bottle of probiotic pills and send you on your merry way. You jump with joy as you take them and begin to see signs of relief. You may even claim that your practitioner is a miracle worker. But what happens when you stop taking them? That’s right. Your problems come right back. So you might start another round of probiotics. This cycle continues and continues until you decide to either stick with probiotics permanently or you figure out that there is more going on inside your gut than you might realize.

The problem is that all of those harmful bacteria, yeast, and fungi are still there and still holding strong. The probiotic supplements are only providing you temporary relief but they still don’t have ability to take back control of your dysbiosis or leaky gut.

If you want true results, then you have to first correct the root of the problem. You have to do your part by following a proper leaky gut diet to help starve those harmful bacteria to give your probiotics a fighting chance at survival.

If you want to truly correct your dysbiosis, then you must first create an inhabitable environment for the beneficial bacteria to flourish.

In health and happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure

Just because you need to stick to your leaky gut diet plan doesn’t mean that you have to lock yourself in your home in fear of eating the wrong the thing. But that is exactly what I did.

After I discovered my underlying gut problem I spent years being so afraid of food that I refused to eat out at any restaurant in fear of eating something that would trigger my symptoms. Living in fear of food is not living at all and I don’t want you to follow that same path.

You can still enjoy getting out of the house and eating at restaurants. You just have to be a little more careful about what you order. It isn’t that hard, it just takes a little getting used to.

Follow these simple rules and you won’t have worry about or wonder what you’re eating and whether or not it will impact your chronic symptoms.

Leaky Gut Diet Restaurant Tips

1. Stick to Meat and Vegetables

Meat and vegetables should make up the bulk of your leaky gut diet so it is best to stick with them when eating at a restaurant as well. Look for fish, chicken, turkey, beef, and lamb menu items. These menu items typically served with vegetables. Make sure you are getting an adequate amount of protein. Try to stick to less starchy vegetables like ordering a sweet potato instead of a white potato.

2. Get it Grilled, Poached, or Sautéed

When ordering your meat it is best to order it grilled, poached, or sautéed. Many restaurants fry their foods in trans-fats and/or vegetable oil which cause massive amounts of inflammation and should be avoided at all costs.

3. Forget the Bread and Pastas

Our culture has become very accustomed to bread and pasta with every meal. Restaurants love to give them to you because they are cheap filler foods with no real nutritional value. When avoiding gluten, these foods should be avoided. Don’t be afraid to ask the waiter/waitress to not bring the complimentary bread basket so it doesn’t become tempting.

4. Don’t be Afraid to Ask or Order Off Menu

If you aren’t sure how a particular dish is prepared, then ask the waiter/waitress. Food allergies are a big issue and liability for restaurants so if they don’t know, they should go to the kitchen and get the answers for you. Also, don’t be afraid to order something that isn’t on the menu. If you want something simple like a grilled chicken breast with vegetables, almost any restaurant will accommodate you.

5. Watch Out for Hidden Gluten

Hidden flours are in many menu items. They are typically used as a thickening agent for sauces and flavorings. Stay away from thick, creamy, and cheese sauces as much as possible.

6. Nicer Restaurants = Better Ingredients

Nicer restaurants know that better and fresher ingredients taste better. They typically use organic ingredients as much as possible. They also typically cook in healthier oils that don’t go rancid. Nice restaurants will never sacrifice quality for price.

7. Pass on the Alcohol

Alcohol is one of the driving factors behind intestinal permeability. Because of this, it should be avoided entirely on your leaky gut diet. You should love yourself enough to not give into the peer pressure. Odds are if you are out with others who are heavy drinkers, there is a good chance that they are suffering from chronic symptoms as well but they just aren’t ready or willing to deal with them yet.

Now that you have your leaky gut diet restaurant tips in hand you can enjoy a night out on the town without having to sacrifice your health or gut healing process.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these leaky gut diet tips to help you kick start the gut healing process.

In health and happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure

Do you suffer from seasonal allergies? Do you also suffer from any of the other leaky gut symptoms? You might be surprised to find how closely the two are related.

Maybe you are like me. I never had allergies of any kind growing up. Come to think of it, I don’t remember anyone having them. But today, it seems like allergies plague almost everyone. You might think this is just a coincidence but I have to tell you that it is not.

It wasn’t until I had developed leaky gut that I even started to notice the development of seasonal allergies. I would get a cough, runny nose, and watery eyes during the change of seasons. I never thought to question why because these symptoms were so common that they were generally accepted as no big deal. And symptoms that aren’t considered a major health risk tend to get swept under the rug. But for me, things only went downhill from there. I started experiencing digestive problems along with skin problems like eczema. I had no idea that this was all related to my gut and it wasn’t until I addressed the underlying problem that the reality of it really hit home. As soon I healed my gut, my allergies immediately disappeared and I haven’t dealt with them since.

The Leaky Gut Seasonal Allergy Link

When you suffer from increased intestinal permeability, undigested food particles, pathogens, toxins, and other harmful substances are able to actually pass through your intestinal lining and directly enter the bloodstream. All of these substances are considered foreign invaders to the body which prompts your immune system to respond and combat the invaders. The big problem with this is that it is occurring continuously day and night without end.

Initially, your immune system does its job and fights off the foreign invaders. But after battling for a long time without rest, it quickly becomes overstressed and overactive. It is this over-activity of the immune system that prompts it to erratically react to anything it comes into contact with. This includes all of the pollen, mold, and other allergens that are always in the air. It is because your immune system is too busy defending you from your own leaky gut that it doesn’t have the time or ability to properly deal with these allergens. So you are left with seasonal allergies by reacting to any foreign airborne particles that you come into contact with.

All of these common airborne allergens have always existed and will always exist. So the days of blaming these allergens as the problem are over. It has little to nothing to do with them and everything to do with your gut health.

Seasonal allergies may not be a life threatening symptom but they are definitely trying to get your attention for a reason. They are really a way of your body telling you that something is not quite right. It’s time to start listening to these signs and use them to paint the bigger picture of your health. If you continue to ignore them or mask them with the use of allergy medications then your body will find another way to get your attention. And the next time it does, it will be with more extreme symptoms that won’t be as easy to dismiss. Do yourself a favor and get to the root of the problem by addressing your leaky gut.

In health and happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure

Two of the largest ever inflammatory bowel disease studies were recently conducted. The good news is that the results are the first to show conclusive evidence that leaky gut is the prime contributing factor of the disease. The bad news is that they are still clueless as to how to correct the problem and heal the gut.

Before we get into the results of the study, first let me give you a little background on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). IBD is a blanket disease term that encompasses all autoimmune related inflammatory conditions within the digestive tract. There are two main types of this disease, Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn’s Disease. But, the prevalence of others, such as Celiac’s Disease, are rapidly rising. Statistics show that IBD affects 1 in 250 people making it a serious condition that deserves some serious attention.

Symptoms include: abdominal pain, bloating and distention, passing mucus, persistent diarrhea, loss of appetite, and rectal bleeding.

Both studies were conducted in the UK and were looking for genetic links to IBD and were published today in the journal Nature Genetics.

Study 1

The first study discovered 3 genes amongst the inflammatory bowel disease study group that lead directly to the development of leaky gut by impairing the ability of intestinal lining to maintain tight gap junctions between cells. These large gap junctions are actually what create the increased intestinal permeability and allow the unwanted toxins, pathogens, and undigested food particles to directly enter the blood stream.

This is huge for the recognition of leaky gut considering that conventional medicine has yet to fully recognize its existence. But unfortunately, it’s going to take a lot more than one study to gain much ground.

Here are some encouraging words from Professor Chris Mathew, from King’s College London who worked on the study:

“This is very significant as most treatments to date are based on damping down immune response.
“In fact, our data suggests there may be mileage in trying to tighten up the mucosal barrier as well.”

It appears that they might be starting to think outside the box and figure out how to correct the root of the problem instead of just masking the symptoms with immune suppressant drugs. Maybe it just makes too much sense to remove the sources of inflammation instead?

But I can already tell you that there is a ton of mileage in gut healing because it has been going on with great success in the alternative health community for years now.

Study 2

The second study was more specifically looking at inflammatory bowel disease found in children. This study discovered 5 genes linked to autoimmune activation within the children. But the important result of this study was that they found similarities in genes associated with adult IBD. This proves that the inflammatory bowel disease found in children is the same as that of adults.

In other words, IBD is IBD no matter how you slice it. That means that if your child has IBD then they can and will benefit from healing leaky gut just the same as any adult.

Hopefully, these studies will promote further studies in the area of leaky gut and exposure will continue to rise. But things move extremely slowly in our upward causal oriented medical community. Unfortunately, we’re stuck having to look at our genes for answers to questions that could be much more easily answered from the opposite perspective. And that is exactly why leaky gut and inflammatory bowel disease have been treated for years in the alternative health community whereas conventional medicine is struggling to even know where to look.

In health and happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure program

I borrowed (stole actually!) this great leaky gut diet tip from a great fitness expert that, like me, understands the importance of the foods that you eat to your health. You probably don’t stop to the think about the psychological practices that so many of the processed food companies use to “convince” you to buy their unhealthy products.

Before I go any further, I’ll tell you this great leaky gut diet tip.

If a food product has to use its packaging or other advertising to sell you then that alone should be a clue that you should not eat it!

Think about it… When is the last time you saw a marketing campaign or television commercial for apples? When you buy fresh meat at the store does it come in a box or does it have a bunch of bright colors and smiley faces all over it? When was the last time you had to read the print on a package of strawberries before deciding whether or not they are healthy?

It’s all about food psychology.

Your brain is pre-wired to know what foods are good for you and what you need. That is why when you see an apple by itself you eat it without question. It doesn’t need fancy advertising to sell you. All you need to see is that it looks and tastes like an apple. It is all natural instinct.

These other processed foods that come in all kinds of boxes and packages on the other hand have to spend millions of dollars in advertising and marketing to bypass your natural instinct and reprogram your brain to convince you to eat their processed foods. They play off the fact that your brain is programmed to interpret bright colors (naturally found in fruits & vegetables) as foods. So they mimic these colors and make them even brighter on their packaging to further confuse your instinct. Without the television commercials and bright colors you would probably walk right by them because your brain does not naturally interpret a cardboard box or plastic packaging as food.

So the next time you are strolling through the grocery store, keep this great leaky gut diet tip in the back of your mind. If the box jumps out at you then just keep walking until you are instinctually drawn to some natural and whole foods. I’d bet you would start seeing some improvement in your chronic symptoms.

In health and happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure

Happy day after Halloween!

I hope you had fun last night whether you were out trick-or-treating or home handing out candy. I spent my night out with my family and my 2 year old son going door to door collecting leaky gut promoting high fructose corn syrup ridden candy. That Halloween candy is worse for your health than you probably thought.

Yes, I am quite the health nut but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want my son to enjoy on all the fun holidays or festivities. So last night I wanted to keep my little “organic free-range chicken” up to par with organic standards which isn’t easy on a night where all regards for health are tossed out the window.

But as you can see, I also couldn’t resist dressing him up in an adorable costume and taking pictures to use as blackmail for a little later in life.

Of course my little chick wanted candy of his own just like all the other kids but I came prepared. To avoid all that high fructose corn syrup, I emptied some wrappers from some of the more popular candies and filled them with more health healthy candy alternatives like organic macaroons and dates which contain only all natural ingredients. When he wanted a piece of candy, I made sure he got one of my special treats. The best part was he never knew the difference.

Whatever you did last night is in the past (including eating all that Halloween candy!). Do yourself, your kids, and your leaky gut a favor and toss out whatever Halloween candy you might have left and replace it with a healthier alternative like I mentioned above. Halloween or not, you should cut all processed candy out of your diet.

6 Reasons Why You and Your Leaky Gut Should Stay Away From High Fructose Corn Syrup

1. It travels straight to the liver where it is metabolized directly into fat. In fact it converts to fat more than any other sugar.

2. A recent study found evidence that it contributes to the development of diabetes.

3. It causes you to eat more, consume more calories, and gain weight because it does not stimulate production of the hormone leptin which works to regulate your appetite and signal to your brain that you are full.

4. It is highly processed and contains no enzymes, vitamins, or minerals. Instead it strips your body of these much needed micro-nutrients.

5. The fructose in high fructose corn syrup is not the same as fructose in fruit. It is chemically altered and the body doesn’t even recognize it as a food. Also, it is almost always made out of genetically modified corn.

6. It has been shown to increase osteoporosis, tooth decay, anemia, osteoarthritis, and many other leaky gut symptoms.

Do yourself a favor and ditch the Halloween candy filled with high fructose corn syrup. There are tons of healthier alternatives that will leave you more satisfied and healthier in the long run.

In health and happiness,

Karen Brimeyer
Author of the Leaky Gut Cure