Intestinal Permeability – Urine Test
Summary
Leaky gut syndrome is a condition of altered or damaged bowel lining, caused by antibiotics, toxins, poor diet, of infection that can lead to increased permeability of the gut wall. The normal immune system jumps into action only when it detects significant amounts of foreign proteins in the body. It reacts aggressively because these foreign proteins may signal the arrival of disease-causing microorganisms, such as bacteria or viruses. For example, when the body encounters a bacteria or virus, it mounts an immune reaction. And what’s a major way we encounter foreign proteins and substances? Through eating - immune soldiers sit under the cells that line the intestine, ready to pounce and call in reinforcements. This is called your GALT (gut associated lymphoid tissue). So, considering that we eat protein on a daily basis, how come our immune system isn’t constantly being activated? Well, before our defenses encounter anything that might trouble them, our digestive system usually breaks down most ingested proteins into its building blocks (called amino acids). However, for someone with increased intestinal permeability, intact proteins and peptides are allowed to seep out of the gut and elicit an immune reaction.
What Does It Measure
Lactulose, a disaccharide, normally penetrates poorly through the gastrointestinal barrier so an elevated level of lactulose indicates hyper-permeability. Mannitol, a monosaccharide, is readily absorbed and serves as a marker of transcellular uptake so a low percent recovery of mannitol is indicative of malabsorption. A high lactulose/mannitol ratio indicates an increase in gut permeability.
Results Can Assist in Determination of Proper Supplementation
It has been suggested that intestinal permeability is one key factor in the autoimmunity-causing trinity. Autoimmunity is the failure of the body to recognize its own constituent parts as self, which allows an immune response against its own cells and tissues. Any disease that results from such an aberrant immune response is termed an autoimmune disease and some common examples of such diseases are Celiac disease, Crohn’s, Ulcerative Colitis, Diabetes Mellitus type 1, Lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Grave’s disease, and Rheumatoid arthritis. Therefore, addressing altered intestinal permeability can be very effective at treating the disease process.
Talk to your health care provider about having an intestinal permeability test done today!