Intestinal Permeability and Leaky Gut Testing in Chicago

Intestinal permeability is a term that is defined as how material flows through your gastrointestinal tract through the cells lining the gut wall into the rest of your body. The small intestine “uniquely functions as a digestive/absorptive organ for nutrients as well as a powerful immune and mechanical barrier against excessive absorption of bacteria, food antigens, and other macromolecules. Both malabsorption and increased intestinal permeability (‘leaky gut’) are associated with chronic gastrointestinal imbalances as well as many systemic disorders.” If undiagnosed, leaky gut can lead to inflammatory bowel disease, inflammatory joint disease, chronic dermatologic conditions and food allergies.

Leaky gut can lead to further internal issues, like an increase of the number of foreign compounds entering the bloodstream, bacterial antigens that could cross-react with host tissue to enter the bloodstream, leading to autoimmune processes and the enhancement of the uptake of toxic compounds that can overwhelm the hepatic detoxification system and lead to an overly sensitized immune system.

What is Intestinal Permeability / Leaky Gut Testing?

The assessment is used to test small intestinal absorption and barrier function within the bowel. Causes of increased intestinal permeability can be intestinal infection, ingestion of allergenic foods or toxic chemicals, deficient secretory IgA, trauma and endotoxemia and NSAIDs. Tests can show a wide variety of issues, including food sensitivities, bowel inflammation, nutritional deficiencies and malabsorption.

Testing for Intestinal Permeability / Leaky Gut

Working with one of our Functional Medicine Doctors at Aligned Modern Health, you can target and treat your Intestinal Permeability or Leaky Gut. Your doctor will work with you to create an individualized treatment plan that gets to the root cause of your complaints. Our doctors may provide a series of panels for intestinal antigenic permeability screening. Genova’s intestinal permeability assessment tests the ability of two non-metabolized sugar molecules to permeate the intestinal mucosa. People being tested will drink a premeasured amount of two sugar molecules: lactulose and mannitol. Then after submitting a urine sample six hours later, intestinal permeability or malabsorption is tested within the two sugar levels.

Treatment for Intestinal Permeability / Leaky Gut

If you are suffering from any of the symptoms listed above, contact our Functional Medicine Doctors at Aligned Modern Health! We have clinics all over the Chicagoland area and surrounding suburbs. Request an appointment or free consultation, below!