What Is The Connection Between Fatty Liver and Leaky Gut?

Leaky gut is a common medical term describing a porous digestive tract that allows partially digested food particles, bacteria and other pathogens free passage into our circulatory system. And when left unchecked, has negative ramifications for liver health as well. To learn more read below.

This breakdown occurs when there is an increase in harmful bacteria and or yeast (candida) along the intestinal walls. When a population tipping point is reached the intestinal wall is compromised. These bacteria and candida can literally burrow in-between and through the cells of the intestinal lining like a root system.

Most of the time, we have a symbiotic relationship with our intestinal bacteria that we inherit from birth, and they are critical in reducing toxins, breaking down food and aid in immune function. Beneficial bacteria also conduct other critical functions, for instance supplying around 80% of our serotonin levels. So, when there is a dysbiosis (bacteria imbalance), beneficial bacteria are replaced with harmful bacteria and candida and you have less serotonin available. The resulting low serotonin levels frequently lead to insomnia and depression.

But harmful bacteria can produce chemicals that are detrimental to other beneficial bacteria as well as the walls of our GI tract. Harmful bacteria and yeast overgrowth most often gain a foothold after a round of antibiotics. This can also occur after a severe cold, but more recently Americans get it from their diets over longer periods of time.

1. Years of eating diets high in sugars, this can increase candida populations.
2. Chronic Stress
3. Poor diet also increase bacteria colonies that are detrimental to good gut health.
4. Use of antibiotics without immediate good bacteria reintroduction.
5. Pesticides, GMOs and other harmful toxins that ravage the intestine walls and beneficial bacteria.

When our intestinal wall is breached, this allows food particles to pass freely into our body and over time the immune system becomes overwhelmed with invaders. As if this is not bad enough, your immune system may also attack its own cells near the intestinal wall openings as a sort of collateral damage. This heightened immune state is often associated with chronic inflammation or autoimmune diseases.

This dysbiosis leads to leaky gut, which then leads to liver damage. How does the happen? The influx of partially digested food particles flowing into the body overwhelms our immune system and must be processed some other way. The liver which filters our blood approximately seven times per day, is responsible for capturing and detoxifying the blood at this point.

If the necessary detoxifying antioxidants (i.e., Glutathione, NAC, sulfur compounds) are in short supply, the liver simply shuttles the toxins into fat cells to protect the body. These fat cells are stored primarily in the liver, but can accumulate our waist, hips and thighs. These same individuals suffer from obesity and crippled liver function. Testing reveals higher-than-normal blood sugar levels as the liver is the regulatory organ for insulin.

The best solution to counter this cascade is finding ways to alleviate stress, reduce candida overgrowth, changing the diet and supplementing with digestive enzymes and gut and liver repairing compounds.

The experience of our physician network and years of working with clients has proved the best approach is a protocol of Hepatiben (liver cleanse), Candida Complex, Leaky Gut Repair and Digest Harmony. 

The sequence in this protocol is critical because we don’t want to introduce potent ingredients that curb candida to the immune system. That may trigger a sensitivity to them and make recovery more challenging. Building up the intestinal wall with Leaky Gut Repair and Digest Harmony is the first step. This can run concurrent with Hepatiben to cleanse the blood and reduce overall toxicity. Once the gut lining has some degree of repair, we can introduce Candida Complex with the goal of achieving a better balance of microbes in our microbiome.

This process has a different timeline for everyone, but frequently this takes 1-3 months. More severe cases will take longer. Remember, this breakdown and microbial imbalance took years to evolve – so it will take some time to repair. But customers are relieved to know this can be done without harsh pharmaceutical drugs or surgical intervention.