Gut Permeability with high-intensity exercise
The topic of food sensitivity and gut permeability in people who exercise at high intensity is near and dear to my heart.
Food sensitivity and gut permeability issues can span all the way from the recreational exerciser who loves HIT classes such as hot pilates to the professional athlete. I see it frequently in my female clients with digestive and hormonal issues, so if you are facing these issues, you are not alone!
As someone who has been an athlete for most of my life, I’ve experienced it firsthand.
It is real, and it deeply impacts health.
When I began to experience these symptoms, I thought it was just aging that was preventing me from performing at my best, but deep down, I knew my digestive issues and difficulty recovering were coming from something more serious.
Sure enough, I had gut permeability.
There is a difference between a food sensitivity and an allergy. A true allergy is something that causes an immediate reaction such as hives, wheezing, swelling, or difficulty breathing and is mediated in the body by what are called IgE antibodies.
I have been there.
As someone who has been an athlete for most of my life, I’ve experienced gut permeability firsthand.
However, a sensitivity causes a reaction that is delayed by up to 72 hours and is mediated by IgG antibodies, which makes it far more difficult to know what the cause is. Let’s face it, if you’re doing either high-intensity and/or long-duration exercise, you’re consuming lots of calories and a variety of foods. Sensitivities can show up as skin issues, headaches, brain fog, asthma, and a variety of other symptoms.
So, how is this related to gut permeability, and how does it affect your health?
When you do high-intensity exercise or work out for hours at a time, it diverts blood flow away from your digestive tract and reduces stomach acidity as more of your body’s energy is devoted to the muscles.
At a minimum, this means that you’re not absorbing nutrition properly.
And you need those nutrients for performance and recovery!
This is what you may experience happening after high-intensity exercise…
1. You don’t feel hungry after your workout and this translates to poor performance and recovery.
2. Since your stomach acid is reduced, microbes that would normally be killed by the stomach acid are able to flourish in the gut and establish residency there. When they touch the lining of the intestines, they irritate it and begin to make the nice thick mucus layer that protects the normally tight junctions become thin.
3. These responses from the body make the junctions become leaky and permeable, and large proteins from the foods you’re sensitive to make their way into the bloodstream instead of being kept inside the digestive tract.
If you are experiencing these things, you may have gut permeability that requires your attention.
This “gut permeability” is quite serious and is responsible for many health issues, especially autoimmune diseases. Once those large proteins are circulating in the bloodstream, it causes an inflammatory cascade causing joint pain, asthma, brain fog, and so much more.
Even worse, the proteins sometimes mimic human tissue, and the body begins attacking itself, hence, an autoimmune disease. This is known as “molecular mimicry.”
So, what can be done?
Don’t cancel your gym membership or back out of your next triathlon.
I can help you with food sensitivity testing, as well as assess the microbiome and use a test called Zonulin to see if you have gut permeability. You can order these tests in my lab shop here.
An elimination diet and personalized supplement plan can help heal things right up. You’re already putting in so much effort to live a healthy lifestyle.
These tests, followed by a personalized plan, will not only help you optimize your training and recovery but could save your life!
Experience exercise endurance without pain.
Your health is my priority.
In health,
Liz