If you have thyroid disease, acne, or headaches, the root cause likely isn’t in your thyroid gland, skin, or head. Many symptoms stem from a whole-body imbalance, often originating in your gut – even if you don’t have any glaring digestive issues.
What is Leaky Gut?
Leaky gut, or increased intestinal permeability, occurs when the tight junctions in the gut lining become damaged, allowing undigested food particles, toxins, and bacteria to pass into the bloodstream. This can lead to inflammation and trigger an immune response, potentially resulting in a variety of symptoms and health issues, such as food sensitivities, autoimmune diseases, skin conditions, cognitive issues, and digestive problems. A healthy gut barrier is crucial for maintaining overall health and preventing these complications.
The 5R Program: A Comprehensive Approach
This 5R program is perfect for:
- Those concerned about leaky gut
- Maintaining a healthy intestinal lining
- Addressing digestive issues or imbalances in the gut microbiome balance (past or current)
- Those who have taken antibiotics
- Supporting a healthy immune response and thyroid function
- Reducing sugar cravings and maintaining a healthy weight
The 5R program includes five steps to promote gut health and maintain systemic balance: remove, replace, reinoculate, repair, rebalance.
5R Program for Leaky Gut
Step 1: Remove Inflammatory Foods, Stress, Infections, & Toxins
INFLAMMATORY FOODS
Identify and remove factors that may be contributing to your symptoms, starting with your diet. Certain foods are known to be more allergenic than others and can trigger inflammation in individuals. Remove the common allergy-producing foods including gluten-containing grains and dairy products.
Common Inflammatory Foods Include:
Sugar, alcohol, dairy, eggs, gluten, grains and pseudograins (ie: quinoa), legumes, GMOs, and nightshades (ie: tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes).
Replace them with gut-friendly foods like vegetables, (other than potatoes), high quality proteins & fats, nuts, nut butters, seeds, fruit and dairy substitutes. Your gut will love these five foods to support healthy inflammatory levels in the body and gut.
STRESS
Stress can impair your digestion and nutrient absorption. When you eat under stress, your body is in the opposite state of where you need to be to digest, assimilate nutrients, and burn calories.
Neurotransmitters like serotonin are found in your gut. In fact, the greatest concentration of serotonin, which is involved in mood control, depression and suppressing aggression, is found within your intestines–not your brain.
Nourishing your gut flora with good bacteria is extremely important for proper brain function, including psychological well-being and mood control.
Stress-management strategies include exercise, restorative sleep, meditation, deep breathing, and scheduling time to eat without rushing.
INFECTIONS AND TOXINS
Have your doctor test for and eliminate any pathogens, toxins, and chronic infections in the sinus, oral cavity, or intestinal tract. Bacterial and yeast overgrowth, viruses, fungi, parasites, toxic chemicals, and toxic metals are common contributors to gut-related symptoms.
Step 2: Replace
Assess whether you have adequate stomach acid and digestive enzymes. Stomach acid is crucial for killing pathogens in food and insufficient stomach acid will create an environment for bacteria and candida infections to thrive.
Digestive enzymes are necessary for breaking down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Support normal stomach acid production with betaine HCL and pepsin, or digestive bitters. Consider supplementing with pancreatic enzymes (lipase, protease, amylase) for better digestion and gallbladder function.
Step 3: Reinoculate
This step involves reintroducing healthy bacteria after removing unfavorable substances. This can be accomplished with a variety of foods and supplements.
PROBIOTICS
The best way to increase the number of good bacteria in your gut is via probiotics. Probiotics are live bacteria that support normal digestion and a healthy gut environment. The body’s “good” versus “bad” bacterial balance is important.
Choose a probiotic with at least 35 billion CFUs and eat more fermented foods rich in probiotics.
PREBIOTICS
Prebiotics are non-digestible fibers that feed beneficial gut bacteria. It’s recommended to take probiotics with a prebiotic supplement such as inulin, fructooligosaccharides, or arabinogalactans.
During this step, slowly increase the dose of probiotics over a two-week period to allow the intestinal tract to adjust. If the dose of the probiotics and prebiotics are increased too quickly it can result in excessive gas and discomfort.
Here are some of my favorite gut nourishers and a green drink recipe to naturally boost the prebiotics in your diet.
Step 4: Repair
After two weeks taking probiotics and prebiotics, add additional nutrients to support the gut’s mucosal lining and tight junctions. Key nutrients include:
GUT-SUPPORTING NUTRIENTS:
Omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA (1-3 grams per day)
L-Glutamine (6-10 grams per day)
Vitamin B5 - Pantothenic acid (500-1000 mg per day)
Zinc Citrate (10 mg per day)
Vitamin E as mixed tocopherols (400 mg per day)
Glycine (6-10 grams per day)
OTHER NUTRIENTS TO CONSIDER:
Butyrate
Collagen
Curcumin
Digestive blends like Glycophagen GI Wellness (a blend of digestive enzymes, probiotics, glutamine, and other gut-nourishing nutrients)
Step 5: Rebalance
Sustain Your Progress
To maintain your health gains:
- Continue a balanced, nutrient-rich diet.
- Incorporate ongoing stress management practices.
- Regularly evaluate your symptoms and adjust your protocol as needed.
Follow this 5-step protocol for 12 weeks, monitoring signs and symptoms weekly. The Institute of Functional Medicine has been successfully applying this program for the past 15 years. The evidence is strong: protecting and restoring the intestinal barrier is crucial for your health.
Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods
References: Dr. Jeffrey Bland at Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute and Dr. Amy Myers at Austin Ultra Health
