Is your Leaky Gut Compromising your Immune System?

Is your Leaky Gut Compromising your Immune System?

If you don’t have a healthy gut, you don’t have a healthy immune system. It’s just that simple. Without a healthy immune system, you become susceptible to viral infections, sinus infections, gut issues, autoimmune disease, cancers, chronic illness, hormone issues, skin issues like rashes/ eczema/ psoriasis and brain based issues to name a few. The key to having a healthy immune system is to nurture and feed the 100 trillion bacteria of your microbiome, have a good barrier of the intestines and good Vagus nerve tone, abundant nutrient levels (like Vitamin D), good hormone levels and excellent detoxification. This could mean healing a leaky gut, feeding the good gut bacteria with 50-200 different plant materials every month, or simply just going organic with your food choices so that you aren’t eating pesticide and herbicide flavored foods.

The gut communicates directly with your brain and with the immune system.  The gut is fundamental to your health! 

  • Your gut makes up about 70-80% of your immune system 
  • 90% of your serotonin (happy neurotransmitter) is made in the GUT!
  • Dopamine. GABA, glutamate, serotonin, norepinephrine, acetylcholine  ALL neurotransmitters made in the gut
  • Vitamins and minerals are made available
  • 50% of stuff your body needs to get rid of happens in the gut

Do you have low serotonin levels? Depression? Likely you have a leaky gut that is playing a role. Serotonin is your sense of well being neurotransmitter and is critical for good bowel movements. Low serotonin levels could look like: 

  • Irregular sleep cycle
  • Depressed mood
  • Irregular bowel movements and constipation
  • Low libido
  • Increase in inflammation

Do you have low dopamine levels? Dopamine is a hormone that gives us feelings of pleasure and satisfaction, but it can also play a part in addiction. You might have low dopamine levels if: 

  • You are unmotivated
  • You experience a feeling of worthlessness or hopelessness
  • You tend to lose your temper for minor reasons
  • You have the need to be alert by consuming caffeine 
  • You never feel rested even after long hours of sleeping

Do you have low GABA levels? GABA is known for creating a calming effect by blocking certain signals to your brain. Anxiety is a common symptom of low GABA. You may have low levels of GABA if: 

  • You experience anxiety or depression
  • You have feelings of panic for no reason
  • You have a restless mind and it’s hard to turn your mind off to relax
  • You experience the feelings of “knots” in your stomach 
  • You feel overwhelmed easily 

Do you have low Acetylcholine levels? Acetylcholine is used in the “executive function” part of your frontal lobes, the Hippocampus “memory” centers and in your gut. You may have low Acetylcholine levels if: 

  • You have difficulty with your memory 
  • You have a low libido
  • You have a hard time comprehending and focusing 
  • You experience impaired judgment

Do you have low glutamate levels? Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter and is also important for your learning and memory. You might have low glutamate if:

  • You have trouble concentrating
  • You experience mental exhaustion
  • You suffer from insomnia
  • You overall have low energy

Do you have low norepinephrine levels? Norepinephrine plays an important role in the body’s “fight or flight” response. If you have low norepinephrine you could be experiencing: 

  • Headaches
  • Difficulty with your memory
  • Low blood sugar and low blood pressure
  • Anxiety and/or depression
  • Difficulty with sleep

What does it mean if you have an unhealthy gut?

  • You may have many belly symptoms like gas, bloating, changes in stool, heartburn, stomach ache or you could have none! 
  • You might gain 3-5 lbs in a day or carry extra weight for long periods of time
  • Your Hormones could be imbalanced especially around your period or you may be having peri/menopausal symptoms
  • Hypothyroidism always has a gut component
  • Skin issues: eczema or acne, rashes, allergies
  • Sinus issues and chronic sinus infections almost always have a fungal overgrowth root from the imbalance in the microbiome which allows fungus like candida to overgrow
  • Food reactions are 100% from a leaky gut, where food particles get into the bloodstream and the immune system “tags” them as bad
  • Memory issues, Brain Fog, any neurocognitive issue has gut involvement and often is the root
  • Fatigue- Body fatigue or Brain fatigue can happen with chronic inflammation in the gut

A healthy gut means you need to have good bacteria that are in balance! 

How do you get good bacteria?

  • Feed them! Feed your good gut bacteria with fiber! If bacteria don’t have food then they are going to eat you!
    • Goal: 20-25 grams of fiber a day
    • Goal: 50-250 different species of plant material/ month
  • Go Organic! If you are eating non-organic foods you are eating an herbicide called Glyphosate which acts like an antibiotic and kills your good gut bacteria instead. You CANNOT win if you are eating herbicides and pesticides!
  • Vitamin D! You need to have a vitamin D level of at least 60 on labs. Supplements are great, however, the best way to get vitamin D is from the sun. When the sun hits your skin it converts cholesterol into cholecalciferol  which converts into vitamin D in the liver. It is a hormone that is critically vital for regulating your immune system.

How to Boost Your immune system while you’re healing your gut:

It’s not a matter of if you will get sick, but when you will get sick and how severely. Viruses are a part of our lives. Infections are a part of our lives. Your immune system is DESIGNED to deal with viruses, bacteria, fungus and parasites.  What we need to focus on is how we can boost our immune systems so that we have the best chance at eliminating chronic inflammation and clearing infections quickly. 

  • High Dose of Vitamin C with equal parts bioflavonoids
  • Quercetin: inhibits the binding of viruses to your cells
  • EGCG: Green tea extract which also inhibits the binding of the virus to the cells
  • Vitamin D in olive oil weekly in the winter, sunshine in the summer for 10 min/day
  • If you get sick you can use herbs to speed recovery
  • Minimize inflammation
  • Decrease stress
  • Increase exercise
  • Eat Organic!

If you find yourself constantly dreading the “flu season” or getting some kind of sickness every other week, you may need to look at your gut to boost your immune system!

LABS we use:

We use Microbiome BIOMEFX to see what the bacterial makeup of YOUR gut is, because if you are missing keystone species you can’t make certain things you need and if there is an imbalance called “dysbiosis” in the bacteria then your immune system will be compromised. It also looks at some of the most common pathogens and parasites. This lab uses whole genome testing which is the best way to have 100% accuracy.  It takes 6 months to 3 years to recolonize your microbiome and many probiotics simply don’t work.

Contact our office today to find out more and get yours ordered! 


Chen Y, Xu J, Chen Y. Regulation of Neurotransmitters by the Gut Microbiota and Effects on Cognition in Neurological Disorders. Nutrients. 2021 Jun 19;13(6):2099. doi: 10.3390/nu13062099. PMID: 34205336; PMCID: PMC8234057.

Thursby E, Juge N. Introduction to the human gut microbiota. Biochem J. 2017 May 16;474(11):1823-1836. doi: 10.1042/BCJ20160510. PMID: 28512250; PMCID: PMC5433529.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22839-glutamate

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22610-norepinephrine-noradrenaline