Leaky Gut - link to Autoimmune disease?

[Magicpaintbrush]

I'm just wondering if anyone has heard of this or has any experience of it? I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in feb, finally, but I've been unwell and in a lot of pain since July, so going on nearly 10 months now and I've got my first NHS hospital appointment next week (I had to go to Benenden to get my diagnosis). In the interim I've been reading up a lot to see if I can ease my symptoms through diet and I came across a whole load of stuff by various RA Consultants online who were talking about the theory that Leaky Gut could be a cause of RA and other autoimmune diseases. In a nutshell the theory is that after years of eating gluten/sugar/caffiene/alcohol and dairy your gut can eventually become porous, leading to particles getting into your blood stream which then triggers an immune response where your body basically attacks itself? Has anybody else heard of this? The theory is that you could ease your symptoms by removing the list of foods above from your diet thereby giving your gut a chance to heal itself. It would be good to hear what others think about this. And fyi I had a terrible diet coke addiction for about 10 years, really bad, and now I'm wondering if I brought this Rheumatoid Arthritis upon myself.

I’ve heard of it, but no idea if it’s true or not. Hoing someone else will come along who is more informed than I am.

Are you sero positive?

I don't think there is really any good medical evidence behind the leaky gut theory - I think Tim Spector talks about it in one of his books. You absolutely did not bring RA on yourself, it's your misfiring immune system. I have a similar autoimmune condition and it's just my shitty genes. Nothing environmental has ever made a difference; I can have the cleanest diet or I can eat my body weight in chocolate and there's no difference to my symptoms. Proper medication and pain relief are the only thing that works.

I notice a difference by avoiding these things.

You could try this or you could asked to be referred for a colonoscopy . If there is something more serious than diet the latter may help. But again , not a doctor / consultant , but what I did and it was absolutely brilliant - ended up with a diagnosis & touch wood , all working thus far. ( I am assuming I am interpreting leaky gut rightly ) - I cannot speak about the arthritis .

I believe in it.

I was 90% covered in psoriasis and looked like a burns victim. When it. Reply into my precious face 😂 I took radical action and went on a juice fast for over a month. I drank nothing but apple carrot and very root and kale juices.

five weeks later it started to clear and it all but vanished - I had had it by then for over two years. It has never ever come back remotely like that and it’s been 15 years now.

i also take probiotics - proper ones not that yakult crap - every time it comes back and it always starts to recede after a few months.

Also OP: apparently artificial sweeteners absolutely murder your micro biome although I’ve not read any research directly. Have heard it from several scientist-written books over the years.

It makes sense that a diet lower in processed food is healthier.

I suspect I might have leaky gut ! But told my doctor this he said I am just lactose intolerant.

There's currently no good medical evidence that a nice, clean, causal

dietary factors -> leaky gut -> disease

pathway exists.

This article seems fairly accurate:

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/is-leaky-gut-real

Interesting links thanks