Foods that help heal leaky gut

If you’re trying to heal your kid’s gut, a great place to start is with gut-healing foods. 

Here are some to add to your kiddo’s diet if they’re not in already:

Protein (chicken, beef, fish, beans, dairy, nuts, seeds, soy) - amino acids from protein are building blocks for all structures in the body down to the cellular level, including cells in the gut lining, improve the integrity of the gut barrier, and important for mucin synthesis

FODMAPs (garlic, onions, cauliflower, celery, cassava, beans) - increase stool volume improve calcium absorption, increase production of short-chain fatty acids, and of good flora like bifidobacterium and others

Probiotic foods (yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, fermented veggies) - anti-inflammatory, strengthen the gut mucosal barrier, lower hyperpermeability, and produce short-chain fatty acids

Vitamins A and D (orange and red veggies and fruits, cod liver oil, egg yolk, mushrooms) - positively impact mucosal barrier integrity, the immune system, and gut flora 

Fiber and short-chain fatty acids (starchy and nonstarchy veggies, whole grains, nuts, and seeds, butter, and ghee) - anti-inflammatory and regulate intestinal barrier function

Polyphenols (rainbow assortment of veggies and fruit) - antioxidant, lower intestinal permeability, and oxidative stress, and increase mucus secretion

What gut-healing foods are in your kid’s diet? LMK!

PMID: 36677677

Can food allergies be reversed or prevented?

When there are food allergies, the fear of reactions can cause major stress, tons of anxiety, even depression, and food fear leading to an ever shrinking diet and under nourishment for so many kids.

If your child has chronic skin rashes, they’re at greater risk for developing food allergies because they can more easily get sensitized to allergens through their leaky skin.

In fact, leaky skin associated with eczema is a known risk factor for developing food allergies.

Food allergies affect the entire family. The statistics are alarming. There’s been a 300% increase in food allergies in children over the past 20 years!

If your kid has food allergies, you might be wondering if they can be reversed. If you’re thinking about having more kids, you also might what to know if they can be prevented.

Here are some good places to start.

If your child already has food allergies:

👉follow your doctor’s guidance about what to keep out and what is safe to keep in

Whether or not your child has food allergies, and for you if pregnant or nursing:

👉Avoid eating processed junk food

👉Increase gut microbiome diversity by eating pre and probiotic foods, and taking a probiotic supplement (kids with food allergies have lower levels of certain healthy gut bacteria)

👉Eat the broadest diet possible including common allergens that are tolerated (the broader the diet = greater gut microbiome diversity)

👉Supplement with Omega 3s (EPA and DHA)

👉Get vitamin D levels optimal and supplement if needed

👉Minimize exposure to air pollutants

👉Support skin and gut barriers. Two primary ways food allergies develop are through leaky skin and leaky gut.

What Qs do you have about your kid’s food allergies? LMK!

https://doi.org/10.3390/ nu16060838

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anai.2024.03.010

Vitamin D For eczema and allergies

Here's what you need to know about vitamin D, the immune system, skin rashes like eczema, and allergies.

• Low vitamin D is linked to increased severity of eczema.

• Vitamin D helps inhibit Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. A problem bug for many with eczema.

• Vitamin D can speed up healing of the skin barrier, and stabilize the immune function of the gut and skin.

• Vitamin D regulates the immune system by encouraging the production of anti-inflammatory chemical messengers, and by blocking the release of inflammatory ones.

• Vitamin D cuts down the release of IgE (immunoglobulins present with food and environmental allergies).

And get this, supplementing mom with vitamin D can help colonize the infant gut with important, healthful microbes.

Because gut flora influences the development of eczema and other allergic conditions, supplementing vitamin D in pregnant women and in babies may help reduce these risks in kids!

Get vitamin D levels checked BEFORE supplementing, and work with a knowledgeable practitioner to determine the right dose (for you and your child).

Conventional medicine notes that a level of 30ng/mL is sufficient. From a functional perspective, that is LOW. Optimal levels to shoot for are more likely between 50-75ng/mL.

References

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6518061/

• https://athenaeumpub.com/vitamin-d-deficiency-and-its-relation-to-allergic-diseases-a-cross-sectional-study-among-allergic-patients-from-jeddah-city-saudi-arabia/