Have you ever wondered how your gut affects your Endometriosis? And what the role of leaky gut is in your symptoms? Because if you have symptoms like bloating, constipation and/or diarrhoea, flatulence, fatigue, brain fog, headaches or migraines you're very likely to have leaky gut!

But first, what is leaky gut? Well, if you have leaky gut, or gut hyperpermeability, your gut wall is damaged and allows undigested food particles through into the blood stream. To get a sense of what this damage is like, imagine your gut wall is a like a brick wall. With leaky gut, the mortar between the bricks is starting to crumble and disappear, leaving gaps where you can see outside. Something similar is happening to your gut wall.

The problem with this is that when undigested food particles get into the blood stream, your immune system is triggered, because these food particles are not meant to be there. This increases inflammation and worsens your Endometriosis symptoms. But increased inflammation also makes your leaky gut worse, so you've got a vicious cycle of worsening leaky gut and increased inflammation. Some of these food particles, in particular gluten and dairy proteins, can cross the blood brain barrier, and once in the brain, act as opiates. You'll notice this as intense fatigue and brain fog.

So your leaky gut is partially caused by your inflammation. But there is another contributor: food intolerances.

When you are intolerant to a food (read more about food intolerances and where they come from here) they trigger a chemical that damages your gut wall further and cause various digestive symptoms such as bloating, constipation and/or diarrhoea, and flatulence.

A second problem when you have leaky gut is that you won’t be able to absorb nutrients from your diet effectively. This can lead to, or worsen, nutrient deficiencies, such as iron or B vitamins, contributing further to fatigue.

And thirdly, a damaged gut wall means there is less surface area for good gut bacteria to settle and multiply. We now know that our gut bacteria play an important role in anxiety and depression and have some other key functions in the gut (listen to my podcast episode ‘What do gut bacteria actually do”).

Now you know the role of leaky gut in your Endometriosis symptoms, the question is, of course, what should you do to heal your gut? This article gives you some strategies.

And if you'd like to have a personal chat with me about how you can reduce the severity of your Endometriosis symptoms through diet, book a free Endometriosis SOS Call.