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Nutrition Your toddler’s gut health:
Leaky gut 101
101
By Dr. Annie Salsberg, N.D.
How to spot “leaky gut syndrome” in children – and how
treatment may help heal tummy troubles, rashes and
chronic congestion.
Health-conscious grown-ups have started paying a lot
more attention to their gut health – and it warrants
looking at for toddlers, too. While mild to moderate
digestive, skin and respiratory symptoms in children can
seem to come from nowhere, they often stem from
issues in the digestive system – specifically a condition
known as “leaky gut syndrome”, which can be caused
by a number of factors, including food sensitivity.
A key feature of a healthy gut is that it is selectively
permeable – meaning that it allows for the absorption of
nutrients, but it does not allow toxins, pathogens (i.e. bacteria, virus, fungus), or large food
particles to pass through it into the bloodstream. With leaky gut syndrome (more formally called
intestinal hyperpermeability), this mechanism is compromised.
What causes leaky gut
There are a number of factors that can cause the irritation of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT).
In a healthy gut, a system of enterocytes and villi create “tight junctions” that allow for
selective permeability. When these are damaged, the tight junctions loosen and the GIT is no
longer able to keeps certain elements out and may release food particles (like proteins) into
the bloodstream.
Some of the most common triggers for gut irritation in children can include:
• Food intolerances or sensitivities (most commonly cow milk, soy, wheat and eggs)
• Certain medications
• GIT infection
• Dysbiosis (an imbalance between the good and bad bacteria in the GIT)
• Nutrient deficiencies
How leaky gut affects health
When food particles pass through a leaky gut, the immune system is triggered and this can
lead to inflammation. The tissues most often affected are in the gut, lungs, ears, nose,
and skin. Inflammatory symptoms associated with leaky gut include eczema, rashes,
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Nutrition Your toddler’s gut health: Leaky gut 101
By Dr. Annie Salsberg, N.D.
101
mucous congestion, asthma, diarrhea, constipation, and abdominal pain/colic. And because
damaged enterocytes and villi are unable to adequately breakdown food,
further irritation by food particles ensues, and the cycle of leaky gut continues, creating a
vicious cycle.
Healing the gut
The best path to healing the gut depends on the cause, but the guiding principal is to remove
agents that could be agitating the gut and add elements that can help the gut heal itself.
Some ways to do this include:
• Removing offending foods, such as cow milk or gluten and finding alternatives
(for example, swapping cow milk for goat milk, or going gluten-free)
• Talking with your healthcare provider about the impact of medications on the GIT –
antibiotics, antacids, and NSAIDs (i.e. Ibuprofen) can be particularly irritating
• Identifying and resolve any lingering GIT infection – this may be bacterial, viral,
or fungal in origin
• Starting a probiotic to add to the good bacteria in the GIT
• Supplementing any nutrient that may be missing or deficient in the diet. This can include
vitamins, minerals, or fatty acids. A daily multivitamin and/or an omega 3 fatty acid
supplement may be right for some children.
One of the best ways to advocate for your child’s health (and your own!) is to empower
yourself with a deeper understanding of how the body works. Making small changes to diet
and lifestyle can result in big health wins.
Dr. Annie Salsberg is a board-certified naturopathic physician and Nutritional Science and
Education Manager at KABRITA
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USA