What is Intestinal Permeability (Leaky Gut)?
Many environmental triggers cause inflammation in the gut, which eventually leads to intestinal permeability, or “leaky gut.” Leaky gut allows undigested food particles, bacteria, and other pathogens to escape into the bloodstream where they can trigger allergies, sensitivities, and inflammation in other parts of the body.
When the digestive tract mucosa is inflamed, the tight junctions of the intestinal mucosa are compromised as they become widened and permeable to large, undigested compounds, toxins, and bacteria aka “leaky gut.” The large compounds of undigested proteins that are absorbed are reacted against by the underlying intestinal immune system and promote an exaggerated immune response.
This creates a vicious cycle of further intestinal inflammation and greater loss of intestinal barrier integrity. The immune “confusion” from the “leaky gut” has been shown to perpetuate immune overzealousness and loss of ability to regulate self and non-self tolerance, which leads to chronic disease.
What Causes Leaky Gut?
Therefore, as the intestinal tract becomes inflamed from diet, lifestyle, medications, and infections, it causes further intestinal inflammation, feeding the vicious cycles promoted by the intestinal permeability.
Cyrex Array 4 measures intestinal permeability to large molecules which inflame the immune system. The biometric screen identifies the damaging route through the intestinal barrier. It is recommended for patient who present with multiple symptom complaints (including Chronic Fatigue Syndrome), suffer from abnormal immune cell count and function (including autoimmune diseases), and/or complain of food sensitivity and intolerance.
