Dr. Tracy McAlvanah's Wellness Blog

One of the primary things we look for when someone has autoimmunity is leaky gut, a condition in which the intestinal wall is damaged, as it is usually a key factor. Autoimmunity is an extremely common disorder today in which the immune system attacks and destroys part of the body. Common autoimmune disorders include Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, and vitiligo. However, there are many more. What is leaky gut? Leaky gut, a condition in which inflammation damages the intestinal wall and makes it overly porous, creates a hyper inflammatory state in the body that can predispose one to autoimmunity. Also known as intestinal permeability, it has been shown to play a role in  triggering  and  exacerbating  autoimmunity. Leaky gut is still a relatively new concept. Science once believed the digestive system’s only role was to digest foods and absorb nutrients. Now we know it also serves a...

Remember how food allergies were a rarity when you were a kid? Those days are over — food allergies have risen 50 percent between 1997 and 2007. Sales of the EpiPen, an epinephrine injection in the event of a life-threatening allergic reaction, rose 76 percent in one year recently. The reasons for peanut-free flights and nut-free lunch tables at schools have been considered a mystery, but researchers are beginning to find clues as to what may be causing the explosive rise in food allergies. One  study  linked food allergies to gut bacteria — scientists gave mice with peanut allergies the gut bacteria Clostridia, which is commonly found in humans, and the mice’s peanut allergies resolved. The Clostridia acted as a barrier that prevented the allergens in peanuts from entering the bloodstream, where they trigger an allergic reaction. A previous study by the same researchers also found that removing certain gut bacteria — through administering antibiotics — from the guts of mi...