Keto Benefits for Gut Health and Leaky Gut
The ketogenic diet plays an essential role in a person’s overall health. This diet helps to improve many medical conditions. The ketogenic diet is a low-carb and low-sugar diet. This diet is good for digestion. The ketogenic diet improves gut health. This diet is low in bulk and easy to digest. It reduces the load on the gut. The ketogenic diet can improve gut health at cellular levels. The ketogenic diet is good for the restoration and regeneration of the gut. Let’s explore the Keto Benefits for Gut Health and Leaky Gut.
What is a Leaky Gut?
The intestinal wall is made up of enterocytes and endothelial cells. These cells make a route for the passage of digested nutrients to pass into the bloodstream. These cells have some special receptors that allow the attachment of NLRP3 inflammasome. These proteins trigger the inflammation at the injured endothelium of the intestinal wall. When there is an over-activation of the NLRP3 inflammasomes it causes a lot of inflammation, which results in cracks formation between cells. These cracks allow the leakage of undigested nutrients into the bloodstream. This is called the leaky Gut. This process causes a potential disturbance in the body. In this condition, holes in the gut move the heavy nutrients into the blood without digestion.
Symptoms
– Brain fog and Fatigue is the most common symptom of a leaky gut. It is the first symptom of a leaky gut.
– Skin problems like eczema and dermatitis.
– Digestive disorders like Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), ulcerative colitis, and other types of inflammatory bowel disease.
– Diarrhoea
– Constipation
– Abdominal pain
– Bloating
– Celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases
– New food intolerance and food allergy
Symptoms
There are several causes of a leaky gut. These causes are given below.
– Sugar intake
– Alcohol
– Stress
– Obesity
– Chronic inflammation
– Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
– Antibiotics
How Ketones Suppress Inflammation
The ketogenic diet increases the number of ketones in the body. This process is called ketosis. The ketones produce a high number of stem cells in the gut. This diet helps in gut health. This diet helps to reduce inflammation by certain means. The effects of the ketogenic diet are given below.
Low in Sugar and Refined Carbs
The ketogenic diet is a low-sugar diet. A high sugar results in dysfunction of gut permeability. A diet high in fructose or other carbohydrates results in the disturbance of gut epithelium and plays a major role in the production of a leaky gut. It also diminishes the most important cause of gut leakage.
High in Fiber
In a ketogenic diet, a person gets all his energy from the bulk of fibers. This diet is having important nutritional values. It reduces intestinal permeability and helps the body to recover from a leaky gut. This diet also acts as a prebiotic. This diet produces short-chain free fatty acids which manifest a protective effect on the gut lining and inhibit the activity of NLRP3 inflammasomes. Five to six servings of the vegetable keto diet are suggestive for a day.
Anti-Inflammatory
Chronic inflammation results in the formation of a leaky gut. This high level of inflammation results in cracks in between gut linings. The ketogenic diet plays an important and potential role in the reduction of inflammation. The ketogenic diet acts as an anti-inflammatory diet. It activates the antioxidant process and reduces oxidative damage to cells. This reduction of inflammation is beneficial in recovering a leaky gut. The ketogenic diet restricts inflammatory foods. Inflammatory foods include
– Grains and legumes
– Dairy
– Refined sugar
Good for Weight Loss
The ketogenic diet helps to reduce body weight. It is one of the main manifestations of the ketogenic diet. The ketogenic diet gained popularity due to its good benefits in weight reduction. This process of weight loss is good for a leaky gut. Excess body fat is the risk factor for a leaky gut. The ketogenic diet is good for fat reduction and overall weight reduction. The ketogenic diet helps in restoring the function of the gut. This factor of the ketogenic diet helps in the healing of gut cracks. It improves the overall health of the gut.
Ketones Increase the Rate of Intestinal Stem Cells
Studies show that ketones are essential in the formation of intestinal cells. They are required for the formation of new cells. A healthy diet also produces intestinal stem cells. But it takes too long to do so because it has to pass through many metabolic processes to produce new intestinal stem cells. If a person is taking the ketogenic diet his ability to produce intestinal stem cells doubles. The ketogenic diet is high in ketones and it doubles the speed of healing of the gut. The ketogenic diet increases the thickness of the gut wall. It helps in the reduction of cracks forming in the gut wall. This diet is potentially helpful in the healing and regeneration of the gut wall.
Keto-Friendly Foods Feed the Cells in Our Gut
The keto-friendly food contains short-chain fatty acids. Short-chain fatty acids are good to feed for the cells of our gut. These short-chain fatty acids are good quality fats. Short-chain fatty acids like butyric acids are gut-friendly feed. In a normal healthy diet, these fatty acids are formed by metabolic processes of digestion. In the ketogenic diet, ketones are the main energy source for the body. The ketogenic diet is a natural source of butyric acid. This diet is high in butyric acid. So this diet is good for overall gut health. The ketone level of the body should be high enough to produce a good effect on the Gut lining. The ketogenic diet plays a positive effect on the lining of the gut and prevents the perforation or crack formation in the gut.
Foods low in carbs and high in gut-boosting benefits include
– Avocados. Avocados are not only rich in heart-healthy fats but also fiber, supplying a whopping 10 grams of fiber per cup.
– Leafy greens. Leafy greens are high in fiber and other beneficial nutrients like antioxidants and high in vitamins C and K.
– Coconut oil. Coconut oil may reduce inflammation and boost gut health.
– Kimchi. This staple Korean dish is made from vegetables like cabbage which boosts the content of beneficial bacteria to support gut health.
– Butter. Butter contains butyric acid, a short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) that may improve digestive health, as well as reduce intestinal inflammation and symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.
Conclusion
There are many keto benefits for gut health and improves the condition of a leaky gut. It reduces the intake of sugar and acts as an anti-inflammatory substance. It doubles the production of intestinal stem cells. So the ketogenic diet is potentially helpful in a recovery of a leaky gut. The ketogenic diet is also a gut-friendly food. It reduces the load on the gut.
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References
– Wolf. R (n.d.) Keto For Gut Health and Digestion. https://drinklmnt.com/blogs/health/keto-for-gut-health-and-digestion
– KetoMojo (2019) Why is Keto Good for Leaky Gut & Gut Health. https://keto-mojo.com/video/keto-helps-gut-health-leaky-gut/
– Brooks. S, ((2019) The Complete Leaky Gut Diet Guide: How to Heal Your Gut. https://perfectketo.com/leaky-gut-diet/#:~:text=The%20good%20news%20is%20that,that%20contributes%20to%20leaky%20gut.
– Peter J. Turnbaugh, Ph.D., associate professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco; Lona Sandon, Ph.D., MEd, R.D.N., L.D., program director, and assistant professor, Department of Clinical Nutrition, School of Health Professions, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas; May 20, 2020,Cell