Diabetes, memory loss? You may have leaky gut syndrome

Skin diseases, allergies, diabetes, depression, memory deterioration… The  cause of chronic diseases that affect many people may be the leaky gut syndrome.

Leaky gut is usually caused by imbalance of microflora in the intestine. More and more studies have shown that supplementation of probiotics has a positive effect on the prevention or treatment of diseases.

Freshwerkz has developed solutions based on the “Human Microbime Project”, listed by the World Economic Forum as one of the top ten emerging technologies in 2014. With the support of Spring Singapore, the research team standardized the production process by encapsulating the dormant microbes in a capsule, and commercialized the solutions.

The reporter interviewed Dr. Chia Boon Tat, one of the founders of Freshwerkz, about the relationship between gut leaks, chronic diseases and probiotics.

Reporter: More and more studies have found that many chronic diseases of humans are caused by leaky gut.  Can you elaborate on this?

Dr. Chia: Food enters the gastrointestinal tract and is broken down into smaller molecules. The intestinal wall of the small intestine allows only these small molecules of nutrients to pass through the intestinal wall into the blood, recirculate to the body where it is needed, and the dregs are sent to the large intestine. The water is removed and the feces are excreted.

The human intestinal wall is composed of a thin layer of cells, and the intestinal mucosa on the intestinal wall is responsible for protecting the cells of the intestinal wall from damage.

The fiber in the food is fermented by the microflora in the large intestine to produce fatty acids, which increase the intestinal mucosa and “reinforce” the intestinal wall. A healthy intestine is like a wall that prevents macromolecules from leaking.

However, if the microflora in the intestines is out of balance, it will not produce sufficient fatty acids, the intestinal mucosa will be compromised, the intestinal wall will no longer be tight, and gaps will begin to appear, and some undigested macromolecules and metabolism in the intestine will be produced. Waste or microbial toxins, etc, enter the blood circulation through the leaky intestinal wall.

At this point, the white blood cells think that  the body is being attacked, which will lead to allergic reactions in various organs. Our blood flows throughout the body. If an allergic reaction occurs in the pancreas, symptoms of type 1 diabetes may occur. If an allergic reaction occurs in the blood that transports nutrients to the brain, it may cause depression, memory loss, learning disabilities, hyperactivity and other symptoms.

Reporter: How does a probiotic product alleviate leaky gut syndrome? What is a good probiotic?

Dr. Chia: The leaky gut is caused by the imbalance of the microflora in the intestine. This imbalance happens because  insufficient amount of good probiotics or insufficient species are present. Therefore, if we let good probiotics enter the stomach and increase fatty acids, the intestinal wall will be “reinforced.”

However, only live probiotics will work, and many probiotic products on the market, after being processed, have essentially no active substances. In addition, stomach acid, bile, hot water, etc. in the stomach easily kill probiotics.  Therefore it is a challenge to allow probiotics to survive and reproduce in the stomach.

By subjecting them to different challenges, we try to “train” our probiotics to adapt to the gastrointestinal environment of the human body. For example, in the different fermentation stages, starch, protein, fat, etc, are introduced to see which probiotics can survive. The probiotics we now cultivate will not only be killed by stomach acid, but also work with one other and change the environment in the stomach.

Our products contain three things: prebiotics, probiotics, and plant nutrients. Prebiotics will help increase the number of good probiotics, and the introduction of good microflora will change the gastrointestinal environment.  They not only increase the number of good bacteria, but also increase the type of bacteria and balance the intestinal tract.

For the diabetes caused by leaky gut syndrome, the bitter gourd nutrients in Provie G can help control blood sugar.  For brain functions affected by leaky gut syndrome, the rhodiola nutrients in Living Logic+ can effectively improve brain deterioration.

Our three-pronged approach not only slow down the symptoms, long-term use can also repair the leaky gut.  The effect varies from person to person, and it usually takes one or two months see the effects.