Is "leaky gut syndrome" a real thing?

Any time an article starts talking about "toxins," I get skeptical. "Toxins" is one of those woo-woo words that means whatever you want it to mean, and has no solid definition. It's also a word that turns up more often in pseudoscience than in regular medicine. Frankly, it's a "scare word," which is often used to goad people into buying a product or trying a system that they don't really need.

"Leaky gut syndrome" is the latest explanation for toxins in your bloodstream. It purports to explain a wide variety of problems (like rashes and gastrointestinal distress), which are often dismissed by the medical establishment. That sounds great, but it seems like every year we have a new Grand Unified Medical Theory that Explains Everything That's Wrong With You, and I feel like leaky gut syndrome is just the latest in a long line of problems peddled by snake oil salesmen.

In leaky gut syndrome, apparently your intestines develop microscopic holes or tears that allow toxins, proteins and such to be absorbed directly into your bloodstream, rather than being processed by your body. When these substances go straight into your blood, bad and weird things can happen. Including chronic pain, chronic fatigue, asthma, scleroderma, multiple sclerosis, autism, anxiety, and yes, rashes and gastrointestinal distress.

Wikipedia describes this as a "proposed condition," meaning that its existence has never been established by the Western medical establishment. But don't let that stop you! Just because it's "not an established diagnosis" doesn't mean that there aren't tons of alternative medical practitioners ready and waiting to take your money in order to explain and treat it for you, largely through the use of a controlled diet (no gluten or dairy, among other foods) and supplements (including nystatin, some B vitamins and the all-purpose "probiotics").

Image courtesy Flickr/danxoneil