MSM for Leaky Gut SyndromeMSM is most popular as a supplement for reducing inflammation, reducing joint pain, and aiding in athletic recovery. But it is capable of so much more than that! Perhaps one of MSM’s least-known (but most-promising) uses is in improving intestinal health. A common problem that often goes undiagnosed is leaky gut syndrome.

What characterizes leaky gut?

Leaky gut refers to intestinal permeability caused by damage to the intestinal lining. Below we will discuss how leaky gut may affect you and how MSM can be helpful with this common problem. Once the intestinal lining is damaged, undigested food particles, toxic waste products and harmful bacteria “leak” out of the intestines into the bloodstream. The body responds to the invasive material by triggering an autoimmune response, which in turn can cause problems that are often incorrectly attributed to seasonal or environmental allergies, including chronic fatigue, migraines, sinus blockages, and skin rashes including eczema, acne, and psoriasis. The autoimmune response also triggers inflammation throughout the body, which, unconnected as it may seem, can trigger joint pain including rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. Other symptoms of leaky gut include IBS, diarrhea or constipation, thyroid problems and unexplained weight gain.

How does MSM treat leaky gut?

There is no one solution to leaky gut. Treating it requires a combination of efforts, including tailored diet restrictions, medication control, and supplementation. Along with a high-quality probiotic and a good multivitamin, OptiMSM® can play a key role in addressing both the causes and symptoms of leaky gut.

MSM addresses leaky gut in the following ways:

  • MSM reduces inflammation. One of the most common reasons people take MSM is to reduce inflammation in their joints. MSM is useful for this purpose when people experience joint pain as a result of leaky gut syndrome. More importantly, the same anti-inflammatory properties that make MSM beneficial in the joints also help reduce inflammation in the lining of the small intestine, one of the causes of leaky gut.
  • MSM promotes cellular health by allowing nutrients to be more effectively delivered to cells while carrying away harmful toxins and free radicals. Promoting cellular health in the lining of the small intestine promotes the production of enzymes that break down food and helps close the gaps in the intestinal villi that are at the root of leaky gut.
  • MSM relieves allergic responses. MSM promotes cellular permeability, allowing your blood to more quickly flush out contaminants. This means that the body doesn’t need to generate such an aggressive autoimmune response when undigested food leaks into the bloodstream.
  • MSM promotes detoxification. Toxins are one cause of intestinal inflammation.
  • MSM relieves constipation, one of the symptoms of leaky gut.
  • MSM reduces Candida growth, another cause of intestinal inflammation.
  • MSM promotes skin health, helping heal rashes caused by the body’s autoimmune response to leaky gut.
  • MSM promotes mental clarity and alertness, which can be reduced when contaminates in the blood make their way into brain tissue.
  • MSM helps the liver produce chlorine. The liver uses chlorine to purge contaminants from the blood.
  • MSM promotes the control of stomach acid. Stomach acid dissolves food before it reaches the small intestine. Improperly dissolved food can clog the intestine and lead to damaging inflammation.
  • MSM fights free radicals that cause oxidation. Oxidation can be another cause of intestinal permeability.
  • MSM helps reduce hypersensitivity to drugs, including over the counter NSAIDs and antibiotics that can damage the lining of the small intestine.
  • MSM helps remove parasites from the body. Parasites can be one of the causes of leaky gut, by clinging to the cell walls and releasing harmful toxins or creating inflammation by their presence. Parasites can also cause nutrient deficiencies by robbing the body of nutrients that would otherwise be absorbed into the bloodstream and tissues. MSM has demonstrated noteworthy antiparasitic action against all of the parasites commonly found in the United States, including Giardia, Trichomonas, roundworms, nematodes, Enterobius and other intestinal worms. Tests indicate that MSM may hinders the ability of parasites to attach to the mucous membrane surface of the intestine. When parasites cannot attach, they cannot inflame the lining of the intestine or steal the nutrients they need to grow and reproduce. Unattached parasites will be flushed out of the body with the rest of the food waste. When using a microscope to look at a stool sample from a person who recently started taking MSM, it’s actually possible to see the movement of worms that used to be clinging to the lining of the intestines. Taking MSM for antiparasitic effect requires a short period of high doses. Take 5,000 to 10,000 mg of MSM daily for three or four weeks, then drop back to 3,000 mg per day.

The Kala Health Pledge for Quality

Quality PledgeBy now, if you think you might be suffering from leaky gut, you’re probably thinking of trying MSM to see if it can help. If you’ve read any of our other articles, you probably also already know that MSM is safe and does not have contraindications or side effects. However, MSM’s safety can only be ensured if the MSM you are taking is pure and high quality. The dietary supplement market, unfortunately, is flooded with low quality supplements, including many inexpensive and adulterated forms of MSM. Before you go online and start comparing prices, you should be aware that with MSM, you get what you pay for. The difference in quality between MSM distilled and packaged in the United States vs. MSM made overseas (frequently in China) is considerable. If you take a generic brand MSM, you risk inadvertently absorbing heavy metals and other pollutants, and could even do yourself more harm than good. Though many Chinese made MSM products will say that they are “100% pure,” it’s important, as with any supplement, to always do your research and make sure that what you’re taking is what it says it is, and to buy from brands with a reputation for quality, like Kala Health. Kala Health sells OptiMSM®, which is, without exception, the highest quality MSM supplement available for sale.

Here at Kala Health, we make it our business to offer the purest and best supplements available. There will always be cheaper, lower quality products on the market, but our customers keep coming back to us because they know that quality costs. For over twenty years, we have carefully cultivated our reputation for delivering only the highest quality dietary supplements made from the finest ingredients. Our entire business model rests on this reputation. That’s why all of our MSM products contain ingredients made by Bergstrom Nutrition. OptiMSM® and its animal equivalent, PurforMSM, are the purest and only GRAS-certified MSM products in the world and they are made exclusively in the USA. When it comes to choosing a supplement for your health, we at Kala know that there are no shortcuts. We wouldn’t give a lesser MSM supplement to our families, and neither would we sell a lesser supplement to you.