Digestive & Immune

Leaky Gut Treatment in Greenville, SC

Leaky gut treatment in Greenville, SC. Dr. Hendry's functional medicine approach heals intestinal permeability and resolves its downstream symptoms. Call (864) 365-6156.

★★★★★
"I was referred to Dr. Will Hendry after spending thousands of dollars for medical doctors and procedures regarding a digestive issue. I will never forget the amount of time he spent with me on my first visit — something that had never happened with conventional medicine."

— · April 2015 · Google Review

What Is Leaky Gut?

The gut wall isn't a passive membrane. It's a selective barrier — one cell layer thick in places — controlled by tight junction proteins that regulate what enters the bloodstream and what stays in the intestinal lumen. When those junctions open inappropriately, bacteria, toxins, and partially digested food particles cross into circulation. The immune system responds to what it encounters there. The result isn't always digestive symptoms. Brain fog. Joint pain. Skin eruptions. Fatigue. Autoimmune flares. These are frequent downstream presentations of intestinal permeability — conditions affecting organs with no obvious connection to the gut, driven by the systemic immune activation that a compromised gut barrier produces. The medical literature firmly establishes intestinal permeability as real, measurable, and treatable.

Common Symptoms

Chronic digestive symptoms — bloating, gas, and irregular bowel habits
Food sensitivities that seem to multiply over time
Brain fog and cognitive difficulties
Fatigue that doesn't respond to rest
Joint pain and muscle aches
Skin problems — eczema, psoriasis, acne
Autoimmune conditions or a family history of them
Mood disturbances — anxiety and depression with unclear cause

Root Causes: A Functional Medicine Perspective

The tight junctions between intestinal epithelial cells maintain the gut barrier. These junctions are weakened by: gluten (gliadin directly triggers zonulin release, opening tight junctions), chronic NSAID use (NSAIDs damage the gut lining), alcohol, antibiotics (disrupting the microbiome that supports barrier integrity), chronic stress (cortisol directly impairs gut barrier function), excessive sugar and refined carbohydrates (feeding inflammatory microbiota), and pathogenic bacteria and parasites.

SIBO creates particularly significant leaky gut — bacterial toxins from overgrown small intestinal bacteria damage the epithelial lining directly and through inflammatory mediators.

How We Treat Leaky Gut at IHP

The 5R gut restoration protocol systematically addresses leaky gut: Remove offending foods and pathogens, Replace digestive enzymes and stomach acid where deficient, Reinoculate with beneficial bacteria through pre and probiotics, Repair the gut lining with glutamine (the primary fuel for enterocytes), zinc carnosine, collagen, and vitamin A, and Rebalance lifestyle factors including stress, sleep, and dietary patterns.

Acupuncture regulates gut motility, reduces intestinal inflammation, and supports mucosal immunity — complementing the physical gut healing protocol with neurological regulation of the gut-brain axis.

Dr. Hendry's Approach

I test intestinal permeability using validated markers — zonulin and the lactulose/mannitol ratio — to establish an objective baseline and track actual healing. That matters because some patients feel better within weeks while the underlying permeability takes longer to close, and some show measurable barrier improvement before symptoms fully resolve. Knowing which is true changes how we pace the protocol and when we transition from repair to maintenance. I don't ask patients to trust the process without showing them it's working.

Treatments We Use for Leaky Gut

Leaky Gut Treatment
Gut Health Testing
Nutritional Counseling
Functional Medicine Consultation

Frequently Asked Questions About Leaky Gut

Yes. Intestinal permeability is documented in the peer-reviewed medical literature in connection with celiac disease, IBD, IBS, type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and many other conditions. While 'leaky gut syndrome' isn't a standard ICD code, the underlying pathophysiology is scientifically well-established.
The lactulose/mannitol urine test measures how much of these non-digestible sugars pass through the gut barrier into urine — elevated ratios indicate permeability. Serum zonulin (a protein that regulates tight junction permeability) provides a complementary marker. Dr. Hendry uses both to assess and monitor gut barrier integrity.
Mild to moderate intestinal permeability typically improves significantly within 8–12 weeks of a comprehensive gut healing protocol. Severe or long-standing permeability associated with active autoimmune disease may take 6–12 months of sustained effort. Reassessment with lab testing allows objective monitoring of progress.
Bone broth contains collagen, gelatin, and glycine — all of which support gut lining repair. It's a useful food-based tool but insufficient as the sole intervention. The full 5R protocol is needed for significant intestinal permeability. However, bone broth is a worthwhile component of a gut healing dietary approach.
Yes. Cortisol directly reduces tight junction protein expression, increasing intestinal permeability. This is one of the pathways by which psychological stress drives physical illness — including autoimmune flares, IBS exacerbations, and food sensitivity development. Stress management is therefore a core component of gut healing.
The most consistently therapeutic foods for gut barrier repair are: bone broth and collagen (glycine and proline support enterocyte repair and tight junction integrity), fermented foods (yogurt, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut — provide beneficial bacteria and short-chain fatty acids that strengthen the mucosal lining), cooked vegetables (fiber feeds bacteria that produce butyrate, the primary fuel for colonocytes driving mucosal repair), and omega-3 fatty acids from fish (reduce gut mucosal inflammation). Equally important is what to remove: gluten, alcohol, NSAIDs, processed foods, and excessive sugar all directly damage the gut lining. Food interventions are meaningful but insufficient alone — the full 5R protocol is needed for significant permeability.
The gut epithelial barrier is maintained by tight junction proteins that seal the spaces between intestinal cells. These are disrupted by: gliadin (a gluten protein that directly triggers zonulin, the master regulator of intestinal permeability), chronic NSAID use (ibuprofen, aspirin, naproxen directly damage the mucosal lining), alcohol, antibiotics (disrupting the microbiome that supports barrier integrity), chronic stress (cortisol reduces tight junction protein expression), a diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, and gut infections, parasites, and SIBO. In most patients, multiple factors are active simultaneously — which is why gut healing requires a systematic protocol rather than a single intervention.
Yes — the skin is one of the most visible signs of gut dysfunction. Eczema, psoriasis, acne, and rosacea all have documented connections to intestinal permeability and gut dysbiosis. LPS endotoxins from dysbiotic gut bacteria enter the bloodstream through a compromised gut barrier and trigger systemic immune activation that manifests as skin inflammation. Food antigens crossing the gut barrier provoke skin-based immune responses — explaining why many patients with persistent skin conditions see dramatic improvement from gut healing protocols even without specific skin treatments. Psoriasis in particular has strong gut-skin axis research, with intestinal dysbiosis found consistently in psoriasis patients.
The evidence for this link is substantial. Intestinal permeability is found in virtually every autoimmune condition studied — including type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, Hashimoto's, lupus, and celiac disease. The mechanism is molecular mimicry: when bacterial antigens or food proteins (particularly gliadin) cross the gut barrier, the immune response generated can cross-react with structurally similar self-tissues. This is the basis of the gut-drives-autoimmunity model now mainstream in autoimmune research. Addressing gut permeability consistently reduces autoimmune activity in many patients — regardless of which came first, the permeability or the autoimmune response.

Related Conditions

IBS & Gut Issues
Food Sensitivities
Autoimmune Disease
Chronic Fatigue

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