Alternative Medicine Practitioner Services

Leaky Gut Treatment in Greenville, SC

Leaky Gut Treatment at IHP Greenville. Dr. Hendry, DAOM — functional medicine, root-cause diagnostics, personalized care. Call (864) 365-6156.

Leaky gut syndrome (intestinal hyperpermeability) describes a breakdown in the intestinal barrier that allows partially digested food particles, microbial products (LPS, bacterial DNA), and metabolites to pass through the gut wall into the bloodstream — triggering systemic immune responses, inflammation, and autoimmune processes. At Integrative Health Partners, Dr. Hendry treats leaky gut through a structured 4R protocol (Remove, Replace, Reinoculate, Repair) integrated with acupuncture for gut-brain axis regulation and Chinese herbal medicine for Spleen and intestinal support.

How Leaky Gut Treatment Works

Leaky gut treatment is a sequenced protocol: Remove inflammatory triggers (identified foods, pathogenic organisms via gut testing), Replace digestive enzyme and HCl support, Reinoculate with targeted probiotics and prebiotic fiber, and Repair the gut lining (L-glutamine, zinc carnosine, DGL, collagen peptides, deglycyrrhizinated licorice). This is typically combined with acupuncture for gut motility regulation and autonomic balance, and Chinese herbal medicine for Spleen Qi tonification (which corresponds to the intestinal integrity function in Chinese medicine).

Your First Appointment

Describe your digestive symptoms and any known associations with food. History of NSAID use, antibiotic courses, alcohol consumption, high-stress periods, or prior gut infections are relevant — all damage the gut barrier. Bring any prior GI testing.

Why Dr. Hendry for Leaky Gut Treatment

Dr. Hendry's functional medicine training in gut-immune axis biology, combined with his Chinese medicine Spleen/Stomach clinical expertise, provides a uniquely comprehensive approach to leaky gut repair.

Frequently Asked Questions

NSAIDs (ibuprofen, aspirin), alcohol, chronic stress (cortisol degrades tight junctions), processed foods, emulsifiers in ultra-processed foods, antibiotics (dysbiosis), zonulin-stimulating foods (gluten, casein), H. pylori, SIBO, and chronic gut infections.
Zonulin is a protein that regulates the tight junctions between intestinal epithelial cells. Elevated zonulin loosens these junctions, increasing gut permeability. Gluten stimulates zonulin release even in non-celiac individuals.
Evidence strongly suggests that leaky gut is a permissive factor for autoimmune disease — by allowing microbial antigens and food peptides to reach the systemic immune system, it creates the conditions for autoimmune cross-reactivity. Treating leaky gut is often part of autoimmune disease management.
Mild leaky gut: 4–8 weeks with targeted protocol. Moderate/chronic: 3–6 months. Severe leaky gut with significant autoimmune involvement: 6–12 months of sustained treatment.
Si Jun Zi Tang (Four Gentlemen) for Spleen Qi Deficiency (the constitutional driver of leaky gut in Chinese medicine); Bai Shao for intestinal spasm; and Huang Qi for immune and mucosal support.
Integrative Health Partners, 319 Wade Hampton Blvd, Ste A, Greenville, SC 29609. Call (864) 365-6156.

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