How your gut can block weight loss

Short answer: your gut affects weight through inflammation, cravings, how well you absorb nutrients and how your hormones behave. Dr. Mohamed Karim, D.C., compares a leaky gut lining to a garden hose full of holes: turn on the water and it sprays everywhere except where it should go. In his clinic, working on gut health first is often what finally moves the scale.

Signs your gut may be part of the problem

• Bloating after particular foods, like cheese, bread or alcohol
• Ongoing constipation or diarrhea, or swinging between the two. He means constant, not the occasional bad day.
• Acid reflux
• New food sensitivities later in life, such as gluten or dairy that never bothered you before
• Tired after meals, or by lunchtime
• Sugar or salt cravings

Reflux is one he singles out. In his view it is not a normal thing to live with, and for some of his patients it has settled once their gut health improved. That is a decision to make with your doctor, not a reason to stop reflux medication on your own.

Why gut problems are so common now

Processed food full of preservatives and additives. He uses milk as an example: the bottle the milkman left used to keep two or three days, and today’s lasts weeks on the shelf. He also points to antibiotics in the food supply, meals with little real nutrition in them, and constant stress about work, family, money and gas prices.

Reading labels is one of the first habits his clinic teaches. If the chicken product lists chicken as the third ingredient, he says, that is not real food.

What the gut work involves

His protocol follows four steps: clean the gut, seal the lining, clear out problem bacteria and restore healthy ones. It takes months. Patients usually tell him around the third or fourth week that they have more energy and their joints hurt less.

One patient’s year

He describes a patient who first came in for balance problems and numbness in the hands and feet. They were significantly overweight, tired, and using a cane, or a walker for longer distances. They also had high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, a thyroid problem and restless legs at night.

Alongside neuropathy care, the clinic worked on gut health over six months. By the clinic’s account, the patient lost about 50 pounds in the first three months and about 110 pounds over the year. Their diabetes went into remission, they came off their blood pressure and thyroid medications under their doctors’ care, the restless legs stopped, and by the end of the year they no longer needed the cane.

That is one person’s result, not a promise. But the joint math he uses is well established: every extra pound of body weight adds about four pounds of pressure on the knees with each step. Losing 110 pounds takes roughly 440 pounds of pressure off them.

Watch the episode

Bloated, tired and stuck? Read about gut health care in North Liberty and medical weight loss, or book a free consultation. Related: is inflammation blocking your weight loss?

This article summarizes a podcast episode and is general information, not medical advice. Individual results vary. Never stop diabetes, blood pressure, thyroid or reflux medication without your prescriber. See our medical disclaimer.