Is Leaky Gut no longer considered woo woo?

HabitRabbit

I'm hoping for a bit of discussion rather than a "yes/no" answer. My own take (at the moment, haven't given it a ton of thought and am interested in the thoughts of others) was that there was a time when it was diagnosed by naturopaths and others without adequate evidence, but that probably an indeterminate portion of the time they were right. I think the term "intestinal permeability" was more acceptable a few years ago, reserved for people with serious gut issues (like Crohn's etc), but am starting to see "leaky gut" getting more credence, and include more of the population.

As an example:
"Many factors such as enteric infection, antibiotics, low-fiber diets, circadian rhythm disruption, and psychological stress can affect gut barrier integrity and lead to systemic, low-grade inflammation due to translocation of bacteria and their components.

While the body can resist transient gut barrier disruption, it may be overwhelmed by mild insult due to genetic predisposition, chronic stress, and aging, which may contribute to the development of autoimmune, metabolic, and mental health disorders."

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1043276022000029

What's everyone's current take on the topic?

claireychn074

I’ve been wondering about it recently as I’ve seen it mentioned in some papers on the gut. I suspect that the scientific use of the phrase is more specific than the previously used “woo woo” version. Gut permeability appears to be present in more diseases or conditions than previously suspected and I think that’s why the phrase is being used more. Fascinated to hear from any medical bods on here though!