For those of you who are new to this info, I thought Dr. J did a great job explaining this. Tc ... Marcia

http://dogtorj.com/what-is-food-intolerance/what-is-the-leaky-gut/

Hi Marcia,

  Doctor J (D.V.M., veterinarian) seems to feel he's helped himself with diet.  You probably already know that removing food groups is a type of elimination diet and can help people identify problem foods as well as mast cell triggers.  Some MC patients also have celiac disease and/or gluten sensitivity.

  There is a lot written about "leaky gut."  My allergist told me he suspected that some people react to foods, but don't have true food allergies, because there is permeability in the mucosa of the digestive system due to inflammation and the breaking down of the mucosa.  Too large of molecules get into the blood stream, setting off the immune system.  

 My integrative M.D./Internal Medicine specialist recommended
l-glutamine (500 mg. x twice/day) to me for it.  (I don't have any sensitivity to gluten nor do I have celiac disease.)  

  It did help me a lot, and if my mast cell symptoms are flaring in my GI, I take l-glutamine (among other things) until it's better.  I don't have any primary research sources regarding this, so this is simply my experience.

  For people who have GI problems, being tested for gluten sensitivity and celiac disease would normally be part of a GI work-up.