Leaky gut syndrome is a hypothesized condition that claims to be the result of damage to the intestinal wall causing toxins, microbes, undigested food, and other substances to “leak” through to the bloodstream. Proponents of the condition claim that leaky gut is responsible for a wide range of serious chronic diseases such as diabetes, lupus, asthma, autism, and multiple sclerosis. However, there is no research to support this diagnosis at all.
Fake diseases are something that are often linked to naturopathy and alternative medicine. These types of diagnoses tend to emerge from a series of vague symptoms that cannot be attributed to any one specific medical diagnosis, so one is simply made up instead. This does not mean that the symptoms you are experiencing are not real; it just means that the practitioner making the diagnosis is not trying to find the root cause of your symptoms. Diagnosing patients with fake diseases such as leaky gut syndrome can be very dangerous since the true cause of your symptoms is going undiagnosed and untreated, which could lead to serious or even deadly complications.
Here are some other diagnoses that are just as ridiculous as leaky gut syndrome.
Wilson’s Syndrome
This is a medical theory that is a collection of nonspecific symptoms that proponents claim result from low thyroid hormones. However, the person has blood tests that confirm their thyroid levels are completely normal. Wilson’s syndrome is not an accepted diagnosis by the American Thyroid Association or by the large majority of registered physicians.
Morgellons Disease
Sufferers of this syndrome believe they have foreign bodies in their skin, including insects, hairs, and other fibers that cause chronic itching and sores. However, in reality, the medical evidence suggests that instead they are suffering from delusional parasitosis, which is a form of psychosis in which a patient believes they are infested with parasites unobservable to other people.
Adrenal Fatigue
Adrenal fatigue is a vague collection of symptoms that is an invented condition but widely accepted as real among alternative health practitioners. Proponents of the condition claim that the adrenal glands that produce stress hormones can become “tired out,” which is what leads to symptoms such as fatigue, trouble waking up in the morning, stress, craving salty or sweet snacks, decreased sex drive, and inability to bounce back from illness. However, there is no evidence that your adrenal glands can become drained from long-term mental, emotional, or physical stress.
Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
Multiple chemical sensitivity, which is also known as idiopathic environmental intolerance, is a condition that is used to describe sensitivities or allergies to certain products that produce recurrent, non-specific symptoms with low levels of exposure. However, there is a lack of objective evidence that defines any sort of medical illness that could be causing these symptoms. There are no tests that can diagnose this condition, no diagnostic criteria, and no confirmed physical evidence of the condition. Therefore, any diagnosis is purely based off of completely self-reported and self-confirmed symptoms.
Being diagnosed with a fake condition or disease does not mean that the symptoms themselves are fake. Rather, it means that you have yet to be properly diagnosed with a real condition, and therefore unable to begin a treatment plan that can successfully relieve your symptoms.
