Weight gain with High CRP? or Leaky gut?

#1

Does anyone have experiences or valid resources linking a high hs CRP level, or leaky gut to weight gain or inability to lose weight? I’d be interested in hearing this.

I’ll share a bit of my history and a hypothesis here. Maybe some people with can chime in with any related experiences.

I have been an athlete , and remain lean most of my life. I competed in weight class sports, and never had an issue getting to my competing weight, just by dialing in the diet (basic calories in/calories out for the most part). I2018, my weight struggles began, despite the same diet and exercise that always worked.

After a lot of trial an error on changing things up, it was revealed that my hsCRP was crazy high. This could have been because in 2018, I also suffered plantar fansciiitis, which didn’t go away until 2020, around the time I began a keto diet.

The “leaky gut” was never confirmed by any testing. I just know that I used a lot of sweeteners and ate processed food, and chewed a lot of gum at that time. My assumption was it couldn’t have been good for my gut bacteria.

I began keto, my plantar fasciitis healed (unrelated to keto), my hsCRP returned to normal, and I imagine my gut bacteria improved. Through all this, I was able to lose weight and get very lean again. I always hypothesized if it was the inflammation or leaky gut holding me back. I try to avoid sucralose and other fillers as much as possible, but often wonder how much of a culprit it was, or if the inflammation was more to blame.

Thoughts? Experiences? Studies?

(Bob M) #2

That seems reasonable, as for the gut health. Hard to measure, though.

For the CRP, though, see this:

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #3

A number of factors can cause systemic inflammation. Injury and infection are big culprits, but so are ω-6 fatty acids when we over-indulge in them (one of the reasons to avoid seed oils) and chronically elevated insulin.

Did your inflammation cause your leaky gut, or did your leaky gut cause your inflammation? Probably a little of both. Fortunately, a well-formulated ketogenic diet (especially one that includes more saturated and monounsaturated fats, and fewer polyunsaturates) can reverse both conditions. Not to mention the fact that cholesterol plays a big role in fighting off bacterial infections.