I've read quite a bit here, including a lot of the HTG and Traditional Foods stuff, but I'm still not quite clear on how it all works. Maybe if I spent a lot more hours reading I would finally get it, but right now my head is spinning. Can someone simplify this for me?
What I do understand (but correct me if I've got it wrong):
As the theory goes, allergies can be caused by leaky gut syndrome, where bits of (undigested?) food escape through small openings of the lining of the gut which exist due to an imbalance of microflora. These particles are absorbed into the bloodstream, and the immune system interprets them as foreign invaders and mounts a counterattack which is manifested by allergic symptoms such as (in our case) eczema.
What I don't understand:
1. How does gut microflora imbalance cause the openings of the wall of the gut?
2. Is this gut permeability the same as that which exists in an infant under six month, whose gut has yet to "seal up?" So are we saying that normally, a baby's gut would be sealed by six months or so, but some of them aren't, due to the microflora imbalance?
3. I know that gut permeability is the reason the mainstream now advises delaying solids till 4 to 6 months (which I know from our perspective is still very early), instead of sending babies home from the hospital with cereal in their bottles like they used to. Now, almost everyone agrees that the early introduction of solids can lead to food allergies. But am I understanding correctly that damage to the gut can occur at any age, and it isn't necessarily caused by early introduction of solids?
4. And while we're on the topic of introducing solid foods, I know there are some here who believe rice cereal is the evil of all evils. I'm not saying I disagree, but just wondering if someone can explain a little more about why it's evil. Does it cause gut damage?
5. How is candida/yeast related to all of this? If we had a candida problem, would we for sure be seeing yeast rashes / yeast infections, or could it be an underlying cause of eczema even if we don't have the other symptoms?
I hope someone can set me straight on all of this! Maybe I'll also post in the HTG thread. Thanks!

I've read quite a bit here, including a lot of the HTG and Traditional Foods stuff, but I'm still not quite clear on how it all works. Maybe if I spent a lot more hours reading I would finally get it, but right now my head is spinning. Can someone simplify this for me?
What I do understand (but correct me if I've got it wrong):
As the theory goes, allergies can be caused by leaky gut syndrome, where bits of (undigested?) food escape through small openings of the lining of the gut which exist due to an imbalance of microflora. These particles are absorbed into the bloodstream, and the immune system interprets them as foreign invaders and mounts a counterattack which is manifested by allergic symptoms such as (in our case) eczema. Sounds right so far. is eczema the only concern?
What I don't understand:
1. How does gut microflora imbalance cause the openings of the wall of the gut? as i understand it they dont. the bad microorganisms just overtake the good ones and the good ones are what is needed to break down the food. if the food isnt getting broken down to small enough particles those particles either hang around in the gut giving more food to the bad bugs or get thru the gut wall.
2. Is this gut permeability the same as that which exists in an infant under six month, whose gut has yet to "seal up?" So are we saying that normally, a baby's gut would be sealed by six months or so, but some of them aren't, due to the microflora imbalance? yes to the first part. the leaky gut experienced by a child w multiple allergies is leaky similarly to a newborn's. but not necessarily on the second part. as far as i know, a newborn's gut is not sealed up by 6 months of age. it takes much longer and slowly occurs over time. this is why they say not to feed allergenic foods til 1 y+ and my nutritionist (fresh out of school) said they now are teaching parents to wait til 3yo. so it must take a while to seal up fully. but if the gut is more permeable compared to average at that age then i would say definitely it could be due to dysbiosis (microflora imbalance) or something else (eg yeast, damage to villi(sp?), lack of digestive enzyme, too alkaline gastric juices, etc, etc
3. I know that gut permeability is the reason the mainstream now advises delaying solids till 4 to 6 months (which I know from our perspective is still very early), instead of sending babies home from the hospital with cereal in their bottles like they used to. Now, almost everyone agrees that the early introduction of solids can lead to food allergies. But am I understanding correctly that damage to the gut can occur at any age, and it isn't necessarily caused by early introduction of solids? yes definitely. the reason they say to delay solids (and esp allergenic foods) is in the hopes that the average gut is sealed enough to not allow high allergy proteins thru. gut damage can occur at anytime tho, eg after a course of antibiotics, reaction to vax, celiacs, IBD, etc. i dont think it is the introduction of solids too early that directly causes the leaky gut. however, if you introduce solids too early and there is an allergic reaction it can cause inflammation and in turn a leaky gut. maybe its just semantics tho :innocent
4. And while we're on the topic of introducing solid foods, I know there are some here who believe rice cereal is the evil of all evils. I'm not saying I disagree, but just wondering if someone can explain a little more about why it's evil. Does it cause gut damage? neither of my dds can eat rice w out major problems w D with mucus. i wonder if this is because they got rice first and to early in the form of cereal. i suppose perhaps they might not have such leaky guts if i hadnt given them rice first cause if they dont digest it well now i cant imagine the inflammation that was going on then...poor babes :gloomy:. imo rice cereal is not nec *evil* for most kids but it doesnt make sense either to be a first food. naturally i mean, our babies bodies are designed that the first nutrient they need beyond what they can get from our bm is iron right? so why then do we feed as a first food something devoid of iron and then fortify it unnaturally w iron?? makes no sense to me. not natural. imo it makes more sense to feed the baby something w iron in it. meat has iron. imo pureed meat would be better than rice/ cereal grains. that is the first food my next babe will be getting and it wont be til almost a year (but i have 2 w allergies and leaky gut and am determined to fix it the next time around :).)
5. How is candida/yeast related to all of this? If we had a candida problem, would we for sure be seeing yeast rashes / yeast infections, or could it be an underlying cause of eczema even if we don't have the other symptoms? this one is a little harder because there is so much info on the net about yeast and not all of it good. but as far as i know you could have yeast overgrowth in the gut and not have outward signs of it. it could just be causing problems w the flora. the treatment is similar whether it be yeast or bacterial overgrowth tho. unless it is a SEVERE yeast overgrowth and then there are some px meds that can be taken (if u can find a dr that'll give em to you)
I hope someone can set me straight on all of this! Maybe I'll also post in the HTG thread. Thanks! me too...please if anyone can correct me or add to any of this, i would love to know more. in the meantime hth and take care.

Sounds right so far. is eczema the only concern? Eczema is the main concern, but DS1 has, since almost the beginning, had what I call "weird poops." (TMI alert...) As a newborn on up to I dunno, 3,4,5 months, he would poop not just once, but sometimes 2-3 times after each time I nursed him. As we introduced solids after 6mo it was less, but still sometimes 5-6 times per day. Now, at age 2 he SOMETIMES only poops once in a day but it's often very loose and/or weird texture/smell, but often it's still 2-3, occasionally even 4-5 times.
We had to treat her with a super strong probiotic (VSL#3) and she went from having eczema over 95% of her body (that oozed and scabed) to being almost 100% clear within a month.
Does this mean that you've found the culprit for your dd's eczema? Congratulations!!! I haven't been posting recently and just focusing on my eliminations diets, so I haven't been keeping up! You're the third person to I've read about to have success with VSL#3... where do you get this?