GUT HEALTH
Hippocrates states “All disease begins in the gut”thousands of years ago still rings true to this day.
80% of your immune system resides in your GI tract.
Acid Reflux, bloating, food intolerances, fibromyalgia, iBS, leaky gut syndrome, food allergies, constipation, diarrhea, SIBO are all very common disorders that affect millions of people on a daily basis. If you have been diagnosed with any of these you can understand how frustrating it is to get a general diagnosis with recommendations that may not have helped.
Our gut bacteria regulate many of our bodily functions, from creating vitamins to controlling our immune system, our brain function, and of course, our metabolism and weight. Our guts become damaged when we eat a processed diet that’s high in sugar and starch, don’t eat enough of the right fiber and prebiotics, or take too many gut-busting drugs (like antibiotics, acid blockers for reflux, anti-inflammatories, hormones, and more). Think of your gut as an inner garden; just as with any garden—when you let the weeds take over, you get into trouble.
To tend your inner garden, you might need to do some weeding, seeding, and feeding—a process that Functional Medicine doctors follow: First, you weed to get rid of the bad bugs using herbs or medications; then you seed the gut lining with good bugs; and then you feed the good bugs with prebiotic foods and fibers to keep everything healthy.
I utilize different food sensitivity panels in order to uncover inflammation from a food you may be ingesting on a daily basis. Stool analysis are also very helpful in identifying any hidden infections, parasites, digestive insufficiencies, etc.
Entangling the web of different gut symptoms is very complex and can seem daunting to do on your own. In the office I will ask a lot of questions pertaining to how your digestion is working. Everything from how your stool looks, how many BM’s you have per day, indigestion symptoms, etc.
We can take your symptoms and inquire some diagnostic testing in order to formulate a plan that works best for you. Everyone is going to be different so what works for person A will more than likely be different than person B.