Why Your Integrative Functional Medicine Journey Should Begin with Gut Health and How to Get Started

 

Gut Health, on your marks, go set!

If you've arrived here, you've undoubtedly heard that "gut health" is crucial for overall health and that it might be the cause of chronic problems in you or a loved one. Let's look at what it implies in terms of Integrative Functional Medicine and how you may improve your gut health.

Definition of Integrative Functional Medicine

First and foremost, it's critical to define Integrative Functional Medicine. Integrative Functional medicine is a type of medicine that focuses on determining and managing the fundamental cause of sickness than managing a symptom or condition with medicine.

According to the Institute of Integrative Functional Medicine,

"By managing the core causes of disease for each individual, Integrative Functional Medicine analyses how and why sickness occurs and restores health."

The Integrative Functional Medicine concept is a patient-centered, science-based approach that allows patients and practitioners to collaborate to treat disease's underlying causes and promote maximum wellbeing. It necessitates a thorough understanding of each patient's genetic, biochemical, and lifestyle characteristics, as well as the use of that information to guide tailored treatment strategies that enhance patient outcomes.

Practitioners become more devoted on recognising the complexity of disease by managing fundamental causes than symptoms. They may discover that one ailment has a variety of causes, and that one cause may result in a variety of conditions. As a result, Integrative Functional Medicine therapy focuses on the individual's distinct illness presentations."

What Causes Illness in the First Place?

Integrative Functional Medicine practitioners and coaches are educated to study the five fundamental causes of illness, according to Dr. Mark Hyman. For two reasons, I've rearranged his original list: 1) Stress should be stated first since it nearly always plays a role, and 2) I believe the acronym STAMP is the simplest way to recall the causes.

• There's a lot of pressure on (physical or psychological)
• Toxic substances (biologic, elemental, synthetic)
• Allergens are substances that cause allergies (food, mold, dust, animal products, pollens, chemicals)
• Microbes are microscopic organisms that live in the (bacteria, yeast, parasites, worms, prions, etc)
• Poor nutrition (the normal American diet, or SAD) and inactivity*
  

These environmental and behavioural variables interact with heredity, resulting in a variety of symptoms in different people. Similarly, two patients with the same disease might have developed it for different reasons. The ultimate objective is to look at a person's personal lifestyle and environmental circumstances in order to pinpoint the most likely cause of sickness.

The Relationship Between Gut Health and the 5 Root Causes

Let's look at how gut health is linked to the five main causes of sickness in this part. Each of them might be numerous posts in and of themselves, but I hope you get the idea: gut health takes a holistic approach and may have a substantial influence on overall health.

Stress

Stressors (both physical and psychological) have a variety of effects on GI function. Chronic stress, also known as sympathetic nervous system activation (sometimes known as "fight or flight" mode), worsens digestion. Inflammation is caused by poorly digested food, which affects the gut lining. Damage to the intestinal lining allows for poorly digested food particles and toxins to enter the bloodstream (a condition known as "leaky gut"). These escapees subsequently trigger healthy cells on the opposite side of the GI tract, causing localised inflammation that spreads throughout the bloodstream and causes a systemic inflammatory response. Because 60-80% of healthy cells dwell on the other side of the gut lining, it's easy to understand how a breach of that barrier might trigger a severe inflammatory response.

Toxins

The body's detoxification functions are harmed when the GI tract isn't working properly. This permits the body's toxic load to build up, putting other systems at risk. Toxins are also a physical stressor on the body, triggering the mechanisms indicated above.

Allergens

Allergens damage the lining of the intestine and produce GI inflammation, which stimulates the health system and take to systemic inflammation. They are also physical stresses on the body, causing permeability in the gut mucosa and GI inflammation.

Microbes

Stress, poor nutrition, pollutants, food intolerances, certain drugs, and infections may all cause an overgrowth of bacteria and yeast in the intestines. Inflammation and leaky gut may be caused by an imbalance in the GI microbiota. In addition to parasites and hidden illnesses, the gut may be a source of persistent health system activation.

Poor nutrition and physical activity

Nutrient shortages caused by a poor diet may affect the GI tract's function, as well as all other body systems. Stress on the body, toxic exposures, an unbalanced microbiota, and leaky gut may all be linked to a poor diet. A sedentary lifestyle stimulates inflammatory pathways in the body and contributes to an unbalanced microbiota.

Three Ways to Work on Your Gut and Address the Root Cause(s)

There are numerous approaches to determining the aetiology of sickness. While some Integrative Functional Medicine practitioners take the "test, don't guess" approach and order extensive diagnostic testing up front, Dr. Beard has discovered that many clients may achieve symptom resolution and/or reduction by addressing the gut and working with an Integrative Functional Medicine Health Coach first, without the need for costly testing. Advanced testing may be used if problems continue following an initial gut health programme.

1. Improve the health of your intestines

There are various reasons why beginning from the stomach is a good idea:

• All five main reasons are inextricably linked to gut health. It's the single most important part of your body to concentrate on. As a result, the phrase "When in doubt, start with the gut" is popular among Integrative Functional Medicine practitioners.
• By managing gut health first, you may be able to identify and correct the problem without the need for costly testing.
• By removing and/or deducing many of the typical causes of chronic illnesses, addressing gut health "clears the space." Once you've crossed things off your list, you'll be more prepared to look into what else could be going on.
• Even if it isn't the sole step, improving gut health is frequently the first. The majority of Integrative Functional Medicine therapies and procedures demand that the client have or be striving toward optimal gut health.

2. Meet an Integrative Functional Medicine practitioner. Health Educator

Working with an Integrative Functional Medicine Health Coach is a supplementary strategy to identifying and resolving the fundamental cause(s). Based on a thorough study of your health history, lifestyle, and surroundings, properly qualified coaches aid clients in addressing the factors that have the most potential to be the problem. Clients frequently achieve significant improvement under the guidance of a coach without the necessity for costly testing. At the absolute least, you might be able to narrow down the possible reasons by addressing lifestyle and surroundings first, and then seeking additional testing if certain symptoms persist.

3. Work with an Integrative Functional Medicine Practitioner to complete advanced diagnostic testing.

Using conventional and/or advanced diagnostic tests to investigate the aforesaid fundamental causes is the most aggressive method. This is also the most expensive option, certainly if you employ many tests. The good news is that many Integrative Functional Medicine tests may now be ordered online by patients without the need for a doctor's recommendation. While some tests are simple and straightforward, others may necessitate interpretation by a trained Integrative Functional Medicine practitioner, increasing the cost of this option. The cost of Integrative Functional Medicine testing ranges from $100 to $400.

How May We Assist You in Getting Started?

Each of us at AmyBeardMD has had a profound influence on our lives as a result of Integrative Functional Medicine, and we want to make it inexpensive and accessible to anybody, everywhere. So, whether you prefer practitioner assistance and responsibility or prefer to do it yourself, our team offers choices for you!

Learn More About Gut Restoring

The 5R Framework for Gut Health is taught at the Institute of Integrative Functional Medicine: Remove, Replace, Reinoculate, Repair, and Rebalance. Dr. Beard's creation of complete gut health regimens has been influenced by this paradigm, as well as years of clinical application and patient success stories. 

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