Healthy Gut = Healthy Person

This is by far my favorite section in this course. In my opinion, as well as many other wellness doctors, believe that the gut is the key to achieving optimal health. As we have learned in the previous section, the gut plays a key role in immunity. But that's just the tip of the iceberg. The gut is responsible for brain health, nutrient absorption, digestion and even plays a role in our personalities (more on this later). In the last several years, more and more studies are being done on the gut microbiome. There are more studies related to the microbiome than any other topic in medicine. The microbiome is the group of organisms that reside in a specific region of the body. We have an oral microbiome, a skin microbiome and a gut microbiome. In this section we will be discussing the gut microbiome, which is by far the largest and most vital to our health. `

Millions of people suffer from all types of disorders of GI tract, including Acid Reflux, Ulcers, Colon Cancer, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac Disease, Pancreatitis and Diverticulitis. It may sound crazy, but virtually all of these diseases can be prevented or cured through lifestyle modifications. In addition to all of the diseases listed above, it is believed by many, including myself, that almost all Autoimmune Disease also begins in the gut. There are literally hundreds of Autoimmune diseases that we are aware of and most of them can be fixed once the gut is fixed. That's not all folks. There is growing evidence that many psychiatric conditions, like depression and anxiety originate in the gut. We will talk about the gut-brain connection very often in this course. Many food allergies and intolerances originate in the get as well. Lastly, there is overwhelming evidence that Autism originates in the gut. In fact, the first thing that I do when I work with a child with Autism is treat their gut. When you fix the gut, everything else starts to fall into place. I have had tremendous success over the past 15 years of treating Autism by treating the GI tract- specifically the colon.

If I haven't convinced you by now how important gut health is, you certainly will be at the end of this section. This section is going to be chock full of great information so get your pen and paper ready.