Gut health is essential for overall wellbeing. A functioning digestive system allows your body to efficiently absorb and expel essential nutrients.

Functional medicine practitioners are educated to identify the underlying causes of symptoms and create a personalized plan to reduce those signs and promote gut health.

Remove

The body’s detoxification systems work to eliminate harmful toxins. Your liver, kidneys, lungs, digestive tract and lymphatic system all play a role in this process.

The liver is the main organ in your body responsible for detoxification. It filters blood and metabolizes substances essential to normal function, like nutrients, vitamins, and amino acids. After separation from toxins, these nutrients and waste products are transported either to your small intestine or kidneys for elimination.

Your liver begins the first stage of this process by converting toxins into bile or urea. From there, it travels into your small intestine and is excreted through regular bowel movements.

If your body isn’t able to properly detoxify itself, this can lead to serious health issues like fatigue, inflammation and digestive troubles. It may even negatively impact your mood and energy levels in the long run.

A functional medicine approach to your healthcare will identify and address the causes of symptoms, so that you can find a resolution that helps you feel better and live longer. Toxins are created through environmental exposure-both accidental (e.g., drinking contaminated water) as well as intentional (e.g., smoking cigarettes).

There are ways to reduce your toxic load through diet and lifestyle. Eating more fruits and vegetables, as well as avoiding synthetic chemicals in cleaning supplies, shampoos, and household cleaners will help lessen your burden and support detoxification pathways.

To achieve optimal detox results, consult with a functional medicine practitioner who will customize your detox plan according to individual needs. Not only does functional medicine remove toxins from your body but it also replaces them with beneficial nutrients.

It’s also essential to address the source of toxins, so they don’t return. This can be achieved through dietary adjustments, supplementation with natural therapies like sauna therapy, or natural remedies like that.

Detoxification programs can be an excellent way to improve your health and extend life expectancy; however, they should never replace medical advice from your physician.

Replace

Nearly half of the global population now uses some form of alternative medicine annually, as patients become increasingly disillusioned with the lack of results they are getting from traditional healthcare.

Functional medicine seeks to address the underlying causes of illness rather than simply treating symptoms. It takes a systems biology-based approach that is customized for each patient’s genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors.

Medical doctors can determine a treatment plan based on these variables, but they often struggle to pinpoint and resolve the underlying cause of each symptom. This is because even one symptom may have multiple contributing causes; only treatments that address the correct source will provide lasting relief.

In order to pinpoint the cause of a condition, an individual must receive an extensive medical history and physical examination. This includes testing each patient’s biochemistry, gut microbiome, environmental exposures and lifestyle habits.

Assessing stress levels and taking measures to reduce them are essential elements of any detox program. Prolonged stress can lead to the build up of toxic waste in your system, leading to headaches, fatigue, irritability, depression or anxiety issues as well as weight gain.

By taking time to understand each patient’s individual needs and providing tailored treatments, functional medicine doctors are able to achieve results that conventional medicine cannot. This is because a functional medicine doctor examines the chemistry and function of every organ system and organ complex within the body in order to identify the most effective course of action for that problem.

Once diagnosed, functional medicine doctors collaborate with their patient to address the underlying causes of disease through various approaches such as dietary, supplementation and lifestyle modifications. Furthermore, functional medicine practitioners often utilize therapies like massage, chiropractic or reflexology in addition to acupuncture, homeopathy and herbal remedies as part of their treatments plans.

Re-inoculate

The body is designed to eliminate toxins from our system, but sometimes these build up and cause symptoms. Toxins can come from many sources such as foods, air pollution, and products used regularly in daily life.

Functional medicine can help to reduce toxins in your system, particularly if they’re contributing to gut issues. This may be done in various ways depending on the severity of your symptoms.

As a first step, it’s essential to minimize toxins as much as possible. This can be accomplished by choosing natural cleaners, beauty products, and other household items that are free from chemicals.

Eating more raw, fresh fruits and vegetables is another effective way to reduce toxins in your body. These foods are packed with essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients which can aid in detoxification.

These nutritious foods include cruciferous (brassica) vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts and cabbage; leafy greens such as parsley, kale or spinach; root veggies like sweet potatoes, carrots, yams and beets; as well as antioxidant-rich foods like turmeric or vitamin E.

Detoxifying the body of toxins is necessary to improve elimination through the GI tract and reduce inflammation. To do this, you may need to alter your diet, take digestive enzymes, or consider fasting for a few days.

Once toxins have been eliminated, it’s essential to repopulate the body with beneficial bacteria. This is an integral component of any digestive health program and can be easily achieved through taking a high-quality probiotic formula.

The most powerful probiotics available on the market contain billions of bacteria per capsule.

As a starting point, consider taking a supplement with ten different strains of beneficial bacteria which have been known to aid digestion and immunity while supporting healthy microbiome balance. You could also try an advanced probiotic drink like Max GI that contains powerful herbs, digestive enzymes and other ingredients designed specifically to support this microbial balance.

Maintaining gut health requires dietary modifications, regular exercise, stress management and other lifestyle decisions. A successful gut health program should incorporate key shifts in what you eat, how often you eat it and when, as well as general lifestyle habits like meditation or getting enough sleep.

Repair

Your gut, a 4,000 square foot network of cells that helps regulate what enters your bloodstream, is an integral component of overall wellbeing. It’s where the body gets nutrition and absorbs toxins and chemicals; when it’s not functioning optimally you may experience digestive issues like bloating, gas or diarrhoea; hormonal imbalances or even autoimmune diseases.

The good news is that functional medicine can give you back control of your gut health. Whether you have leaky gut syndrome or food allergies, diet and lifestyle modifications can eliminate the underlying causes of your symptoms and restore balance to your system.

Eliminate trigger foods like gluten and sugar from your diet for improved gut health. Your functional medicine doctor may also suggest a healing diet of organic fruits, vegetables, and proteins to support this effort.

Eating a plant-based diet that includes plenty of fibre and resistant starches (like green bananas and asparagus), along with cooked or cooled rice and potatoes, garlic, flaxseeds, chia seeds, oats and chicory root will help restore your gut health.

Another way to reduce toxins in your system is by expelling harmful organisms and parasites from your digestive tract. This may involve taking supplements to combat them as well as medications to eradicate any underlying infections.

Upgrade to “upstream” digestive support, such as hydrochloric acid or bile supplements. These may be prescribed based on the results of a stool test and your history with digestion issues.

Re-inoculate resident bacteria that help the lining of the gut, which are often lacking during chronic digestive conditions, by providing them with fermented foods or probiotic supplements. While this process takes time and requires dedication, the benefits can be significant and include significant improvements in symptoms.

There are various ways to repair your gut health, such as taking herbal supplements that heal the lining, adding antioxidants and nutrients to your diet, or improving sleep patterns. However, for optimal digestion health, a comprehensive 5-R gut protocol is the most effective approach.

For more information or if you would like to discuss treatment and management with Dr Stavy then please contact us via email:info@drstavy.com