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🔗Links mentioned in this episode:
Alex’s Website – dralexdragan.com
Alex’s Instagram – @dralexdragan
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Show Notes
Gut health is a subject many are becoming intrigued about and rightly so. It significantly influences our overall well-being. I had the exciting opportunity to discuss gut health today. I delve deep into the matter from the perspective of naturopathic medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with our guest, Dr. Alex Dragan, a Naturopathic Medicine Doctor.
A to Z of Gut Health with Dr. Alex Dragan 🩺
Dr. Alex Dragon’s journey into Naturopathic Medicine began with a personal struggle with gut-related health issues. This first-hand experience has given her valuable insights into understanding gut health. Her holistic approach involves attending to every detail, right from asking about the stool’s frequency, color, and consistency to the volume and the presence of mucus or undigested food.
She explains that a lot about an individual can be understood by observing stool characteristics. A frequency of one to three bowel movements per day with a brown-colored, smooth, snake-like stool that makes you feel empty post-movement epitomizes good gut health. Any aberrations might signal problems that could range from inflammation, stress, imbalances in the nervous system, or food intolerance.
Key Elements of Assessing Gut Health 💩
Dr. Alex divides her assessment into two stages: ruling out severe conditions, and then focusing on functional disorders. Tests like FIT tests which check for non-visible blood in the stool, fecal calprotectin tests indicating gut inflammation, microbiome tests checking for gut bacteria and parasitic activity, and h pylori breath tests applicable for gastric pains are some of the tools at her disposal.
Tackling Through Diet 🍲
Equally important is the role of diet in maintaining gut health. Dr. Alex emphasizes the need to focus on what can be added to the diet rather than what needs to be removed. The idea is to build an ‘abundance mindset’ rather than a restrictive one.
Gut-Brain Connection 🧠
Dr. Alex stresses the undeniable connection between our gut and mind. The bidirectional communication between the brain and gut has a significant impact on our health. She suggests channeling our efforts into putting ourselves more into rest-and-digest mode.
Key Takeaways for Your Practice🗝️
In conclusion, it is a matter of vast importance that requires our sincere attention. Here are three takeaways from our discussion with Dr. Alex:
1. Ask Detailed Questions: Familiarity and comfort with your patients in discussing gut health lead to better understanding and diagnosis.
2. Treat the Whole Person: Address every aspect of the patient while devising a treatment plan.
3. Embrace Collaboration with Other Practitioners: Building a team of dedicated professionals to cater to different health aspects results in faster recovery of the patient.
To conclude, the road to improvement begins with awareness and understanding, the first steps of which are in the conversation above.
Disclaimer
The Acupro Show podcast and material shared through Acupro Academy is a subdivision of Natural Health Sense Incorporated. Designed solely for educational and entertainment purposes. The utilization of information from this podcast or any associated material is at the user’s discretion and risk. This content is not meant to replace the guidance of an acupuncturist. Nor Chinese medicine doctor, medical doctor, physician, or any qualified professional. It is not a substitute for proper diagnosis or treatment. Users are strongly advised not to ignore or postpone seeking medical advice for any existing medical condition with their healthcare professional. Regarding any health concerns.
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