Gastrointestinal Medicine Colorado

Many people today have digestive problems that include: Food Sensitivities, Diverticulitis, Crohn’s Disease, Ulcerative Colitis, Celiac Disease, Leaky Gut Syndrome, Constipation, Bloating, GERD, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, etc.

In fact, belly problems account for more than 100 million doctor’s visits and billions in health-care costs annually. But gut problems cause disease far beyond the gut. For instance, patients with colitis can also have inflamed joints and eyes and teenagers who use antibiotics for acne may alter normal intestinal flora, which then triggers changes that lead to autoimmune disease.

Normalizing gut function and flora through improved diet, increased fiber intake, daily probiotic supplementation, enzyme therapy, the use of nutrients that repair the gut lining, and the direct treatment of bad bugs in the gut with herbs or medications can be remarkable. Our patients find relief from allergies, acne, arthritis, headaches, autoimmune disease, depression, ADD/ADHD, and more – simply by restoring their delicate gut system.

Patient Example: A 17-year-old young lady who had suffered from acne most of her teenage years found relief in just a week. Lab tests revealed she suffered from an overgrowth of bad bacteria in her small intestine and was deficient in the minerals Zinc and Selenium.

Did you know that about 80% of your brain’s chemical messengers (e.g Serotonin) are actually made in the gut? So, if your gut is inflamed or its delicate flora is out of balance it simply cannot function properly. This means it will make less of the chemical messengers than it should which will lead to a general deficiency in the brain. Low Serotonin levels lead to depression, anxiety, mind-racing and cravings for sugars and carbohydrates.

It contains 500-1000 species of bacteria that amount to three pounds of your total weight. There is 100 times more bacterial DNA than human DNA in your body. These bugs control digestion, metabolism, inflammation, and your risk of cancer. They produce vitamins, beneficial nutrients, and molecules that sustain your body. When the balance of bacteria in your gut is optimal, this DNA works for you to great effect. For example, some good bacteria produce short-chain fatty acids, which reduce inflammation and modulate the immune system. Bad bugs, on the other hand, produce fats that promote allergy, asthma, eczema and inflammation throughout your body.

These remarkable little critters living inside of you have been linked to everything from autism to obesity, from allergies to autoimmunity, from fibromyalgia to restless leg syndrome, from delirium to eczema to asthma. In fact, more links between chronic illness and gut bacteria are discovered every day.

These bacteria thrive on what you feed them. If you feed them whole, fresh, real foods, good bugs will grow. If you feed them junk or kill them off with medications, bad bugs will grow. And when the population of bugs changes, the bad bugs begin to produce nasty toxins. These toxins, for instance, trigger among other things, inflammation and insulin resistance or prediabetes and thus promote weight gain.

The ecosystem in your gut must be healthy for you to be healthy. Please call us so we can help restoring the symbiotic relationship between your and your gut.

Location

Restore Health Center

3553 Clydesdale Pkwy., Suite 230
Loveland, Colorado, 80538

Phone: (970) 278-0900
Fax: (970) 278-4005