Gut Conditions

When it comes to improving gut conditions such as dysbiosis, leaky gut, yeast overgrowth, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, and inflammatory conditions like irritable bowel syndrome – the functional medicine doctors at Jellison Integrative MD do more than treat your symptoms, we solve the underlying problem so you can find long-lasting relief.

Whether you’re suffering from gas, bloating, indigestion, acid reflux, constipation, diarrhea, all of the above, it’s important to figure out what’s causing these symptoms and address that first and foremost so you can actually begin to heal. All too often doctors simply mask the symptoms with medications, which just prevent you from feeling the signs your body is trying to give you.

So listen to your gut when it speaks up, it’s trying to take care of you.

Your gastrointestinal tract takes in food and drink everyday – pulling and creating important nutrients while keeping pathogens out so you stay healthy and well. When your gastrointestinal tract is doing a good job it’s easy to take it for granted. Only when there’s inflammation interrupting the guts daily tasks do we suddenly realize how important the gut is to our overall health.

Your gastrointestinal tract is also home to trillions of bacteria called the gut microbiome. Research has found that the gut microbiome is largely responsible for your wellbeing. We evolved alongside these microbes and they help us extract nutrients, make important byproducts, and maintain balance to keep harmful pathogens in check.

In fact, when your gut microbiome is out of balance it’s called dysbiosis, which is associated with numerous gastrointestinal issues but also chronic diseases – many you might not expect to be caused by the gut. When gastrointestinal issues go unchecked for a long period of time, it can progress into more serious and life-threatening conditions such as autoimmune disease.

This is why we always encourage our patients to take their gut health extremely seriously. You should never ignore signs of recurring gas, bloating, heartburn, and indigestion. These are often symptoms of a much bigger problem.

Gut conditions are one of the most common problems we see in our practice today, some of these include:

• Leaky gut
• Dysbiosis
• Inflammatory conditions
• Yeast overgrowth
• Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO)

Often times people don’t realize some of their symptoms are gut related and so they aren’t connecting the dots between symptoms like bloating and allergies, for example. But because your gut microbiome regulates your immune system to a large degree, when your gut is out of balance, you can experience all sorts of symptoms.

Here are a few symptoms of an unhealthy gut that aren’t overly obvious:

• Allergies
• Food sensitivities
• Asthma
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Ulcers
• White film on your tongue
• Brain fog
• Autoimmune disease
• Skin problems
• Sugar cravings
• Halitosis (bad breath)

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms alongside gastrointestinal discomfort there is a good chance you have a condition that needs to be looked at by your functional medicine doctor. If you are in the Kansas City area and looking for a functional medicine doctor we regularly see patients for all sorts of gut related issues.

You can request an appointment here or call (913) 568-0608.

If you’re still not sure whether or not you have a gut condition, let’s dig a little deeper into two of the most common types we see in our office so you can have a better idea.

The gut microbiome is an ecosystem of microbes that need to exist in a harmonious balance for you to feel well. We have a symbiotic relationship with these microbes, and when they’re thrown off balance it can cause all sorts of discomfort.

An example of a type of dysbiosis is candida overgrowth, which happens when the fungus candida overtakes other microbes. While you always have some candida in your gut, if you have too much it can cause a white film on your tongue, brain fog, and many other symptoms.

Dysbiosis has been associated with numerous health conditions and should be taken very seriously. Dysbiosis can also lead to leaky gut.

Leaky gut leads to a lot of the symptoms listed above that aren’t so obviously caused by gastrointestinal health. For example, allergies and food sensitivities are a very common sign that you may have a leaky gut. In fact, when we have a patient who comes in with multiple food sensitivities, we assume that they have a leaky gut.

What we do next is take steps to heal the gut lining, which helps restore immune system function. When we repair a leaky gut, we can help your body regain its strength so it can begin to take care of itself again. That’s always our ultimate goal, to restore the important self-healing processes within your body so you can enjoy life again.

If you are looking for a functional medicine doctor in Kansas City who specializes in gut conditions, Jellison Integrative MD is a great place to find real solutions. Dr. Jellison, MD and Dr. Reicherter, MD have decades of experience in treating gut-related illnesses.

With every patient, it is their mission to find the root cause of all health problems – because only when you find out what’s causing your symptoms can you target the original cause and find lifelong relief. The ultimate goal is to restore balance in the gut and boost immune system health, so you can reduce the number of medications you’re taking and experience a full life.