Creating gut health at Mosaic Medicine involves a personalized approach that balances your digestive system through tailored nutrition, lifestyle changes, and targeted therapies, enhancing your overall well-being and vitality.

Gut health is crucial because it influences multiple aspects of overall health and well-being. Here are some key reasons why maintaining a healthy gut is important:

1. Digestion and Nutrient Absorption: The gut is primarily responsible for digesting food and absorbing nutrients. A healthy gut ensures efficient digestion and absorption, which are essential for energy production and overall health.

2. Immune System Function: About 70-80% of the body's immune cells are located in the gut. A healthy gut microbiota plays a critical role in developing and maintaining the immune system, helping to protect against pathogens and prevent autoimmune diseases.

3. Mental Health: The gut is often called the "second brain" because of its ability to produce neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, which regulates mood. The gut-brain axis links the emotional and cognitive centers of the brain with peripheral intestinal functions, which means gut health can impact mental health, influencing stress, depression, and anxiety.

4. Chronic Disease Prevention: Poor gut health is linked to a higher risk of various chronic diseases, including obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Inflammation in the gut can lead to systemic inflammation, which is a risk factor for these conditions.

5. Hormonal Balance: The gut interacts with hormonal systems, influencing the balance of hormones like insulin, leptin, and ghrelin, which control appetite and metabolism.

6. Prevention of Autoimmune Diseases: A healthy gut contributes to a strong intestinal barrier, which helps prevent unwanted substances from entering the bloodstream and triggering immune responses that could lead to autoimmune diseases.

7. Skin Health: Emerging research shows that gut health affects the skin. Conditions like eczema, rosacea, and acne may be related to an imbalance in gut bacteria or gut inflammation.

Promoting gut health involves eating a diverse and nutritious diet rich in fiber, prebiotics, and probiotics, managing stress, getting enough sleep, and avoiding unnecessary antibiotics to maintain a balanced and healthy gut microbiota.

I have been on my own lifelong weight journey. Traditional medicine and yo-yo dieting with almost every "diet" plan that exists has only worsened my weight health but my body image. I know that this is the case for many of my patients as well. My goal for patients is to meet them where they are in their weight journey, to dive into WHY you have the weight struggles, HOW you got to your current weight, WHAT your body composition and genetics are that contribute to your current weight. From there, we partner together to use multiple modalities to get you to your optimal body composition to meet your health goals. Weight loss not a quick fix path. When we acknowledge that and give ourselves grace for how we got here and where we want to go, I fully believe you will achieve your body's ideal weight.