by Jen Owen, N.P. | Jun 2, 2022 | Integrative Medicine
In integrative medicine, we consider the gut to be the root of all health. When there’s imbalance in the gut, a myriad of symptoms can occur.
Most people think of the gut for obvious gut-related symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, bloating, heartburn, etc.
Most don’t think of the gut for more systemic issues such as rashes and other skin disorders, joint pain, headaches, trouble concentrating, depression, fatigue, and more.
Often, the gut IS the root cause of all of the above symptoms and even more chronic diseases such as diabetes, fatty liver disease, and autoimmune disorders.
If you have any symptoms that typical western treatments haven’t been able to erradicate, then you might just have a leaky gut.
What is leaky gut?
A more technical term for leaky gut is intestinal permeability.
In a normal functioning small intestine, there are tight junctions between all of the cells along the lining. These junctions hold the cells together and keep everything in the gut that is supposed to stay in the gut.
When this lining gets damaged, it thins causing microscopic substances to cross the intestinal lining into the blood stream. This causes a response from the immune system and a cascade of events that cause many different symptoms.
What causes leaky gut?
Leaky gut is caused by anything that can cause an insult to the gut lining. The most common things that do this include:
- Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, such as ibuprofen and naproxen (NSAIDs)
- Poor diet
- Poor digestion
- Alcohol intake
- Infections
- Imbalance of good/bad bacteria
- Antibiotics and other drugs
- Toxins
How is leaky gut diagnosed?
If you have gut issues or any other chronic symptoms, it’s safe to assume you have a leaky gut.
In my clinic, I like to use the GI Effects Comprehensive Stool Analysis to diagnosis leaky gut and other underlying gastrointestinal concerns.
This testing uses biomarkers to determine the overall health of the gut, including digestion/absorption, inflammation/immunology, and the health of the gut microbiome (aka do you have the right balance of good/bad bacteria).
When there is a leaky gut, we can use these biomarkers to understand whether or not you have a leaky gut.
How is leaky gut treated?
The main goal of treating leaky gut is to tighten the cell junctions along the gut.
In order to do that, we follow these steps:
- Remove the invading causes.
- Treat any infections, such as bacteria, yeast, and parasites (will be revealed on the stool testing).
- Use herbs and other supplements to heal the gut lining.
- Replenish the good bacteria.
Healing leaky gut isn’t complicated and often doesn’t take more than 6-12 months to diminish many symptoms.
It does take dedicated effort and often expert support.
To learn more, come on in to The Flourish Center this coming Tuesday, June 7 from 6:15-7pm for a free community presentation.
And, if you know you want testing and support, schedule an appointment with me, Jen Owen, N.P. now.
Please share this post widely because likely your friends and family are dealing with this, too.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | May 5, 2022 | Food Medicine, Integrative Medicine
Insulin resistance is what I call the “pre pre-diabetes” because it’s actually happening in the body before your blood glucose is ever abnormal and you get the diagnosis of pre-diabetes.
Watch the video now or read on….
#1: What are the symptoms?
Some people don’t have any symptoms at all when they have insulin resistance, but most people feel really tired. They feel like they are dragging around, so they go in to see their medical provider. Blood tests otfen show that “nothing is wrong with them”.
Some people have weight gain, especially around the abdomen. Many “crash” after they eat certain foods and they don’t understand why.
For some people insulin resistance affects their mood. It can cause a low level of depression or that feeling of feeling very “hangry”.
#2: What actually is Insulin Resistance?
I could go into a deep physiology lesson about this. The basic thing I want you to know is that insulin is what lets your blood sugar (your glucose) into your cells to give them the energy to do what they need to do. When you have insulin resistance the blood sugar is not getting in, and so your cells don’t have that fuel that they need.
#3: How do you fix it?
I recommend getting your insulin levels checked—it’s part of the routine labs I do here at my clinic in Portland. If you do get it checked, you want to make sure your insulin level is under 5. Slightly over 5 is going to be mild insulin resistance, and the higher it goes, the more insulin resistance you have—meaning the less glucose is getting into your cells
The most important thing you can do to help this process is eating protein. You want to eat protein every few hours throughout the day, eat a high protein breakfast, and always have protein at your meals and with any carbs that you eat.
By doing that, you’re going to stabilize your blood sugar level in your blood and you’re going to reduce that insulin resistance for those cells.
That’s it! It’s actually simple.
Why we’re not checking it in the regular, conventional blood testing, I’m not sure, since insulin resistance is happening in your body well before your blood glucose levels are ever elevagted. We would be heading off a lot of pre-diabetes if people knew about this ahead of time. It would also be saving you hours and hours of being tired and not feeling like yourself because this is happening in your body.
If you’re in Portland, I’d love to see you at my clinic—we can work through this. And if not I hope you’ll see your own provider and have this checked! Or just make sure you’re eating protein throughout the day and with meals to keep that blood sugar stabilized and reduce your risk of insulin resistance, reducing your risk of pre-diabetes and diabetes down the road.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Feb 17, 2022 | Mind-Body Medicine
It’s so easy to change yourself to fit the needs of others or to be who you think others want you to be. It’s kind of like being a chameleon.
Chameleons change their color to blend in with their habitats. They adapt to the climate around them to be undetected, fit in, and be more comfortable.
Humans do this, too.
How often have you participated in activities to fit in? For example, do you drink alcohol or eat sugar because “everybody’s doing it”?
Have you held your tongue and not spoken your truth for fear of upsetting others? This is happening so much in today’s political and social climates.
Do you stay in a job or avoid pursuing your dreams because it’s the “safe” thing to do?
When you act like a chameleon, you forget who YOU really are.
You lose touch with your own hopes, dreams, and wants for YOUR life.
You keep changing yourself over and over and over, and pretty soon, you forget what color YOU are.
One of the best tools I know for reconnecting with yourself is journaling.
Find a quiet moment and take some deep breaths.
Ask yourself these questions:
What do I really want?
Who do I really want to be?
What goals do I have that I’m not currently pursuing?
Where am I not speaking my truth?
Let the answers flow out onto the paper and write and write until it feels complete.
Then, take the main points and gather them into a few sentences.
Read these sentences out loud to yourself morning and night.
Please come back and share your story with me in the comments below or shot me an email.
What is your true color?
How does it feel when you return fully and completely to letting that color shine???
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Jan 6, 2022 | Mind-Body Medicine
What if instead of setting a weight loss goal, restricting calories, over-exercising, and any other form of self-punishment, you simply asked your body what it wants?
When I first starting getting personal and business coaching, this concept was introduced to me.
Frankly, I thought it was ridiculous.
I was all about the nutrients in food, getting the “right” amount of protein, restricting foods when a certain condition called for it, and all the other stuff based on scientific research and the experience of my mentors.
I’ve tried just about every fad diet out there…Whole 30, low-carb, candida cleanses, blood type diet, Weight Watchers, keto,…you name it, I’ve probably tried it. I’ve always had the rule that I won’t ask a patient to do anything I’m not willing to do (so, you’ll never have to worry about giving up coffee!).
None of them are sustainable and most of them have you working AGAINST your body and not WITH it.
Every day, I have a conversation with my patients that starts with, “Have you asked your body what it really wants?”.
Some of them look at me like I’ve lost it. Most are curious about what I mean.
Your body will tell you exactly what to eat, how to exercise, when to go to bed, and what to stop/start doing if you take the time to ask it. But, you have to actually do what it tells you to do.
Most of you are ignoring your body’s signals. You get a headache, so you take ibuprofen. Your stomach hurts, you take tums. You get a gut feeling not to go to an event and you go anyway. You know exercise is optimal for you, but you binge watch that new show instead. You get the idea.
Ignoring your body over and over again creates distrust. Your body stops signaling or signals so loud that you are forced to stop and notice. When the signals get crossed, you get discouraged and the cycle starts over again. Make sense?
The good news is that your body wants more than anything to support you. It’s striving to bring you back to balance at every moment. You CAN rekindle your relationship.
Simply start asking and then slow down long enough to hear the answer. When you feel hungry, don’t ignore this even if you’re busy. Go into the kitchen and ask your body, ‘What sounds really good?’. Wander around looking at the options and see which ones feel the best. Eat those. Do the same thing at the grocery store. Buy the things that look and sound amazing to eat.
At first, you may still think you want something sugary or salty and sometimes you still will. More often than not, you’re going to want veggies or fruit. My body often wants nut butters and avocados.
When you’re done with work each day, ask your body, ‘What sounds amazing to do next?’. Maybe it will be a nap or a walk or to call a friend. Do whatever your body says without questioning. You may be taking a nap every day for awhile.
Keep practicing. Your relationship with your body won’t heal overnight, but with persistent asking and listening, you’ll be surprised how much better you’ll feel and you won’t have to starve or suffer in the meantime!
Want more help with transformations like this? Come and see me at my Portland clinic.
by Jen Owen, N.P. | Dec 10, 2021 | Mind-Body Medicine
Mindset shifting is something I do every day for myself, my patients, and my coaching clients.
One of the basics of mindset work is first to understand what kind of mindset you operate under. In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol Dweck, Ph.D. introduces us to the concept of Fixed versus Growth Mindsets.
A Fixed Mindset is when you believe your qualities are carved in stone. You might believe you have a certain amount of intelligence, a certain personality, and a certain character. Those in a Fixed Mindset tend to focus on proving themselves, on proving that what is certain about them is actually the concrete and only truth.
They are constantly evaluating themselves with questions like,
“Will I succeed or fail?”
“Will I look smart or dumb?
“Will I be accepted or rejected?”
Fixed Mindset people tend to play it safe, not taking risks for fear of failure or embarrassment.
On the opposite side, is the Growth Mindset.
When you operate under a Growth Mindset, you believe that your basic qualities are the things that you can cultivate through your efforts, your strategies, and from getting help from others.
You believe you can change and grow through application and experience. Growth Mindset people are willing to take risks and make mistakes, because they know whatever happens will present them with an opportunity to learn and grow.
They ask very different questions such as,
“Why waste time proving over and over how great you are, when you could be getting better?”
“Why hide deficiencies instead of overcoming them?”
“Why seek out the tried and true, instead of experiences that will stretch you?”
Growth Mindset people allow for what is possible and know that a person’s true potential is unknown. They go for it anyway!
So, what type of mindset is the basis for how you operate in the world?
Do you believe that you are “just how you are” and that things “are just this way”?
Or, do you believe things can be different for you?
Do you believe that with the right tools and support, you could change yourself and the course of your life?
What could be possible for you if you had a different mindset?
It’s honestly not that hard to shift your mindset. Once you establish a few new habits and routines and gain a deeper understanding of what mindset it most optimal for you, you can more easily reach your goals and intentions.
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