Digest: The Storied Wellness Approach, Part 2

Here at Storied Wellness Co., we believe that all disease begins in the gut, which houses more than 70% of our immune system. This means that improving gut dysfunction and maintaining proper elimination boosts immune resilience and keeps us healthy.

There is a reason that functional medicine focuses on healing the gut before all else, and that is because so many facets of our health depend on the health of our gut and gastrointestinal tract.

What sets my approach apart from your average GI specialist is that I’m looking at your gut from multiple angles… well, so are they if you consider the fact that most want to scope you from the top and from the bottom, but I digress.

All that they are really assessing with endoscopies and colonoscopies is the structure of the GI tract; is it intact, are there growths or nodules, perhaps bleeding or ulcers, etc. 

Maybe they even order a stool test, but hey, don’t get crazy. They’re really only assessing the presence of four or five pathogens. If they tack on an O and P (ova and parasites), don’t be surprised if that comes back negative. They almost always do. 

You know why? Because of the thousands of different species of parasites identified, these tests are only specific enough to look for a handful of them. Like, less than 10 in most cases.

Secondly, parasites love to burrow into the gut lining and hide, and many of the parasites that reside in the human body are outside of the GI tract. They could be anywhere!

In contrast, when we complete a functional stool test, we’re able to assess how the gut is functioning.

We look at biomarkers of poor digestion to assess whether you’re breaking down your proteins, fats, and even vegetable fibers. 

We’re able to look at markers of inflammation, and I’m able to see if that inflammation stems from allergies or infections. 

We’re able to assess gut integrity and immune defenses. I can see based on your stool test whether or not you’ve been eating a diversity of fruits and vegetables, or if you tend to avoid animal proteins. 

We can look at the gut microbiome and assess specific strains of good and bad bacteria, as well as some viruses and fungi. Some will even show us parasites, but again, I’m not really banking on that for the reasons above.

These functional stool tests, although they are not perfect, give me incredible insight into what is really going on in your gut and why you’ve been unable to achieve regular bowel movements. 

They were the standard for each and every new client of mine for years…

until I discovered foundational medicine.

I no longer recommend that we start with stool testing!

Seems crazy, I know. But allow me to let you in on a little secret…

Everyone, no matter your symptoms or where you’re starting from, needs to work on their drainage pathways first.

Do you know what I’ve learned?

Everyone with a gut problem is really dealing with a liver function problem upstream. 

Everything that makes it to the gut or intestines, has to first pass through the liver and bile ducts. The liver is the detox lifeline of the body and it is a major filter! 

Toxins in the liver go through 3 phases: phases 1 & 2 are complex detoxification, but phase 3 is all about drainage because the liver has to do something with the toxic byproducts produced in those first two phases.

If the liver becomes stagnant and taxed, we’re dealing with a clogged filter. This really impairs detoxification efforts and many of those unfiltered toxins get stored in the body while many of its 500+ other functions are also compromised. 

In addition to detox and bile production, the liver is also responsible for the metabolism of many nutrients and hormones, the metabolism of medications, filtering the blood, blood sugar regulation and glycogen storage, cholesterol synthesis, production of certain proteins, and many immune functions!

When we start with stool testing, yes, we gain a ton of information, but we’re still missing this vital digestive organ just upstream. 

When we begin by supporting the body’s elimination pathways and detoxification potential by supporting the liver, we are actually able to support digestion more efficiently and holistically by indirectly addressing all those other functions affected by digestion as well.

It all works together to support an entire body that is healthy and resilient.

If you’re intrigued and wondering where to begin, check out my FREE Detox Essentials Guide, where I outline my 5 favorite detox practices to support the liver and other drainage functions.