Posted Sept 4, 2011
When it comes to seeking optimal health, Dr. Gerard Mullin suspects the average person knows more about how the cardiac system works or how the brain functions than he or she knows about the complex system that delivers the fuel to keep it all going.
“I think as a culture, we are preoccupied by the heart and the brain,” said Mullin, a gastroenterologist who directs the Integrative GI Nutrition Services at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.”The gut, as Rodney Dangerfield might say, never gets any respect. It is just a place where food is dumped and that is all that most people think about.”
Mullins, associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and former University of Bridgeport masters’ student has combined forces with registered dietitian and nutritionist Kathie Madonna Swift to release the book “The Inside Tract: Your Good Gut Guide to Great Digestive Health (Rodale Books, $19.99).” The book discusses the many condition associated with a poorly functioning digestive system, as well as advice for healing these problems. About 60 to 70 million Americans are plagued by digestive disease, according to the National Institutes of Health, and Mullin said he’s personally treated thousands. In the book’s introduction, Mullin noted that poor diet has been linked to many of today’s chronic illnesses. He writes that by changing your diet and absorbing the nutrients from whole, nonprocessed foods, people can slow and reverse many of these conditions.
We asked Mullin for some of his feelings on this overlooked part of the body.
Q: Are gut issues and health problems a combination of people not eating correctly and a medical system that, in some aspect, is treating them in ways that can exacerbate the problem?
A: We need to do a better job of instructing the public about prevention and healthy lifestyle. Medicine understands what you eat makes a difference. It is hard to ignore the data.
Q: In your practice, what have you found are some of the greatest obstacles people put in their own path when it comes to improving their digestive system?
A: Denial that their lifestyles and thinking need to change. Many would prefer to take a pill, rather than change. Another (obstacle) is the reluctance to seek stress management counseling.
Q: Why is the set of symptoms so vast when it comes to issues with the gut? How can one assess whether what they have is just a minor irritation or a condition that requires medical intervention?
A: The gut is far from simple. (It’s) very complicated — (there are) symptoms galore. There are many red-flag symptoms — such as bleeding, constant diarrhea, incapacitating pain — that are fairly obvious. The GPS (gastrointestinal patient symptom tool) we provided gives readers a sense of the severity of symptoms. And, if they are severe, they need to seek medical advice if they choose to follow Track 3 (the most restricted meal plan in the book.)
Q: I love the concept of the GPS, which should be easy for busy people to remember. Is this something you hope readers will use with their doctors and other health providers?
A: It’s really up to the individual client, but it has worked well for my patients. A lot of people think they are eating healthy, but this sets the record straight. The plans are contemporary and up-to-date. There is some really good nutrition; we provide a lot of help.
Q: I know your book is not meant for a quick fix, but what are three things people can do that can set them on a path to better health?
A: Take a look at your plate and think about what you are eating. If you are eating out a lot and not eating too healthy, you’ll need to revamp your diet. So, look at your diet and see what you can do better. You may want to meet with a dietician or a registered nurse, too. You have to think about healthier food for the gut, and about things that you are going to eliminate. It is a system of self-diagnosis, a way of engaging yourself so you get to a point where you think about what you are eating.
(Next), look at the way you are living, at your lifestyle. That can range from someone who is not exercising or sleeping too well, to someone who is drinking too much. These are connected with our gut health, which the book goes into and provides solutions. If you are stressing and not relaxing and not taking vacations or taking walks, it is going to be hard to be healthy.
And, third, the book gives people a sense for what the gut does, what can go wrong with it, why we have such a problem. It is more of a wake-up call that it is something that they need to pay attention to. You have to think about the gut in terms of overall health and wellness. If you keep your gut happy, you will be healthy.
Q: Why does a healthy gut translate to a healthy being?
A: Eastern traditional medicine has, for centuries, taught us that good gut health is important for vibrant health. Gut ailments can adversely effect virtually every organ and body system. Finally, gut microbiota (microscopic living organisms) may influence the development of obesity, cardiovascular disease, mood disorders, allergies, and asthma. The gut (contains) the vast majority of our immune system, which interacts with immune and nonimmune cells throughout the body. So the gut does more than just process food like a blender. It’s the inner tube of life.
Staff writer Christina Hennessy can be reached at christina.hennessy@scni.com or 203-964-2241.
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