Dr. Martha Calihan – Alternative Medicine

In recent years, we have increasingly come to understand the importance of the immune system in our gut. We are learning about the powerful gut-brain connection, and the importance of the gut microbiome; the enormous population of bacteria that populates our intestines.

I have been writing about the GI system and it’s importance to our health the past several weeks. Now I

Hippocrates, said to be the father of Modern Medicine, is quoted as saying “all disease begins in the gut”; these seem like wise words even today. Digestive complaints are among the most common symptoms that bring people to the doctor. These days, there are far advanced testing options available to evaluate for serious diagnoses, but oftentimes people continue to experience significant symptoms and a lack of wellbeing despite the lack of a particular diagnosis.

I wonder how many times we have all heard this said and just blown it off. I know I used to. It seemed both painfully obvious and not really that important; we all knew that whatever we ate that was “bad” we would wear on our hips!

Medicine is changing … the landscape is evolving and we have an increasing array of options and solutions to our symptoms. We live in an era and in an area where we have the best of what Western medicine can provide, including sub specialty care for the most challenging and rare of conditions, for which we should be, and are, enormously grateful.