Much of what I do in my practice is investigate. In this journey of detection, serology (blood tests) and other scans have a role to play, as they are useful in giving us the levels of various markers. but most important is getting the patient to describe all their symptoms exhaustively and finding the dietary clues that might be triggering internal trouble. This means asking questions, a lot of them. and sifting through everything, to separate the vital pieces of information.

so, often, I find myself feeling like a diet detective; satisfaction comes from being able to solve the case and find the dietary criminal lurking inside. It could be inflammation caused by a food intolerance, inflammation because of insulin resistance or a deficiency caused by malabsorption (leaky gut). Very often, a combination of these.

From my practice’s case book, I have selected a number of varied instances, which illustrate how an extremely wide array of symptoms and rather diverse disorders and diseases were linked to the functioning of the gut (in conjunction with the other three G-forces). some cases needed a deep dive into testing to find the culprits; in some histories, detailed Q and as sufficed for the detective to solve the crime; in a few, financial considerations did not allow for expensive testing, so a simpler approach of elimination of certain foods and observation of symptoms was adopted.

What was deeply satisfying, however, was the kind of health transformation that was realized through the combination of identification, elimination, supplementation and dietary planning. In addition, mostly, the other lifestyle factors have remained constant, such as exercise, sleep, stress, pesticides in food, pollution and disease.

The gratification comes at many levels. In all the cases, one can understand the origin of the problem. From there on, joining the dots is easy. The improvement/removal of symptoms is accompanied by a reduction in the pill burden or complete removal of pills. In all instances, people are eating less than before, and they report feeling more energetic and positive about their health.




To be continued.....