00:00:00
Welcome to Health Decoded, your number one source for real health information with your
00:00:05
host, doctor Alessi and Matt Tack.
00:00:10
Welcome back to another episode of Health Decoded.
00:00:14
If you're listening to this episode on audio, I wanna give you a quick heads up.
00:00:18
Today's episode is actually a full length webinar that I recorded.
00:00:22
And to get the best experience, I highly recommend watching the video version on
00:00:26
YouTube.
00:00:27
If you're driving or somewhere where you can't watch, understand, just listen.
00:00:31
But to actually get the ideal concept of this, makes sense to watch it on the video version on
00:00:37
YouTube.
00:00:37
So just click that link.
00:00:39
And so this isn't just a conversation.
00:00:41
This is actually a visual walkthrough of how gut health actually breaks down, and more
00:00:45
importantly, how it can be rebuilt the right way.
00:00:48
In today's episode, I am teaching our six r gut healing framework, the exact system we use at
00:00:55
Ascend Functional Health, and that I use personally to help finally get answers when
00:01:00
bloating, fatigue, brain fog, food reactions, skin issues, and chronic inflammation just
00:01:07
won't go away.
00:01:08
I'm gonna break down why gut symptoms persist even after normal labs, the biggest mistakes
00:01:15
that people make when trying to heal their gut, and the six nonnegotiable phases required for
00:01:21
real, lasting repair.
00:01:23
So whether you're dealing with gut issues yourself, or you want to understand how gut
00:01:28
health impacts your hormones, immunity, brain function, and longevity, this episode is for
00:01:33
you.
00:01:34
If you can, head over to YouTube and watch the video version for the full experience.
00:01:39
Otherwise, let's dive in, and I hope you enjoy this.
00:01:46
Alright.
00:01:47
Well, thank you everybody for joining today.
00:01:50
And if you're watching this recording, I wanna thank you for tuning in.
00:01:53
My name is doctor Alfred Alessi, and I'm here to take you through one of the most emerging
00:01:59
topics of health that we are hearing all over the place nowadays.
00:02:04
But I really want to break down what is often missed by these fad diets or by conventional
00:02:11
medicine, and that is the gut.
00:02:13
And a lot of people have heard of the gut, probiotics, microbiome, these buzzwords that we
00:02:18
hear all the time.
00:02:20
However, many people are not sure what to do about it when they possibly have some type of
00:02:25
gut dysfunction or gut issues.
00:02:27
And so, that's what I'm here to chat with everybody about today and I appreciate you
00:02:31
joining me.
00:02:32
So, let's get right into it and I'm not going to take too much time here.
00:02:36
I want this to be quick, easy to digest and just filled with valuable information for you
00:02:42
to be able to use and implement in your life.
00:02:44
And so, number one, the reason this is so important and is why we focus on this in our
00:02:52
clinics is that the gut is really ground zero for everything when it comes to your health.
00:02:58
And so, there is what we call this gut health axis from the inside out.
00:03:02
And so, the gut is often the first thing that can be impacted to then lead to other health
00:03:08
issues.
00:03:09
And so, I mean, this really is a silent epidemic that nobody is really talking about
00:03:14
because over seventy percent of Americans do suffer from some type of gut dysfunction and
00:03:20
they don't even know it because it's manifesting in other ways.
00:03:23
It's showing up as immune system problems.
00:03:26
They're constantly sick or skin issues like acne or rosacea.
00:03:30
It could even be oral health problems.
00:03:32
The gut has this inside out effect on the rest of the body.
00:03:37
The common ones that we see obviously are things like bloating or constipation and
00:03:40
reflux, which can very much be tied to the gut.
00:03:44
However, the ones that are less commonly known are things like hormone imbalances or skin
00:03:49
issues.
00:03:50
The reason we want to get into this and the reason I am so passionate about this topic is
00:03:58
because of realistically what we call the broken healthcare model.
00:04:02
If you look at this diagram here, the difference between conventional medicine and
00:04:06
when we talk about functional medicine is very much the term function, right?
00:04:11
The conventional medicine approach is not focused on how your body functions.
00:04:16
It is focused on symptoms and relieving you of those symptoms.
00:04:20
It's very much pain relief.
00:04:22
And so when we talk about functional medicine, it is focused on function.
00:04:26
We want to know how each system in the body is working together in coordination for optimized
00:04:33
health and function.
00:04:34
And so it's something that I'm passionate about again because of my own story.
00:04:41
And so, I went through my own health journey.
00:04:45
I struggled with issues from my gut to my immunity that then manifested itself in
00:04:51
autoimmune condition.
00:04:53
And so, the thing to think about is that many patients that we see are frustrated, they're
00:05:00
unsure of where to go, they don't know what to do, and they're living a very bleak life
00:05:05
because of issues that they have been dismissed.
00:05:08
They've gone to their primary care doctor and been told, This isn't a big deal, or You're
00:05:12
just making this up, or It's all in your head.
00:05:15
Now, I could be frustrated by that just hearing that because that triggers me from, again, my
00:05:22
own history.
00:05:23
And so, when I get into what we're going to talk about today with the 6R protocol, again,
00:05:29
this very much comes from a place of understanding and empathy in that I was the
00:05:34
patient before.
00:05:35
And so, I had just become a doctor about a year before and then I just developed an
00:05:41
overwhelming feeling of sickness in my body and I didn't know what was going on.
00:05:46
I couldn't function during the day.
00:05:48
I had very much a lack of clarity and cognitive focus.
00:05:53
I was tired all the time.
00:05:55
I had skin acne and issues all over my face and I was sick.
00:06:00
But I went to a primary care doctor who told me that I needed to just take some steroids and it
00:06:06
would go away.
00:06:07
I didn't buy that.
00:06:10
I decided to go down my own rabbit hole and heal myself, which took a long time because I
00:06:16
had to create these protocols throughout the process.
00:06:19
But on the back end of that, I was able to heal my leaky gut, my inflamed gut system and my
00:06:27
dysfunctional microbiome.
00:06:28
And on the back end, I was able to remit myself from autoimmune thyroid issue.
00:06:33
And now I live with optimal health, would say.
00:06:36
And so again, this was very much part of my journey.
00:06:40
And so I wanted to create a protocol based on what I did for myself that has been proven to,
00:06:47
and we have done this with dozens of patients, work for almost everyone.
00:06:51
And so, the reason I say almost is because I can't claim to say I can help everybody if
00:06:57
something is too far gone.
00:06:59
However, we can help a lot of people when we use the proper foundational protocols.
00:07:04
And that's what we're going get into today.
00:07:06
Again, the gut is your body's command center.
00:07:12
It is what sends signals everywhere.
00:07:14
This diagram can obviously get lost in the weeds here, but if you look at it, basically
00:07:19
the lining of the gut down at the bottom is what talks to the rest of the body.
00:07:25
It is connected to our nervous system, which is then connected to our brain.
00:07:29
So you often can hear nowadays people saying the gut is the second brain.
00:07:33
I would say that the gut is actually the first brain because the gut tells the brain what
00:07:38
signals to then produce.
00:07:40
And so, without one or the other, we cannot live, we cannot survive.
00:07:45
And so, again, what I want to make sure I'm clear about today is that this is a protocol
00:07:52
that has been proven over time and time and time again within our clinics, and myself
00:07:57
included as a patient, to help people who are suffering from any type of inflamed gut, gut
00:08:05
dysbiosis, dysfunctional ecosystem within the gut that is then leading to outward effects
00:08:12
like hormonal issues and skin issues and things like that, joint inflammation.
00:08:17
This is not a quick fix.
00:08:19
This is not a diet or a supplement routine.
00:08:23
And so if that's what people are ultimately looking for, this is going to be more than you
00:08:29
want realistically.
00:08:30
But this is a systematic repair program that restores gut integrity from the inside out.
00:08:37
So you're probably wondering, what is it?
00:08:39
So let's just get into it.
00:08:42
We are able to repair something, we have to know what's going on.
00:08:47
And so let me touch on real quick what we call our deep gut scan, which is our complete
00:08:52
microbiome test.
00:08:54
This is a test we run on every single patient.
00:08:56
It's going to give us a structured report, looks just like this.
00:09:02
Now, this report tells us a lot and so it's very, very in-depth, but this report is also
00:09:08
amazing because it uses AI technology to break it into a digestible way for patients to be
00:09:16
able to read if they're not doctors.
00:09:18
The few pages that we see on the left side is the actual overall score, it basically gives
00:09:25
you a score.
00:09:26
Hey, we've all been through school.
00:09:27
We know that you got an A, a B, a C, and that was your grade, right?
00:09:32
So it gives you a grade of your overall gut health.
00:09:35
It also gives you a score for the amount of good bacteria that's within your gut.
00:09:40
And so is there enough of the good?
00:09:42
Is there too much of the bad?
00:09:44
That's where then it breaks it down into detail as you can see on the other sides that which
00:09:50
species of gut bacteria are we lacking?
00:09:53
Which species of gut bacteria do we possibly have too much of, and how can we then make
00:09:59
changes within our diet, within our lifestyle to affect these in a positive direction.
00:10:04
It also gives us a score of what our body is doing with our metabolism.
00:10:10
Are we actually breaking down and utilizing certain nutrients, certain compounds that we
00:10:15
ingest or things that we take in from the environment?
00:10:17
Are we detoxing well enough?
00:10:19
It gives us that score as well.
00:10:21
So, with this test, we are able to confirm a lot whether somebody does or does not have
00:10:25
leaky gut syndrome.
00:10:26
We're able to confirm the ecology of their microbiome and then what probiotics they may or
00:10:32
may not need.
00:10:33
And so, oftentimes people say, Well, I had gut issues and I was dealing with, I just took a
00:10:38
probiotic and it actually got worse.
00:10:40
It's like pouring gasoline onto a fire if you take the wrong probiotic for your gut.
00:10:45
And so everybody is different.
00:10:47
Everybody's been through different things in their life, been experienced to different
00:10:50
things, eaten different foods.
00:10:52
And so our gut microbiomes are vastly different.
00:10:55
It's actually amazing that they show studies of identical twins and I have identical twins
00:11:01
myself and they have completely different microbiomes because they are different people.
00:11:06
Their genetics are the same, but they ultimately make different choices that lead to
00:11:11
a different ecosystem within their body.
00:11:13
And so it's fascinating.
00:11:14
And so now what do we do with this information?
00:11:17
And so we've got this test that tells us all this stuff.
00:11:20
Now we would do what we call the six R protocol.
00:11:23
This is what I want to talk to you guys about today.
00:11:26
This is what I created out of my own struggles, my own health journey, made a foundational
00:11:32
program that I've refined over the years.
00:11:35
I've been doing this for about six years.
00:11:37
I've refined this to a way that is replicable, we can repeat this with different patients, but
00:11:44
customizable as well.
00:11:45
And so, not everybody gets the exact same protocol, but it is very much the foundation
00:11:49
that is the same.
00:11:50
And so, again, this is a step by step system to heal from the inside out in about six to eight
00:11:56
months.
00:11:57
And so let's go through it.
00:12:00
So step one, number one, first thing we have to do is we have to remove.
00:12:04
We have to eliminate the harmful triggers.
00:12:07
These are things like processed foods.
00:12:09
These are things like allergens or toxins or pathogens, things that are coming into the
00:12:14
body, whether it's through the ingestion like food or whether it's on the skin, topical
00:12:20
products as well, that are then causing inflammation and causing dysfunction within the
00:12:25
system.
00:12:27
So in order to fix something, we could all agree that you have to stop hurting it in the
00:12:32
first place, right?
00:12:33
And so that's what step one is.
00:12:34
Without step one, the rest of the protocol does not work.
00:12:38
Now, from there, okay, we've eliminated and we've gone through this program.
00:12:42
This first step takes about thirty days, thirty to forty five days for the average person.
00:12:47
And so, it's elimination diet based, we are using specific things, substances like herbs
00:12:55
and breakdown products to get the body to start eliminating and detoxifying before we get into
00:13:02
what we call step two, which is replace the second R.
00:13:05
So this is where we now start restoring missing digestive factors like enzymes, stomach acid,
00:13:13
bile salts, things to optimize the way that your body is breaking down nutrients.
00:13:18
And so over time, we're able to then now support the way that your body was
00:13:23
dysfunctional before.
00:13:24
Maybe your body was not producing enough hydrochloric acid to break down protein.
00:13:29
The protein was then staying around in the gut a little too long, creating inflammation,
00:13:33
leading to issues of bloating and things like that.
00:13:36
And so, again, two must only come after step one, but this is now where we prepare ourselves
00:13:43
for step three, which is where we begin to now reinoculate the gut.
00:13:48
This is where we want to rebuild a healthy microbiome.
00:13:53
Again, this is very much going to be based on somebody's deep gut score.
00:13:57
What probiotics are they lacking and what probiotics are they having too much of, and now
00:14:03
how do we start to balance that out?
00:14:05
And so, we should always have a low level of these, what we call like pathogenic or non
00:14:15
helpful bacteria, there should be a low level of those in our gut at all times because then
00:14:19
our body knows what to do with them when we encounter that.
00:14:22
However, it's when those start to imbalance the good guys that that's when we start to have
00:14:28
issues and we start to really can feel those effects.
00:14:31
And so the reinoculate phase is usually where people have the most profound, I want to say
00:14:38
symptoms from this because we are pouring things into the body.
00:14:41
Right?
00:14:41
We are putting some gasoline into the fire in a good way in this sense, but based on their data
00:14:47
and based on their test.
00:14:50
From there, we've now reinoculated the system with the good things.
00:14:53
We're using prebiotic and probiotic rich foods.
00:14:56
The diet is very much a big part of this.
00:14:58
Now we start working on repairing the gut.
00:15:02
And so when there's inflammation, you can see in this image, things like leaky gut can
00:15:06
happen.
00:15:07
The dysbiotic bacteria create inflammation, which then breaks down the lining within the
00:15:13
gut.
00:15:14
That lining now being more porous allows for things to get into the bloodstream.
00:15:18
That's why you then have these outward effects on the hormones, on the skin, on the cognition
00:15:23
in the brain.
00:15:24
And so, it's very important that we support the healing of this, but only after we've
00:15:34
reinoculated and rebalanced the system.
00:15:36
Because if not, this problem's just gonna come right back.
00:15:40
Hey, busy professionals and parents.
00:15:42
Let me ask you something.
00:15:44
Do you need help with your low energy, stubborn weight, brain fog, gut issues, or hormones, but
00:15:50
you don't know where to start?
00:15:52
Well, you're not alone.
00:15:53
The biggest problem is that modern healthcare is designed to diagnose disease, but often
00:15:59
misses the dysfunction that begins years earlier as under the surface symptoms.
00:16:05
That's exactly why I created the Functional Medicine Starter System.
00:16:10
This is a structured, physician led process designed to uncover what is actually driving
00:16:15
your symptoms, whether it's rooted in gut health, metabolic function, inflammation,
00:16:20
nutrient status, or hormonal imbalance.
00:16:23
No guessing, no generic protocols, just real data and a clear plan.
00:16:28
So if you're tired of searching for answers, but you're not sure how to begin solving your
00:16:33
health issues, go to the link in the podcast show notes to learn more about the functional
00:16:38
medicine starter system.
00:16:40
Because once you have clarity, you can finally start to feel like yourself again.
00:16:44
Now, let's get back to the episode.
00:16:47
Now, from step four, this is the fun part is where people start getting into more of a
00:16:54
maintaining this and a healthy life, right?
00:16:56
Usually it's the first three to four months that people feel the most things, the most
00:17:01
maybe negative side effects or the most what we would call like reactions.
00:17:05
And then getting through to the back end, the rebalance phase is where we now start working
00:17:10
with them on more of a lifestyle component as well as with certain foods and nutrients and
00:17:16
nutrition to make sure we're creating balance.
00:17:19
Are they sleeping enough?
00:17:20
Is stress an issue that we need to manage that maybe led them down that way in the first
00:17:25
place?
00:17:26
Exercise, lifestyle habits, all these things to create an ongoing of whole body health.
00:17:32
Again, the gut is the focus, but the gut affects everything else.
00:17:38
From there, we can start slowly reintroducing foods back into the diet.
00:17:44
We want to pay close attention to what does your body do with that?
00:17:47
Do we start adding things back in that maybe before were creating inflammation and causing
00:17:52
new issues and now they're not?
00:17:54
Fantastic.
00:17:55
Do we want to reintroduce things like alcohol and processed sugars?
00:18:00
Not really.
00:18:01
Those are things that ideally we avoid long term.
00:18:04
Not to say that we can't enjoy ourselves every now and then.
00:18:07
However, again, do we want to go back to where we were?
00:18:11
Most patients would say no.
00:18:13
And so if you're dealing with some type of significant dysfunction, you would most likely
00:18:17
agree with me.
00:18:18
I would say based on my own path that as well.
00:18:22
And I've been able to maintain this over time by just sticking to a clean way of eating,
00:18:27
avoiding processed foods, maintaining level of low stress, exercise, and whole body health in
00:18:33
general.
00:18:34
And so on the back end of this, people always ask, well, how do I know it worked?
00:18:39
This is where we talk about like the bonus R, right?
00:18:42
The seventh R.
00:18:43
This is retesting.
00:18:44
So, we would likely retest the deep gut test that we did at the beginning to see what
00:18:50
changes we made.
00:18:51
Oftentimes, we'll run a food sensitivity test as well at the beginning with patients to see
00:18:56
what foods are triggering things.
00:18:59
Can retest that as well and we will often see foods that were creating a level of
00:19:04
inflammation and like an allergic response are now less or gone.
00:19:09
So, it's actually pretty awesome when we do this and we do these tests and we get data to
00:19:15
not only the patient feels better, but we can prove it that, Hey, we fixed something.
00:19:21
Now, patients have this high level of positivity and hope that, Hey, I'm just going
00:19:25
to maintain this and get great results.
00:19:29
All the patients that we take through this, we don't just take them through a protocol, fix
00:19:34
their gut, and then good luck.
00:19:36
No, we to maintain a level of positivity with them, so we always give them access to our
00:19:43
resources and we fill them with tons of knowledge so that you're not just on your own
00:19:47
on the back end of this.
00:19:48
You do have the tools that it takes to maintain the results that you've earned.
00:19:53
And I say earned because you did put in the work.
00:19:56
And so, we've talked about the gut.
00:20:00
We've talked about the six Rs and how we use that strategically to fix a dysfunctional gut
00:20:07
system.
00:20:09
And this really is the last gut healing system that you will ever need if you do it correctly.
00:20:14
And so, as we've gone through this and we've talked about that, I just want to give me a
00:20:19
show of hands, guys, and just put your hands up if you agree.
00:20:24
Does it make sense that if we fix the gut, the rest of the body can heal?
00:20:30
Right.
00:20:31
Would you rather get to the root cause of something instead of just masking the symptoms,
00:20:36
taking things like proton pump inhibitors and Tums for the rest of your life?
00:20:41
Out of hands.
00:20:42
Okay.
00:20:42
So, everybody would agree.
00:20:44
So, you know, that being said, there's really two paths that you have when you are dealing
00:20:50
with something like this, right?
00:20:52
It's really path number one is taking action and making a change to fix it.
00:20:58
And path number two is staying the same.
00:21:00
And so, think by the show of hands, it would make sense that most people lean towards the
00:21:05
action path.
00:21:06
Now, I appreciate that and I appreciate everybody joining in as well.
00:21:12
What I want to do is I want to give you guys an offer here, and this is something that we like
00:21:18
to do when people join the webinar as a special thank you for joining me.
00:21:22
This is a limited time offer for an introductory consultation with myself to see if
00:21:28
this is something that you could benefit from.
00:21:30
Now, 99 for the consultation, normally it's $250 so it's marked down.
00:21:36
This is only available to 10 new patients every month.
00:21:39
Now, you see there it says no risk.
00:21:41
That means if we do a call or we do an appointment and you've spent $99 and it turns
00:21:48
out that this might not be a good fit for you, we don't want to keep your money.
00:21:51
We will refund you that $99 So, there's literally no risk here.
00:21:55
Now, as a special bonus, if you want to get this going and you book an appointment today as
00:22:02
a part of this webinar special, we'll give you 10% off of your deep gut scan and any other lab
00:22:07
testing that you want to do, again, as a special thank you.
00:22:12
And so, again, this is a limited time offer.
00:22:14
These go quick because a lot of patients need this and a lot of patients come to us for this.
00:22:18
So, there's only 10 available each month.
00:22:21
Then for today, the 10% off the testing.
00:22:25
I appreciate everybody joining me.
00:22:27
I appreciate you guys for always giving such good feedback and being on top of these kinds
00:22:34
of things.
00:22:34
For even joining this, that means you are thinking proactively about your health.
00:22:40
I hope you all have a great rest of your day, and I will talk to you soon.
00:22:44
All right.
00:22:45
I want to say thank you for tuning in to this episode and taking the time to learn and
00:22:50
educate yourself and really understand the concept of what we're doing with this gut
00:22:54
protocol.
00:22:55
And again, it's not just about gut health, but about how your body actually works when given
00:23:00
the right inputs.
00:23:02
Everything you just heard is the foundation of the six R gut healing framework, a structured
00:23:08
root cause approach designed to move you from guessing to clarity to real results.
00:23:14
If this webinar resonated with you and you're ready to take the next step or someone you know
00:23:20
needs to hear this, I want to invite you to start your six R gut healing journey.
00:23:24
You can head over to ascendfunctionalhealth.com and book an introductory appointment with our
00:23:29
team in person or telehealth.
00:23:32
We'll take the time to understand your story, review your symptoms, and determine whether
00:23:36
this program or maybe another approach is even the right fit for you.
00:23:40
There's no pressure, just answers, direction, and ideally a plan.
00:23:45
So thank you again for tuning in to Health Decoded.
00:23:47
And remember, your gut isn't broken.
00:23:50
It just needs the right road map.
00:23:53
Thank you for tuning in to Health Decoded, where we break down the truth about all things
00:23:58
health and empower you to take charge of your well-being.
00:24:01
If you found value in today's episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with
00:24:06
someone who needs to hear this.
00:24:08
For more resources and personalized support, visit us at alessifunctionalhealth.com and sign
00:24:14
up for our newsletter.
00:24:16
To hear your questions answered live on the show, send them to askalessiFXhealth dot com.
00:24:22
That's ask@alessifxhealth.com.
00:24:27
Until next time, stay curious, stay empowered, and remember, your health is in your hands.