Marketing and Implementing the Leaky Gut Protocol for Patients with Gut Health Conditions
The gut has long been regarded as a barometer for our health and wellbeing. Evidence of this dates as far back as ancient greek civilizations and is deeply embedded in our culture. Famous early physician, Hippocrates alleged that “all diseases begin in the gut.” And it’s likely that from a young age you were consistently told to “trust your gut.”
So it begs the question: is there any evidence to support these age-old, seemingly unsubstantiated claims? Surprisingly, yes. Research suggests Hippocrates and our societal clichés might be right after all.
In fact, our guts actually communicate to our brains through what is known as the vagus nerve whose function is to send information to the brain from various organs including our intestines. This nerve tells our bodies how to feel based off of the environment in the gut. So essentially, when something isn’t right our brain and gut will be communicating about it (1).
More specifically, an issue that has become a growing concern for the medical community and patients alike is what is known as Leaky Gut Syndrome, or Increased Intestinal Permeability.
This is a condition in which the intestinal epithelium (think a cellular wall, that creates a barrier between the intestines and the body) is allowing toxins and other harmful bacteria into the body due to gaps in the wall’s “tight junction” pathways (2).
Typically this wall allows for things such as healthy nutrients to pass through into our bodies and our bloodstream, but when the body experiences increased intestinal permeability, bad bacteria and toxins are able to flow into and be absorbed by the body. In other words, the gate that should be keeping the bad stuff out of our body has been compromised and those bad bacteria and toxins can cause harmful conditions and uncomfortable symptoms (2).
In fact, ongoing research is being conducted to determine the impact that increased intestinal permeability has regarding certain medical conditions such as autoimmune disorders and other diseases (3). While this research is still developing, it’s widely accepted that increased intestinal permeability plays a role in certain gastrointestinal conditions such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, and irritable bowel syndrome (4).
The good news: medical professionals are now getting onboard with the idea of improving their patients gut health through use of probiotics, supplements, nutrition, exercise and healthy lifestyle choices.
The caveat, which healthcare providers are unfortunately all too familiar with, lies in poor patient compliance. How are patients expected to heal their gut when their lifestyle and eating habits are likely to blame and unlikely to change without intervention?
Enter The Leaky Gut Protocol inside the BodySite Remote Patient Care solution
We’ve developed a completely customizable program that is fully equipped with educational content, daily breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes, specific tasks for the patient to complete, and so much more.
In addition to the turnkey 40-day digital program, we’ve also created tools to help you easily market the program to your patients and implement the solution in your practice. These tools include:
- Patient-facing promotional flyer
- Patient pre-education/marketing video
- Patient-facing PowerPoint presentation to easily talk to your patients about the Leaky Gut Protocol
These tools are all included with your BodySite subscription at no additional charge.
This program is available on the BodySite Remote Patient Care web platform and mobile app where healthcare providers can not only prescribe wellness protocols such as the Leaky Gut Program from our template library of over 60+ plans, but they can also…
- Track patient progress
- Have patients track their foods/calories
- Monitor patient activity and biometric data from manually integrated devices
- Use our telehealth virtual clinic for tele-visits
- Communicate with patients in realtime through HIPAA-compliant messaging
Think of BodySite as your one-stop shop for Remote Patient Monitoring, Patient Education, Telehealth, Patient Management and more.
Is There A Way to Preview The Program?
We offer a 30-Day free trial with full access to our entire platform with no restrictions — enroll patients, create your own plans, upload documents — you name it! You can get started on your trial at this link. You may cancel at anytime, if needed.
If you already have an account with BodySite, the new Leaky Gut Protocol is already available in your account, including all of the toolkit resources (the flyer, video, presentation, etc). You can find the new program by going to Plans > Available Plans & Templates.
Hover over the plan and select “Copy & Edit” to start using it with your patients. The digital program on BodySite is already equipped with the recipes, tasks and educational videos for your patients to succeed on this program. The flyer, marketing video, and presentation can all be found under the “Implementation Toolkit” section of the Leaky Gut program on BodySite.
What are you waiting for? Get your patients started on the Leaky Gut program today!
Sources Cited:
- Breit S, et al. (2018). Vagus nerve as modulator of the brain–gut axis in psychiatric and inflammatory disorders. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00044/full
- Fukui, Hiroshi. “Increased Intestinal Permeability and Decreased Barrier Function: Does It Really Influence the Risk of Inflammation?” Inflammatory Intestinal Diseases, vol. 1, no. 3, 2016, pp. 135–145., https://doi.org/10.1159/000447252.
- Mu, Qinghui, et al. “Leaky Gut as a Danger Signal for Autoimmune Diseases.” Frontiers in Immunology, vol. 8, 2017, https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2017.00598.
- Marcelo Campos, MD. “Leaky Gut: What Is It, and What Does It Mean for You?” Harvard Health, 22 Aug. 2019, https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/leaky-gut-what-is-it-and-what-does-it-mean-for-you-2017092212451.
- Vajro, Pietro, et al. “Microbiota and Gut–Liver Axis.” Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition, vol. 56, no. 5, 2013, pp. 461–468., https://doi.org/10.1097/mpg.0b013e318284abb5.