Michael Ruscio - Healthy Gut, Healthy You

Copyright 2018 Dr. Michael Ruscio

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Published by The Ruscio Institute, LLC, Las Vegas, NV
www.drruscio.com

Edited and Designed by Girl Friday Productions
www.girlfridayproductions.com

Editorial: Judith Bloch, Katherine Richards, and Carrie Wicks
Interior Design: Paul Barrett
Cover Design: 99 Designs
Image Credits: Cover image Natalia Aggiato/Shutterstock

ISBN (Paperback): 9780999766804
e-ISBN: 9780999766811

First Edition

Printed in the United States of America

Image Credits (Interior) (SS = Shutterstock)

Design elements used throughout: Marochkina Anastasiia/SS; Alena Ohneva/SS, Designua/SS.

: Africa Studio/SS; p. 234: 2003, Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University, P. Dirckx; p. 237: Recreated with permission from Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2009 Jun; 5(6): 435442. Copyright Gastro-Hep Communications, Inc.

I learned the importance of gut health firsthand when I was in my twenties. I had always been a happy, high-energy guyI played sports and music, dove deep into academics, and had a rich social life. And then a series of events began that would change my entire life.

I noticed that I was always tired. You know those days when you feel like youre dragging? We all have days like that once in a while, but I was feeling it every day. I needed two or three naps a day, had a hard time thinking, and just wanted to put my head down and rest. I was often cold, and I seemed to be wearing more clothes than everyone around me. My hair was thinning.

These symptoms certainly werent fun, but I wasnt alarmed. I had a lot on my plate (school, work, sports), and I wasnt a kid anymore. I didnt like the way I felt, but I could live with it. What else could I do? I was already eating well, exercising, and getting enough sleep, and I had a happy life.

Then the insomnia started. I would wake up at two in the morning and wouldnt be able to get back to sleep. It was maddening. I also craved sugar. Sometimes I would get in my car and drive to the store at three in the morning to buy a candy bar. When it was time to get up, I was tired. In addition to all this, for the first time in my life, I was having bouts of depression.

I knew this wasnt normal. I thought to myself, Time to see a doctor. This is what doctors are for, right? I saw three doctors: a family doctor, an internist, and an endocrinologist. It felt good to take action. I was confident a doctor would find something wrong, wed fix it, and Id get on with my life.

Good news and bad news were to follow. The good news was the doctors all said there was nothing wrong with me. The bad news was the doctors all said there was nothing wrong with me! Because the doctors could find nothing wrong with me, they had no recommendations, and apparently there was nothing I could do.

I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands. I was a premed student, working as a personal trainer, and studying holistic nutrition. Because of this training, I already had myself on a healthy diet and exercise program, but obviously I needed to take things to the next level. I started reading and studying everything I could on my symptoms: fatigue, depression, insomnia, feeling cold, thinning hair, and cravings.

Eventually, my studies brought me to a conclusion that took into account all of my symptoms. I had hypothyroidism and adrenal fatigueessentially hormone imbalances. This had to be the cause of my problems! I started taking a number of supplements that supported the adrenals and thyroid, and I began to feel better, about 30% better. This improvement only lasted a few weeks, though, and then I slowly returned to my unsatisfactory new normal. I was crushed. I was also irritated because I had spent a few hundred dollars on the supplements.

As if things werent bad enough, another symptom appeared, this one perhaps the worst of all: brain fog. I experienced episodes where I felt drunk. It was hard for me to speak clearly, I couldnt remember things, and I felt uncoordinatedlike my head was in a fog. This would happen after I ate, but what I ate didnt matter; the episodes were completely random. I tried keeping a food journal, but nothing I ate seemed to correlate with the brain-fog episodes.

I continued with my research, trying to get to the root of my problems. Was I feeling this way because of low testosterone? I went on a testosterone-boosting protocol, which, like the last treatment I prescribed for myself, provided about a 30% improvement. And, as before, the improvement was short-lived.

More reading and research followed. Could it be mercury toxicity? I had my urine tested, and the results showed high levels of mercury and lead. Yes! Finally! I thought. This has got to be it! I started on a metal detox program and felt... no different. Repeated testing showed that my metal levels had improved, but my symptoms didnt change. I finally tried food-allergy testing. This test showed I was allergic to a whole bunch of foods. I avoided those foods, which was excruciating because it felt like I was on a four-food diet. I did not get better.

At this point, I began to wonder if I was crazy. Clearly something wasnt right, but nothing Id tried had worked! I went to a weekend workshop that was part of my holistic nutrition training, and there I heard about a doctor who practiced functional medicine, which was apparently the type of practice everyone in this community went to. I got more information on this doctor, and it seemed like he did exactly what I needed, but he didnt take insurance, and I was a living on a students budget. I had to save up to afford a haircut, never mind pay $300 for an initial exam. But what did I have to lose? At this point I was desperate; I would have done anything.

This doctor told me he suspected I had a parasitic infection in my intestines. I remember thinking, Are you kidding me? I dont have diarrhea or other digestive symptoms. Fix my insomnia, depression, and brain fog, please! However, it turned out he was right. I had an infection in my intestines, and this one thing was the underlying cause of all my symptoms. As I treated this infection, I experienced slow and steady improvements for all my symptoms. This time, the improvements lasted. Over the course of a few months, I returned to normal. What a relief!

I was so moved by my experience and impressed with that doctor, I decided to follow in his footsteps and practice functional medicine, with a special focus on digestive health. For the past several years, Ive helped sick and suffering people determine the cause of their illnesses and not only get better but vastly improve their health. It has truly been an honor and a privilege to do this work. At the same time, Ive become increasingly concerned for those who find themselves where I was in my twenties: sick without knowing why, desperately trying to recover their health.

The amount of medical information that people have access to on the Internet is staggering. The downside of this is that people are becoming more and more confused about what to do when theyre sick and cant figure out why. So many options, so many opinions... you could drown in the possible diagnoses and treatments. You could self-diagnose and try treatments for thirty years and still not exhaust the possibilities. What makes matters worse, this sea of information is polluted by marketing content thats written and designed to look like science to sell you a health-care product. As someone who actually performs and publishes clinical research, I find this appalling. Maybe worst of all, health care is sometimes looked at as a business rather than a healing profession, and there are those who are clearly taking advantage of the fact sick patients are willing to spend lots of money to feel better. All of this has created the perfect storm where health care has become confusing, way too elaborate, and very expensive.