Mullin Gerard E. - The inside tract: your good gut guide to great digestive health

A fine, clear guide to the many ways our gut serves us. The Inside Tract shows us how we can easily use delicious food and science-tested supplements to keep our GI tract humming and ourselves healthy and happy.

J AMES S. G ORDON, MD, AUTHOR OF U NSTUCK:Y OURG UIDE TO THES EVEN-STAGEJ OURNEY O UT OFD EPRESSION AND FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR OF THE C ENTER FOR M IND- B ODY M EDICINE

The Inside Tract is full of wisdom and easy to understand, useful information. Highly recommended.

B ERNIE S IEGEL, MD, AUTHOR OF F AITH, H OPE &H EALINGAND E XERCISES FOR THE S OUL

Kathie Swift, RD, and Gerald Mullin, MD, have put together the first comprehensive integrative approach to digestive health that centers around using food as medicine to heal the gut. This book is an invaluable resource for clinicians and patients alike.

D R. C YNTHIA G EYER, M EDICAL D IRECTOR, C ANYON R ANCH IN THE B ERKSHIRES

If youre one of the millions who struggle with digestive distress, this is the balance of scientific grounding and practical tools you need to discover your unique lifestyle for healing. The Inside Tract provides a clear, custom path to wellness.

A NNIE B. K AY, MS, RD, RYT, AUTHOR OF E VERYB ITE IS D IVINE AND LEAD NUTRITIONIST AND REGISTERED YOGA THERAPIST, K RIPALU C ENTER FOR Y OGA AND H EALTH

Having Dr. Mullin as my gastroenterologist has truly been a godsend. His professionalism and knowledge is truly unique.

TS

I now look at my life in two parts: the time before Dr. Mullin, and the time after. He helped me progress from feeling as though I might be crazy to being someone with a real, manageable condition who was capable of living a fulfilling life. This condition isnt easy, but with Dr. Mullins guidance and support, Im able to take advantage of all life has to offer. Truly, I dont know where I would be without him.

ER

Finally, finally, finally... a doctor who listened to me! I have started to see the rewards of Dr. Mullins treatment. I have even started working out at a gymsomething for which I previously never had the energy. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Mullin and so very thankful that I have found such a committed, caring, and wise physician. I have hit the lottery indeed.

LK

I have been seeing Dr. Mullin since June and still I am not on any prescription medication! For someone who struggled through digestive distress for so many years, this is better than any magic or previously prescribed medication. Taking a natural remedy that I know does not have any known negative impact on my health is wonderful. I feel like I finally have a peace of mind.

NT

To the more than 60 million Americans who are known to suffer from digestive disorders

To our loved ones for their unwavering support

To those who mentored us over the years.

And to the beloved memory of our parents.

by Andrew Weil, MD

Digestive disease afflicts 60 to 70 million Americans, according to the National Institutes of Health. However, the rising prevalence of just a few gut disorders calls into question the real scope and magnitude of the problem. For example, 42 million Americans experience heartburn weekly and 30 to 45 million suffer from irritable bowel syndrome. These are just two of the many disorders affecting the digestive system. The numbers dont quite add up!

For many years I have taught patients and physicians that optimum health and spontaneous healing can he achieved through dietary and lifestyle measures and the appropriate use of dietary supplements and natural remedies. Despite the evidence, we as a nation continue to promote the use of costly and potentially toxic prescription medications to treat chronic illness. The most common medications used to treat digestive disease, proton pump inhibitors, are among the best-selling drugs worldwide, but we are becoming increasingly aware that they produce myriad health problems and are far from a home run as therapy. I know there are better, safer, more cost-effective ways to address the rising tide of digestive disease in our population.

The Inside Tract is a groundbreaking book that will serve as an indispensable guide to the millions who suffer from digestive disorders. The Inside Tracts message is simple, but profound: People with these problems can experience relief and healing through the use of a personalized nutrition plan, self-prescribed lifestyle modifications, and the judicious use of targeted natural remedies. Dr. Mullin and Kathie Swift have developed a unique profiling system for digestive illness to help individualize therapythe Gastrointestinal Point System (GPS)as well as a unique three-tiered nutrition program that eliminates provocative foods while incorporating ones that heal. They have also provided self-assessment tools to help readers navigate relevant lifestyle factors. Their belief in the power of food as medicine, in mind over matter, and in the benefits of nutraceuticals is supported by many case histories that highlight the successful resolution of chronic digestive illness using the system outlined in this book. In most of the cases, their integrative approach succeeded after a long history of conventional interventions failed.

The heart of this book reflects the very highest ideals of integrative medicine: that the disease can be addressed before it damages tissues and organs and requires drastic, costly intervention; that the body can heal itself if given a chance, that mind/body interactions are real and often very relevant to issues of health and illness, that all aspects of lifestyle must be considered when evaluating the onset of disease and its resolution, and that the doctor/patient relationship strongly influences the outcome of treatment. Mullin and Swift are deeply familiar with a wide range of therapeutic options other than drugs. In recommending therapies not commonly included in mainstream practice, they pay attention to the scientific evidence that supports them, always working from the principle that the greater the potential of a treatment to cause harm, the stricter the standards of evidence for efficacy it must be held to.

I am certain that the integrative transformation now taking place in medicinea transformation of which this book is an important partis a necessary prerequisite for building a functional, cost-effective healthcare system, one that emphasizes prevention and health promotion over disease management and that uses costly, technology-based interventions (including pharmaceutical drugs) only when they are truly indicated. We can manage common forms of illness with simpler, less expensive interventions. The Inside Tract beautifully illustrates this truth and reflects the principles and practices of integrative medicine.