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Digestive Doctor in Boca Raton, FL
Though patients often find it difficult to talk to healthcare professionals about these issues, digestive complaints have become increasingly common. A 73,000 person, 33 country survey found nearly 40 percent of adults suffer from a functional gastrointestinal disorder. In the U.S. at least 60 to 70 million people live with a digestive disease – and estimates of Americans with GI issues run as high as one in two people.
Nearly a third of all visits to primary care doctors relate to digestive issues – and that’s not counting all the conditions believed to be related or actually caused by digestive disorders. Unfortunately, conventional medicine often treats the symptom, never addressing the root causes of digestive issues – so the issues can persist for years.
Fortunately, we take a different approach - and it’s proven extremely successful with our patients’ digestive concerns. To schedule your consultation with Florida’s top integrative and functional medicine doctor who specializes in digestive health, complete the form below or call us at (754) 247-0122 today!
Our Approach to Digestive Care
Our approach always involves seeing the human body as a single entity rather than as individual organs or metabolic processes. Since every part of the body is interconnected with every other part, any illness that affects one specific part of the body has a profound impact on the rest.
Over 2000 years ago, Hippocrates famously postulated that all disease begins in the gut. The human gastrointestinal tract is, in fact, our first line of defense as well as our body’s largest interface with the world around us. This complex microbial ecosystem, referred to as the gut microbiome or more commonly “our gut,” is largely responsible for maintaining human health.
Science is increasingly revealing it as the seat of the immune system. When your microbiome becomes unbalanced with an overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria and not enough healthy bacteria, disease results – and restoring that delicate balance can be the first step toward healing.
Common Digestive Issues We Address at Manhattan Integrative Medicine
While we do treat all digestive concerns, some of the digestion-related complaints we most often encounter in our practice include:
You may be surprised to see Metabolic Syndrome included in a list of common digestive issues. While it is not typically considered a digestive or gut-related condition, increasingly we are understanding how various medical conditions are intimately connected to our gut health.
Increased serum uric acid (SUA) levels are being discussed as a potentially causal factor in Metabolic Syndrome. Research is examining the relationship between gut bacteria and Vitamin D as possible factors that might be helpful in lowering SUA levels and positively impacting Metabolic Syndrome.
This is a perfect example of how seemingly unrelated medical conditions are connected to, exacerbated by or actually originate in our gut. That’s why taking a whole-body approach to medicine is so important. You may arrive with a set of symptoms and have no idea it is related to your digestion, but you can rest assured that we will isolate the underlying cause(s) of your health issues.
Treatment Options for Digestive Conditions
As one of the top digestive doctors in Florida, Dr. Borenstein’s treatments help restore gut balance and the proliferation of healthy gut flora. Some of his most effective integrative treatment options include:
Eradicating Harmful Bacteria with Antibiotic Therapy
Dr. Borenstein will create a customized treatment plan specific for your body, choosing antibiotics or other more natural remedies such as Microb-Clear to kill off any bad bacteria. Afterwards, he’ll enable your body to flush out remaining bacteria long term with a low dose prokinetic like Prucalopride, followed by a 12 hour biome stabilizing fast.
Incorporating Necessary Dietary Changes
Removing certain foods such as sweets, alcohol, legumes, bread, sugar, and other products containing refined sugar, we can starve overgrown bad bacteria. Replacing those foods with healthy fats, leafy greens, non-starchy vegetables, and lean proteins can feed and encourage growth of healthy bacteria in your gut.
Repairing the Motion Migration Complex (MMC)
Making nutrition and lifestyle changes as well as taking promotility medications can help restore and regulate your MMC. To further optimize your MMC – as well as your nutrient absorption and immunity – you should adopt a low-fermentation diet. With this diet, digestible foods are supplemented with L-glutamine, collagen, bone broth, and/or bovine colostrum. Once your microbiome is rebalanced, it’s important to avoid NSAIDS, PPIs, prescription steroids, birth control pills and antibiotics.
Utilizing Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)
Naltrexone is a medication that has been proven to help lessen inflammation in the bowels and reduce troublesome symptoms often caused by SIBO and other digestive conditions. LDN's prokinetic properties have been extensively studied, and its interactions with immune system, permeability, secretion and bacterial translocation all could play a role in the treatment of complex digestive disorders.
Optimizing Stomach Acid And Digestive Enzymes
This can help with food digestion. It’s important, Especially as we age, because digestive enzymes produced by the body and stomach acid levels too can decline. Supplementing with either or both may be helpful.
Addressing Medical Conditions
Not just digestive conditions, but other medical conditions that can lead to or exacerbate your symptoms, may be contributing to your digestive disorder. For instance, thyroid hormone levels can impact digestion and lead to complications. Testing and treating thyroid dysfunction can in some cases completely resolve digestive symptoms.
What to Expect from a Digestive Care Visit
At Manhattan Integrative Medicine in Boca Raton, FL, we offer the most up-to-date testing and diagnostics, along with a cutting-edge functional and integrative medicine approach and a powerful focus on prevention, so you can avoid illness, injury and disease and maintain renewed health and freedom from troublesome digestive symptoms and conditions.
We recommend that you prepare a list of current symptoms prior to your first consultation. On your first visit, Dr. Borenstein will discuss your family medical history, personal medical history, lifestyle, daily stressors, diet, exercise habits, and current medications. He may also conduct blood, saliva or urine tests if necessary. Think of us as digestive health detectives.
Request your consultation today
Dr. David Borenstein is a top functional medicine practitioner in Florida who recognizes that each individual patient requires a prevention and treatment regimen tailored to an individual health profile and specific medical and family history. Dr. Borenstein has an established history of helping his patients heal from illness and restore overall health and longevity.
Call Manhattan Integrative Medicine in Boca Raton FL at (754) 247-0122 for an initial phone consultation or complete our quick online form.
Serving patients in Boca Raton, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Boynton Beach, Delray Beach, Parkland, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Coconut Creek, Coral Springs, Fort Lauderdale, Weston, Hollywood, Pembroke Pines, Aventura, Miami and the surrounding Palm Beach, Broward and Dade County, Florida communities.
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