Dr. Ruscio Radio, DC: Health, Nutrition and Functional Healthcare

Latest Episodes:

The Surprising Autoimmune Skin Disease-Gut Health Connection Feb 23, 2022

Show notes

If you're facing a diagnosis of autoimmune skin disease, like psoriasis or scleroderma, you may want to start paying attention to your gut and take action. One of the first steps you can take is to switch to an anti-inflammatory diet and make simple lifestyle changes. Studies show that steering clear of gluten, getting exercise or movement, and being outside in the sun absorbing Vitamin D can reduce inflammation and intestinal permeability. This can also reduce symptoms like lesions, rashes, and blisters that are commonly associated with autoimmune skin diseases. Continue reading to find out more about the surprising autoimmune skin disease-gut health connection.

https://drruscio.com/autoimmune-skin-disease/

My book Healthy Gut, Healthy You is available at https://drruscio.com/getgutbook If you're in need of clinical support, please visit https://ruscioinstitute.com Looking for more? Check out https://drruscio.com/resources

Is It Hashimoto's Disease? Or Is It Something Else? Feb 21, 2022

Show notes

While there are a few ways to assess the presence of Hashimoto's, thyroglobulin (Tg) antibody tests, in particular, can suffer from false positives. This may mislead patients into thinking they have Hashimoto's. It's crucially important to move over to a model of treating patients and not treating only labs. In this podcast, I speak about a patient who was told he had Hashimoto's disease, but his symptoms, health history, and response to treatment were telling a different story. Listen in now to hear the outcome.

https://drruscio.com/hashimotos-disease-testing-treating

My book Healthy Gut, Healthy You is available at https://drruscio.com/getgutbook If you're in need of clinical support, please visit https://ruscioinstitute.com Looking for more? Check out https://drruscio.com/resources

Misunderstood Symptoms of SIBO - Fatigue, Brain Fog, and More Feb 16, 2022

Show notes

There are many symptoms associated with small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Some directly affect the digestive system, such as diarrhea, bloating, and indigestion, while others like fatigue, brain fog, and joint pain can seem vague with no evident cause. Here's an overview of why SIBO causes so many symptoms, what the treatment is, and how poor gut health may be the root cause of your fatigue and other non-digestive symptoms.

https://drruscio.com/sibo-fatigue/

How to Reduce Brain Fog Without Restrictive Diets Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

When Jeff came into the clinic, his primary symptom was chronic, non-responsive brain fog. The strategies we used to finally clear this fog included improving Jeff's breathing, modifying his fitness program, and making his diet LESS restrictive by increasing his carb intake.

This case study is a great example of a personalized diet making a huge difference. If you've been following a strict low FODMAP or low carb diet and you're not noticing an improvement in symptoms, you may, like Jeff, be someone who actually feels better with more carbs in your diet.

We also integrated a few key supplements which were NOT "brain supplements," but which helped to regulate some of the imbalances that were likely leading to Jeff's brain fog and digestive symptoms.

Watch Jeff's story and learn exactly how we were able to improve his sleep, energy, digestion, and cognition without restrictive diets or brain boosting supplements.

https://drruscio.com/restrictive-diet-pitfalls

Episode 41 FFMR+ Research Briefs Feb 14, 2022

Show notes

A Scientifically Validated Lab Test for Gut Dysbiosis Feb 09, 2022

Show notes

A scientifically validated tool for diagnosing gut dysbiosis has recently appeared on the market.

Developed by a pair of researchers in Norway, the GA-map® test enables clinicians to quantify a diagnosis of IBS or IBD based on lab markers rather than relying on symptom reporting. This makes it possible to determine appropriate treatment for gut issues with a greater degree of specificity and accuracy than ever before.

https://drruscio.com/ga-map-test-for-dysbiosis

Limbic Retraining Helps Resolve Gut Symptoms Feb 07, 2022

Show notes

It's an all-too-common experience in healthcare for patients to feel unheard and unseen by healthcare providers, who can sometimes prioritize lab results over their patient's experience. And this isn't limited to conventional medical doctors or specialists. It happens in functional medicine, too.

And when it happens, the patient is profoundly underserved.

In this video, I speak with Danielle, a former patient who explains how her gut symptoms resolved when all the pieces (including the psychological one) came together in her treatment. It's an eloquent example of how treating the whole patient leads to optimal results.

https://drruscio.com/limbic-retraining-helps-resolve-gut-symptoms

A Better Model of Functional Medicine Feb 04, 2022

Show notes

At the Ruscio Institute for Functional Medicine, we personalize care based upon a four-part order of operations:

History
Symptoms
Treatment response
Lab work

In the third and final video of my patient education series, I explain how our process ensures a science-driven, patient-centered model that results in better outcomes than a model based upon emotion, algorithms, and marketing.

https://youtu.be/ATyZ19IL7Q8

Treating the Person vs. Treating the Labs Feb 02, 2022

Show notes

One of the core principles guiding our work at the clinic is the idea that treating the patient - rather than just lab numbers - leads to better outcomes and at less cost.

In the second video of my 3-part patient education series, I explain how relying on lab work - from allergy testing, SIBO tests, and adrenal cortisol tests - rather than treating the symptoms, is less likely to result in benefits to the patient - and may even cause harm.

https://drruscio.com/food-allergy-lab-testing-vs-diet-change-video-2

Is Your Doctor Treating You or Your Lab Results? Jan 31, 2022

Show notes

Scientific research tells us that treatment approaches in functional medicine are best decided by looking at patients and their symptoms rather than allowing lab results to dictate those decisions.

In this video series, I provide a short checklist to help educate patients and clinicians about best practices.

Video 1 discusses why weeding out unnecessary tests reduces costs and improves health outcomes.

https://youtu.be/bwGd8H2wTmc