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Gut Check Project — Health & Fitness
Gut Check Project

Improve your health & quality of life, find the truth between natural and medical science. Join Ken and Co-host Eric Rieger on the GCP, and get an unfiltered approach to your health as they host guests from all over the world. Nothing is off limits. Step in and get your gut checked…Ken (Kenneth Brown, MD) is a board certified gastroenterologist that turned his private practice into a hotbed of innovation. Ken has long been intrigued on how to best care for his patients. He challenged big pharma and developed an all natural solution (Atrantil) for bloating and symptoms of IBS. That lead him to dig deeper and find more answers and uses for polyphenols. Then he began to help his patients that were suffering from inflammation, not only in their guts, but their entire bodies, including neuro/brain & immune issues. Dr. Brown has tackled serious issues with natural and proven methods that his patients love him for. But he is not finished. The Gut Check Project exists to find better answers for you in all aspects of health. Experts in all fields of study, industry, and interest will be found on the GCP. Eric (Eric Rieger, CRNA) is Ken’s business partner and actually met Ken while delivering anesthesia to his patients in 2012. Eric saw first hand the passion that Ken had for his patients, his support staff, and for the answers that could improve people’s lives. Eric enjoys science and research swell, and has a passion for helping people find sensible means to take care of themselves, but always armed with the best information. Join the GCP and SUBSCRIBE AND SHARE!!!!

Copyright: © @2019 KBMD Health

Latest Episodes:

The GLP-1 Side Effects You Don't Have to Have Aug 24, 2026

Show notes

Ask almost anyone how Ozempic works and you'll hear the same answer: it slows your stomach down. Dr. Ken Brown says that's the magician's waving hand.

In this solo episode, the board-certified gastroenterologist walks through the research showing that roughly 99% of GLP-1 weight loss happens in three regions of the brain - and that the gut accounts for less than 1%. Which means the nausea, bloating, and heartburn people white-knuckle through aren't the thing making them lose weight.

He maps the actual mechanism: the hypothalamus, where a misfiring hunger neuron acts like a broken fuel light telling you the tank is empty when it's full. The mesolimbic system, where dopamine explains why you find room for a Crumbl cookie after a full dinner - and why fMRI scans of that reward circuit go dark once someone starts a GLP-1. And the brainstem's area postrema, the ancient poison-detection system these drugs quietly hijack to produce fullness and nausea.

Then the part he sees in clinic every week: why the pylorus tightens, why the migrating motor complex stalls, why the fundus stretches, and how that combination pools acid at the top of the stomach and pushes it into the esophagus. Plus the trial data showing most stomachs return to normal emptying by around 16 weeks, why a PPI often doesn't fix GLP-1 heartburn, and what he does instead for patients ready to quit a medication their gut can't tolerate.

In this episode:
- Why "it slows your stomach" is a misdirection
- Your body's own GLP-1, and why these drugs act like an Amber Alert instead
- The three brain regions doing 99% of the work
- The broken fuel light: AgRP, POMC, and lifelong hunger
- Dopamine, the dessert tray, and why this isn't willpower
- The fMRI studies that made it visible
- What the drugs actually do to the stomach — and the bathtub with the plug in it
- Tachyphylaxis: why it improves around 16 weeks
- Long-term GLP-1 use and SIBO risk
- How to keep the weight loss without the gut misery

Chapters: 0:00 The misdirection · 3:21 How your own GLP-1 works · 4:38 Three brain regions · 9:35 The broken fuel light · 11:08 Why you find room for the cookie · 13:11 The fMRI studies · 15:01 What happens in the stomach · 17:21 The bathtub analogy · 19:56 The trials nobody talks about · 21:31 Why 16 weeks matters · 23:29 SIBO and long-term use · 23:58 You don't have to suffer · 30:10 Bringing it together

Educational content only - not medical advice. Talk to your physician about your medications.

Learn more: regardingyourgut.com · kbmdhealth.com
Brought to you by Atrantil Pro.

Acid Isn't the Villain: Rethinking Reflux Aug 24, 2026

Show notes

One camp says your reflux is too much stomach acid. The other says it's too little. Dr. Ken Brown says both camps are arguing over the wrong control knob.

In this solo episode, the board-certified gastroenterologist makes the case that reflux was never an acid problem - it's a containment problem. Acid belongs in the stomach, and the real question nobody asks is why it left in the first place.

Dr. Brown walks through the mechanics: the stomach as a one-way muscular pump, the lower esophageal sphincter as a nightclub bouncer who's started letting people back out the front door, the "acid puddle" that pools when the stomach won't empty, and the inflammation cycle that weakens the valve and keeps the whole thing self-sustaining. He looks at what 37 years of proton pump inhibitors have actually delivered - eight-plus drugs, an 83% rise in documented GERD, and a side effect list that includes bone, B12, magnesium, and kidney concerns - and points out that PPIs don't improve gastric emptying, don't reduce abdominal pressure, and don't strengthen the sphincter.

He also tells his own story: 30 years of reflux, a four-centimeter hiatal hernia, grade C esophagitis, every natural remedy on the shelf, and the eight-year project to build something that addressed the mechanism instead of the symptom - the four-polyphenol Re:Flux formula and the clinical trial behind it, recently published in the Open Journal of Gastroenterology.

In this episode:
- Why the "too much vs. too little acid" debate misses the mechanism
- How your stomach actually works as a one-way cycling pump
- Transient lower esophageal sphincter relaxations, explained without the jargon
- The acid puddle, and why gastric sleeve and GLP-1 patients get it
- What stomach acid is genuinely for (B12, minerals, pathogen defense)
- The three questions to ask instead of "how much acid?"
- What PPIs do well, and what they were never designed to do
- The HAND polyphenols and the trial results

Chapters: 0:00 The wrong debate · 2:45 Two camps · 4:15 37 years of PPIs · 7:48 The one-way pump · 12:39 The acid puddle · 14:18 Why the valve opens · 17:15 Why you need acid · 18:59 Three better questions · 21:08 What PPIs can't do · 23:07 Dr. Brown's own 30 years · 26:20 Building the formula · 28:40 Trial results · 33:45 Acid is not the villain

Educational content only - not medical advice. Never stop a prescription medication without talking to your physician first.

Learn more: regardingyourgut.com · kbmdhealth.com · @kbmdhealth
Brought to you by Atrantil Pro.

The Ozempic Side Effect Nobody's Talking About Jun 02, 2026

Show notes

Losing weight on Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro but feeling bloated, constipated, and miserable? There's a reason, and a new Mayo Clinic study finally proves it.

76% of patients on GLP-1s tested positive for SIBO. 91% had methane overgrowth. Dr. Kenneth Brown breaks down why these drugs turn your small intestine into a swamp, why your microbiome decides if the drug even works, and the exact protocol to fix it without quitting the medication.

If you're on a GLP-1 or thinking about it, watch this first.

A Tick Bite Made This ER Doctor Allergic to Meat And You Might Have It Too (Alpha-Gal Syndrome) May 14, 2026

Show notes

You could be waking up at 3am with severe stomach pain, hives, or worse, and your doctor might have no idea why. In this episode of the Gut Check Project, Dr. Kenneth Brown and Eric Rieger break down one of the most under-diagnosed conditions in America: Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS), a red meat allergy triggered not by the meat itself, but by a single tick bite.
They're joined by Brian Allgaier, MD, a board-certified ER physician from East Texas who has AGS himself. He shares a firsthand account of how three tick bites quietly rewired his immune system and what happened the night his mother-in-law's beef stew sent him into the worst pain of his life.
If you spend any time outdoors east of the Rockies, this episode could change how you think about your gut symptoms forever.
Topics covered:
What alpha-gal syndrome actually is and why it's the only known sugar allergen. Why your blood type determines your risk (type B? You're probably safe). The Lone Star tick larvae you can't see that can still bite you. Why AGS is likely behind thousands of mystery GI cases going undiagnosed. Hidden sources of alpha-gal including porcine heart valves, Armour Thyroid, and pancreatic enzymes. Emerging treatments including acupuncture protocols and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The shocking 12.8x increased risk of coronary artery disease linked to AGS.

Links:
https://nypost.com/2019/07/17/house-orders-pentagon-to-reveal-if-it-turned-ticks-into-biological-weapons/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4f9iRFDkG3K0sWy3VFHkfS?si=S6MGpLixTL6_xfYOXa9V2Q&nd=1&dlsi=49dcec44be6842b9
https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/12/8/ofaf430/8209804?login=false
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8729907/
https://vetmed.illinois.edu/i-tick/wp-content/uploads/sites/69/2019/06/Steinke-et-al.-2015.pdf
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/ATVBAHA.121.316878

Bloating Isn't Normal...It's a Signal Apr 21, 2026

Show notes

You bloat every day. You unbutton your pants after meals. You've been told it's "just IBS," just stress, just part of getting older - and you've been suffering for years. Here's the truth: bloating isn't normal. It's a signal.
In this episode, Dr. Kenneth Brown breaks down why up to 80% of people diagnosed with IBS may actually have something else entirely - small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) - and why gastroenterology has been getting this wrong for decades. You'll learn where gas actually comes from, the three conditions driving chronic bloating (IBS, SIBO, and functional constipation), the surprising link between food poisoning and lifelong gut issues, and why proton pump inhibitors may be making it worse.
Plus: the real problem with the low-FODMAP diet, why most SIBO treatment fails, how bloating-driven inflammation may be fueling dementia, and the natural and pharmaceutical protocols Dr. Brown uses to actually fix it - including the polyphenol research behind Atrantíl.
If you've been told your symptoms are "in your head," this episode is the one to share. All health begins and ends in the gut.

A Colorectal Surgeon Tells All Apr 06, 2026

Show notes

You’re not supposed to talk about this stuff…

So we did.

In this episode, we sit down with one of the top colorectal surgeons in the country and nothing is off limits.

We cover:

How your body actually knows the difference between gas and disaster
Why so many people are struggling to go to the bathroom (and doing it wrong)
The real reason hemorrhoids are exploding in younger people
The uncomfortable truth about habits no one wants to admit
What doctors are seeing WAY more of right now… including cancer

And yeah…

we also went into the stories doctors usually only tell at dinner parties.

But underneath the humor is something serious:

👉 Colon cancer is rising.

👉 Younger patients are being diagnosed more than ever.

👉 And most people are ignoring the signs.

This episode will make you laugh…

…and then make you think twice about your health.

Share this with someone who “doesn’t like talking about this stuff.”

They probably need it the most.

Millions Have This Gut Disorder...and Doctors Miss It Every Day Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

What if your “IBS” diagnosis isn’t the truth… just a placeholder?

In this episode, Dr. Ken Brown breaks down a massively overlooked condition that could be behind chronic diarrhea, urgency, and gut dysfunction - bile acid malabsorption (BAM).

It affects millions of people, rivals conditions like celiac disease in prevalence, and yet… almost no one is testing for it.

You’ll learn:

Why IBS is often a “trash can diagnosis”
The real mechanism behind BAM (and why your body is working against you)
How your gut’s “recycling system” can fail—and what happens when it does
The 3 types of BAM (and which one most people fall into)
Why traditional testing often misses it completely
The simple, effective treatments that can change everything

If you’ve been told “everything looks normal”… but you know something isn’t right - this episode might finally give you answers.

👉 Because sometimes, it’s not your gut that’s the problem…

…it’s the diagnosis.

Your Doctor Is Wrong About Cholesterol (And Here's the Proof) Mar 08, 2026

Show notes

What if everything your doctor told you about cholesterol is based on corrupted science? In this episode of the Gut Check Project, Dr. Kenneth Brown and Eric Rieger dive deep into the emerging world of Lean Mass Hyper Responders (LMHR) - metabolically healthy people on ketogenic and carnivore diets whose LDL numbers look alarming on paper but may tell a completely different story in real life.

They break down a groundbreaking citizen-science study led by Dave Feldman and Dr. Nick Noritz that's challenging decades of lipid orthodoxy, explore why high LDL + high HDL + low triglycerides may not be the death sentence mainstream medicine makes it out to be, and share the story of a 53-year-old marathon runner with "normal" cholesterol who still ended up in the cath lab.

If you or someone you love has been told to go on statins, this episode is required listening.

Topics covered:

The LMHR phenotype and what it means for keto/carnivore dieters
Why Ansel Keys and the sugar industry shaped a generation of bad dietary advice
Plaque progression, inflammatory markers (hs-CRP), and what actually predicts heart disease
Why the Clearly AI cardiac scan study raised more questions than answers
The difference between dangerous cholesterol and protective cholesterol

The Brain Hack That Delays Dementia Feb 09, 2026

Show notes

What if the most powerful tool to delay dementia isn’t a drug, a supplement, or even your diet… but a language?

In this episode of The Gut Check Project, board-certified gastroenterologist Dr. Ken Brown is joined by a special guest co-host his son Lucas Brown, a Division I athlete and aerospace engineering student for a fascinating deep dive into one of the most overlooked brain-health strategies we have.

Together, they unpack the surprising neuroscience behind bilingualism and multilingualism and why learning (and using) another language can delay the symptoms of dementia by 4–5 years.

Not prevent it.

Delay it.

And those extra years? They’re years of driving, independence, conversations, memories, and time with the people you love.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

Why speaking two languages can help your brain function longer even when dementia pathology is already present
The concept of “cognitive reserve” and how multilingual brains literally reroute around damage
The critical 13–30 age window for laying down powerful neural networks and why it’s never too late to start
Why effort matters more than fluency (yes, even “bad” French or Spanish counts)
How adding a third language may provide even greater protection
Why language learning outperforms brain games, puzzles, and passive mental exercises

Dr. Brown explains the “linguistic paradox of dementia” how two people can have nearly identical brain scans, yet one is living independently while the other requires full-time care… simply because one speaks multiple languages.

This isn’t about perfection.

It’s about mental agility.

It’s about keeping the brain flexible.

And it’s about stacking the odds in your favor starting today.

If you care about your long-term brain health, your independence, or your future self…

this may be one of the most important episodes you’ll ever listen to.

🎧 Listen now and consider this your sign to start learning (or practicing) another language.

No Days Off: Competing at the Edge of Mind and Body Dec 28, 2025

Show notes

A Division I tennis player. An aerospace engineering major. One schedule. Zero margin for error.

Dr. Ken Brown sits down with his son, Lucas Brown, to talk about what it’s really like to compete at a top NCAA program while taking on one of the hardest majors in college. From pressure and fatigue to mindset, discipline, and why performance isn’t just physical, this episode goes beyond sports and grades into what it actually takes to operate at a high level every day.

No hype. No clichés. Just a real look at ambition, balance, and learning how to stay composed when everything is demanding your attention at once.

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