Functional Immunology and a Healthy Gut Microbiome – A 21st Century perspective with Russell Jaffe, MD, PhD, CCN from the NANP 2024 HEALCon. Take this quiz to earn 1.5 CECs.
Russ Jaffe has more than 40 years of experience contributing to molecular biology and clinical diagnostics. He has pioneered “lymphocyte tests of immune function and hypersensitivity” and is focused on providing functional, predictive tests and procedures designed to improve the precision of both diagnosis and treatment outcomes.
He received his B.S., MD, and Ph.D. from Boston University School of Medicine and completed residency training in clinical chemistry at the National Institutes of Health before starting the Health Studies Collegium think tank and PERQUE Integrative Health, LLC, a company that offers scientifically proven, integrative health solutions that speed the transition from sick care to healthful care.
Presentation Description:
A healthy microbiome is essential for survival.
With more than 70% of the immune system lying within the gut, it is essential to understand the direct link between a healthy, functioning microbiome and the immune system. Classic issues such as “leaky gut,” celiac disease, SIBO, and IBS all stem from this connection.
Why do some acquire one ailment after another and some don’t, and why do these chronic issues pile on top of each other and never just stand-alone? The answer lies in host hospitality, which is integral to this discussion about the immune system and the microbiome. Host hospitality is changeable, and disease outcomes are as well.
The microbiome thrives when one is proactive about one's health, especially what one eats and drinks, thinks and does. Eating and drinking what can be digested, assimilated, and eliminated without an immune burden provides a context for host response and immune health.
Therapy is directed by the allostatic and homeostatic load. This includes oxidative stress, essential nutrient sufficiency, environmental toxin exposures, and inner adaptive and coping mechanisms. Pertinent tests and assessments of immune, neurohormonal, and detoxification processes will be discussed.
This presentation offers practitioners experience and perspective on how to interpret test results. Recommendations offered are primary prevention and lifestyle-based. Rethinking inflammation as repair deficit. We can move from functioning in survival mode to a healthier elective protective mode based on a deeper understanding of the microbiome as a component of an interdependent, complex, yet sustainable system.
Learning Objectives:
- To know what allostatic load consists of and how it relates to the functioning of the body
- To recognize the importance of host hospitality and inflammation support
- To know that inflammation is a "repair deficit" and how it relates to gut health
- To know which tests are pertinent to run
- To implement simple yet key strategies in patient/client care that address repair deficit, gut health, and overall health
