Dr. Robynne Chutkan is a world-renowned gastroenterologist and a big advocate of using diet as part of her patient’s treatment. Even though in gastroenterology, that seems to be pretty obvious, she is still battling prejudice and doubts from colleagues.
Dr. Chutkan is an integrated gastroenterologist and microbiome expert. She’s also on faculty at Georgetown Hospital as well as the founder of the Digestive Center for Wellness and the author of four digestive wellness books: “Gut Bliss”, “The Microbiome Solution”, “The Bloat Cure”, and, most recently, “The Anti-Viral Gut“.
In her practice, Dr. Chutkan takes care of people with complex autoimmune GI conditions like Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, as well as those with more straightforward digestive problems. She helps them get their symptoms under control through the optimization of their gut microbiome.
Dr. Chutkan comes from a family of doctors. Her dad was an orthopedic surgeon, as is her older brother. So, it seemed natural to join the family business. But only within about 11 minutes of her orthopedic surgery rotation in medical school did she realize it wasn’t for her. She just felt like it excluded a lot of medicine. She really came to gastroenterology by process of elimination.
She first settled for general surgery, but it felt a little bit rigid for her. And then, gastroenterology found her. And within the last 30 years, the field finally got the attention it deserves. Today, we know a lot more about the root cause of autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease, and even some mental health disorders. As Dr. Chutkan explains, many of these conditions actually begin in the gut.
Over two thousand years ago, Hippocrates already knew this when he said, “All disease begins in the gut.”
This is where Dr. Chutkan’s expertise lies in gastroenterology. She focuses a lot on autoimmune diseases such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and celiac disease. And every day, there is something new to learn about the gut and its importance for overall health.
It is a really exciting time for gastroenterology. And while drugs like biologics and steroids have their place in gastroenterology, Dr. Chutkan also sees what’s possible with dietary and lifestyle changes. She has her own success stories of helping patients get off those drugs, either completely or reduce the dose at least.
You really get the best of both worlds, according to Dr. Chutkan, to use conventional medicine with all the tools in the toolbox, but also incorporate this idea of food as medicine. And even though there’s still skepticism in mainstream medicine about letting food be (part of) your medicine, it still goes to show that what people do or how people eat every day can lead to astounding results.
Often, the conventional medical community has a tendency to look at people who think outside of the box as quacks. And while the health and wellness community definitely deals with people that spread misinformation and don’t have the right training, this doesn’t mean you can’t be a doctor and advocate for treatment outside of modern medicine, like Dr. Chutkan.
She prescribes biologics in her practice to people who really need it but is also seeing tremendous results with changing people’s diet. Getting out her prescription pad isn’t going to be the first thing she does in a practice. And as a result, most of her referrals are from colleagues, who know and trust her.
I don’t know about you but it feels like what Dr. Chutkan is practicing should become the gold standard. Unfortunately, she is still a minority in her field. She feels privileged because she can bring the best of both worlds to her patients but can also share these results with her colleagues and maybe inch them a little closer to this idea that the food you put in your mouth matters.
Luckily, more and more doctors, gastroenterologists in particular, see and use the power of diet as part of treatment. Recently, more and more research has also shown the connection between gut health and the immune system (link Dr. Chutkan’s other article). To allow people access to Dr. Chutkan’s information – knowing well that not all doctors offer a dietary approach – she went to publish her knowledge. Now, her fourth book, tackles the immune-boosting quality our gut has to offer.
In her new book, “The Anti-Viral Gut: Tackling Pathogens from the Inside Out”, Dr. Chutkan really goes into detail on how you can strengthen your gut on all kinds of levels. This book follows several other books. First, it was “GutBliss” in 2013, then “The Microbiome Solution”, followed by “The Bloat Cure”. She’s covered all things GI!
“The Anti-Viral Gut”, however, is very prescriptive. She gives great advice on what to do to support your immune system from the inside out. The first part of the book is about building up the body — what you can do in terms of food and drink for your gut health. And it’s much more focused on what you’re missing and can add versus what you shouldn’t do.
The second part of the book is about mastering your mind, which talks about stress and sleep. Finally, she talks about environmental factors and understanding them. This involves getting plenty of fresh air, while also covering supplements and medications.
In the medication section, Dr. Chutkan goes through numerous medications that are potentially deleterious to your gut, microbiome, and to your gut lining. It is a practical approach that way.
The first part still offers plenty of background information on how the gut works and what we can do to strengthen it. If you’re not able to see a plant-based doctor, this gives you some great information that you can take and discuss with your doctor if you wish to. An open dialogue with your doctor is important to have – according to Dr. Chutkan, it’s even more important than having a plant-based doctor.
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