Integrative Approaches to Gut-Brain Health: A Guide for Healthcare Practitioners

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Planning Committee Disclosure - Relevant relationships

Speaker

Cindi Lockhart, RDN, LD, IFNCP Related seminars and products

Lockhart Wellness Solutions, LLC

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Cindi Lockhart, RDN, LD, IFNCP, is board-certified as an integrative and functional nutrition practitioner with over 30 years in professional practice. She has trained nutrition, fitness, and medical practitioners throughout most of her career, yet maintains a personal practice with clients as she believes that the only way she can effectively educate and inspire other practitioners is through her own practical experience with clients. In addition to educating on how Food is Medicine, Cindi also specializes in coaching clients and practitioners on the importance of managing stress, optimizing sleep, proper exercise and movement, and reducing exposure to environmental toxins. Cindi has extensive expertise in women’s health issues including perimenopause/menopause and thyroid dysfunction as well as autoimmunity, gut health, weight management, cardiometabolic health (insulin resistance, diabetes, heart disease), fasting, histamine intolerance, mold detox, and long COVID.
 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Cindi Lockhart is the owner and founder of Lockhart Wellness Solutions, LLC. She receives compensation from Fullscript. Cindi Lockhart receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. All relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations have been mitigated.
Non-financial: Cindi Lockhart is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Dietitians in Integrative & Functional Medicine, the Institute for Functional Medicine, and the Integrative & Functional Nutrition Academy.

 

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Objectives

1. Identify the functional anatomy and physiology of the gastrointestinal tract, microbiome, intestinal barrier, and vagus nerve.
2. Examine the core factors that influence microbiome diversity and function to detect the signs of dysbiosis in patients.
3. Utilize nutrition-based interventions to improve gut function and microbiome health.
4. Evaluate the vagus nerve’s role in digestion, inflammation, and mental well-being, to develop strategies that optimize its function.
5. Integrate the principles of lifestyle medicine with gut-brain health to formulate holistic care plans.
6. Practice the application of gut health strategies to improve functional outcomes in clinical scenarios.

Outline

The Foundation of Gut Health for Holistic Patient Care

• Gut health basics
• Anatomy and physiology of the gastrointestinal tract
• Interconnectedness of diet with digestion, microbiome, intestinal barrier, and the nervous system
• Understanding the gut-brain axis
• Role of the gut in immunity, metabolism, and mental health
• Assessing gut function – subjective & objective means

Digestion – How You Eat Matters

• The process of digestion along the GIT – what’s needed, causes of disruption, and how best to support
• Stomach acidity – is it high or low? Signs and risks associated, including the problem with long-term PPI’s
• Importance of proper motility
• Digestion, inflammation, and mental well-being
• Elimination – what is normal?

Intestinal Barrier – Your Gut’s Protection From the External Environment

• Tight junctions & Zonulin – how they affect barrier function
• Causes & conditions associated with leaky gut
  • Leaky gut = Leaky brain
• Healing strategies for the fragile intestinal barrier

The Microbiome - A Universe Within

• The basics of microbiota and its diversity, as well as when it is developed in life
• Correlation between microbiota and neurotransmitters
• The impact of diet, medications and environment on the microbiome
• The Estrobolome – the regulator of estrogen metabolism
• Dysbiosis: Causes, consequences, and management
• Prebiotics, probiotics, and postbiotics: What are they and how do they influence gut health?
• Psychobiotics

The Vagus Nerve - Bridging the Gut and the Brain

• Anatomy and physiology of the vagus nerve
  • Enteric nervous system
  • Autonomic nervous system
• Disruptors of vagus nerve function
• Techniques to stimulate the vagus nerve

Gut-Brain Related Disorders: Symptoms, Identification, Nutrition/Lifestyle Therapies to Heal

• IBS
• Functional dyspepsia
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Cognitive dysfunction/Alzheimer’s

Nutrition for Optimal Gut Health

• The role of fiber in maintaining gut health
• Importance of a diverse plant-forward diet for microbiome diversity
• Foods that promote a healthy gut vs. foods that can disrupt it
• Repairing the gut – the 5R gut repair protocol, including targeted supplements

Lifestyle Medicine and Its Role in Gut Health

• The importance of stress management and its link to gut health
• Sleep and the gut-brain connection
• Physical activity and its influence on the microbiome
• Lifestyle tactics for comprehensive gut health

Clinical Applications and Case Studies

• Recognize and address gut health issues in a clinical setting
• Integrate gut health strategies into existing patient care models
• Case studies: Real-world examples of patients with gut-related mental health issues
• Interdisciplinary collaboration for comprehensive care

Target Audience

• Nurses
• Nurse Practitioners
• Physician Assistants
• Physical Therapists
• Physical Therapist Assistants
• Chiropractors
• Occupational Therapists
• Occupational Therapy Assistants
• Athletic Trainers
• Other healthcare practitioners