On today’s episode of Gut Check Radio, I touch on a topic that I think it’s important we come back to from time to time. Of course, if you’re like me, it can be a lot of fun to focus on some of the more nuanced details along our health journey. From supplements and glucose monitors to blood tests and nightly sleep patterns, I know I’m someone who enjoys taking note of everything that goes on in  my body - and if you listen to this podcast regularly, I’m guessing the same can be said for you. However, today we take a step back from all of the “how” involved in healing our guts and supporting our health, and we ask what is probably the most important question on our entire health journey: “Why do we want to be healthy?” I’ll walk you through why I believe it’s so incredibly important for all of us to ask this question, and how my journey - as well as the journeys of many of my patients - has been fundamentally shaped by the intentions that we have for our health and ourselves.

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So you want to know more about your health, but you’re not sure what type of testing is best - and with so many different options to choose from these days, who can blame you? Testing has come a long way over the past several years, and with so many modern advancements it can often be hard to tell if we should be going for the exciting new trend or relying more on some of the tried and true testing methods. On today’s minisode, I help you to understand the main differences in the types of information we get from each of these tests, and I explain why I think one type of data is far and above better than the rest. We compare the Oura ring against a few other types of tests, such as stool, blood, and continuous glucose monitors, and lastly I leave you with the testing methods and routine that I personally employ in my own life.

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More From Dr. Nick

Want to learn about gut health and be entertained in under 5 minutes/per week? Sign up for Dr. Nick’s once-weekly Newsletter.  

You can find Dr. Nick on Instagram @dr.nickbelden or our clinic website, www.hivenaturalhealth.com.

If you enjoy the show, we'd love your 5-star review with any comments on what you like about the show and what you want to hear more of!

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On this week’s episode we have a special treat for you, as Payton, a very generous patient of mine, has agreed to share the results of her recent blood work tests with not only me, but with all of you listeners as well! For me, getting lab results back is always like Christmas morning - there is always so much we get to unpack. I walk through each of Payton’s blood work results and one-by-one we look a little further into each flag that has been raised for further investigation. From inflammatory responses to vitamin and mineral deficiencies, to chemical exposures and metabolic health factors, we wade through these exciting numbers in order to determine what is truly a signal of health that needs further attention, and what might just be noise after all.

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Studies and Products Mentioned

If you’d like to see some of the visuals that come with Payton’s blood work results, check out the video I’ll be posting on my YouTube channel.

Download the Environmental Working Group app to get more insight into what kinds of chemicals you may be more regularly exposed to, and how you can avoid them.

Download the helpful Dminder app to help track your daily Vitamin D intake.

Be sure to check out PUR Filters for an affordable, reliable solution to filtering out unwanted chemicals from your tap water.

More From Dr. Nick

Want to learn about gut health and be entertained in under 5 minutes/per week? Sign up for Dr. Nick’s once-weekly Newsletter.  

You can find Dr. Nick on Instagram @dr.nickbelden or our clinic website, www.hivenaturalhealth.com.

If you enjoy the show, we'd love your 5-star review with any comments on what you like about the show and what you want to hear more of!

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When left untreated, acid reflux can produce some of the more painful and uncomfortable symptoms that we can experience. What’s worse than this though, is not only having the symptoms, but also falling for myths about acid reflux that can often lead to drastic negative and unnecessary lifestyle changes - it’s almost like the opposite of having your cake and eating it too! On today’s minisode, I explain which parts of your digestive system play a role in creating these symptoms, and I break down the real reasons that acid reflux occurs. Then, I walk us through several of the most common myths that you may have heard about acid reflux, including the idea that if you have acid reflux, you need to stop enjoying things like chocolate, coffee, and spicy foods (sounds like a nightmare to me!). Of course, with each myth, I make sure to share some alternative steps that you can take to help treat your acid reflux, each of which are sure to keep you and your stomach happy!

Timestamps

More From Dr. Nick

Want to learn about gut health and be entertained in under 5 minutes/per week? Sign up for Dr. Nick’s once-weekly Newsletter.  

You can find Dr. Nick on Instagram @dr.nickbelden or our clinic website, www.hivenaturalhealth.com.

If you enjoy the show, we'd love your 5-star review with any comments on what you like about the show and what you want to hear more of!

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How’s that for some clickbait? (If you’re reading this, I guess it worked!) On today’s special episode of Gut Check Radio, I share a talk I recently gave on how we can all add years to our life while still getting to enjoy the years we have. I help explain why our society’s life expectancy is constantly changing, and what we can do to adapt to our current environment. I share about our “phenoage”, and how we can measure our insides to see where each of us stands on the lifespan spectrum. Of course, we can’t only focus on living longer, so we discuss the importance of healthspan, and how simply adding more energy to our days can really add more quality to our years. Lastly, I hold a brief Q&A with my live audience, and we talk about the most important equation for living longer and looking good while doing it.

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More From Dr. Nick

Want to learn about gut health and be entertained in under 5 minutes/per week? Sign up for Dr. Nick’s once-weekly Newsletter.  

You can find Dr. Nick on Instagram @dr.nickbelden or our clinic website, www.hivenaturalhealth.com.

If you enjoy the show, we'd love your 5-star review with any comments on what yo

Although they seem to be all the rage these days, are food sensitivity tests really everything they’re hyped up to be? And even if they do everything they claim to do, are they even a helpful tool when it comes to improving our overall health? On today’s mini-sode, I share my thoughts on how food sensitivity tests are often used, and how many of us might be taking the wrong approach when trying to learn more about our symptoms. We look at some of the ways in which these tests might actually be harming our health instead of supporting it, as well as some of the major health factors that are generally overlooked when looking over our test results. We talk about the role our gut plays in our food sensitivities, and of course, I make sure to equip you all with some helpful alternatives to using these tests altogether.

Timestamps

More From Dr. Nick

Want to learn about gut health and be entertained in under 5 minutes/per week? Sign up for Dr. Nick’s once-weekly Newsletter.  

You can find Dr. Nick on Instagram @dr.nickbelden or our clinic website, www.hivenaturalhealth.com.

If you enjoy the show, we'd love your 5-star review with any comments on what you like about the show and what you want to hear more of!

THANK YOU - we are incredibly grateful for your support.

We’ve been talking about caffeine and how it affects our overall health for weeks, and now we’re finally here: on today’s episode, I  walk us through how to actually ditch caffeine dependence so we can enjoy it for all that it’s worth in healthy moderation, all without experiencing those terrible side effects that most of us know so well. As always, I don’t just hand out a one-size-fits-all plan for you all, but instead, I break down why it’s so important for us to be able to break free from our caffeine dependence, as well as why we might have such a hard time doing so. I offer three fundamental strategies for kicking our addictions, each of which can be shaped to fit any lifestyle, and are meant to work beautifully in tandem with one another. Lastly, I equip each of you with a caffeine tapering program that can serve as a great first few steps when trying to kick your dependence for good!

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Studies and Products Mentioned

Oura Article on what members found helped their deep sleep 

Tabata workout for beginners

Caffeine Tapering Program

Now you have a new baseline

Now you have a new baseline

What is it about protein shakes that tend to leave you so full of gas? We might not want to talk about it, but most of us have definitely experienced it, and as much as many of us would like to incorporate high amounts of protein into our diets we can’t deny that some of the end results can leave us questioning what’s going on in our guts. On today’s mini-sode, I address some of the most fundamental questions surrounding this topic, like: How is gas created in the gut? What are the gasses that get created in our gut? And how do our bodies actually digest protein? Lastly, I help us get to the point of what is actually causing the digestive issues associated with a high protein diet, as well as what we can do to support our guts while still trying to eat healthy.

Timestamps

Studies and Products Mentioned

If you’re interested in learning more about high protein diets and the gut, check out my Blog Post on the same topic!

More From Dr. Nick

Want to learn about gut health and be entertained in under 5 minutes/per week? Sign up for Dr. Nick’s once-weekly Newsletter.  

You can find Dr. Nick on Instagram @dr.nickbelden or our clinic website, www.hivenaturalhealth.com.

If you enjoy the show, we'd love your 5-star review with any comments on what you like about the show and what you want to hear more of!

THANK YOU - we are incredibly grateful for your support.

We have quite a treat for all you listeners out there, because on this week’s episode we welcome back friend Adelaide Meadow, and today we are busting myths about holistic health, and talking about what really matters when seeking to live a healthy life. During the podcast we make sure to cover a lot of ground, discussing topics like visceral manipulation, the difference between sexual and reproductive health (is there one?), and uprooting the myth that there is a root cause to any one health issue. Adelaide explains how our culture plays a larger role in our health than most of us probably realize, and how one of our biggest vital signs is often seen as too taboo to even bring up - especially for women. Lastly, Adelaide and I share our thoughts on the current state of healthcare in our world, and how taking a clinical approach to our health may actually keep us from finding true healing.

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Studies and Products Mentioned

Learn more about Adelaide and the work she does through her practice.

Check out some of the various materials she’s published on female physiological function and health.

Hunter Gatherers’ Guide to the 21st Century, a book by: Heather Heying & Brett Weinstein

More From Dr. Nick

Want to learn about gut health and be entertained in under 5 minutes/per week? Sign up for Dr. Nick’s once-weekly Newsletter.  

You can find Dr. Nick on Instagram @dr.nickbelden or our clinic website, www.hivenaturalhealth.com.

If you enjoy the show, we'd love your 5-star review with any comments on what you like about the show and what you want to hear more of!

THANK YOU - we are incredibly grateful for your support.

You asked and I’m answering: today we are addressing some of our listener’s most common questions about all things caffeine! As an avid coffee drinker, this is a topic that many of you know is near and dear to me. So when my patients come to me looking for help navigating the worlds of caffeine consumption and gut health, I understand where they’re coming from, as I’ve asked myself many of these questions before. Throughout this mini-sode we’ll talk about how to approach caffeine if you think it doesn’t affect you, or what to do if you feel like it’s affecting you too much. We’ll break down some of the differences between getting your caffeine from “natural” sources (think coffee & tea), versus maybe having a soda or energy drink in the morning. Lastly we’ll talk briefly about how to deal with those pesky caffeine withdrawal symptoms (with more detail on that coming next week), and what you should do if that morning cup of coffee is making you run to the restroom.

Timestamps

More From Dr. Nick

Want to learn about gut health and be entertained in under 5 minutes/per week? Sign up for Dr. Nick’s once-weekly Newsletter.  

You can find Dr. Nick on Instagram @dr.nickbelden or our clinic website, www.hivenaturalhealth.com.

If you enjoy the show, we'd love your 5-star review with any comments on what you like about the show and what you want to hear more of!

THANK YOU - we are incredibly grateful for your support.