Many chronic health conditions—such as IBS, asthma, and autoimmune disorders—can be traced back to imbalances in the gut. Disruptions to the microbiome caused by antibiotics, poor diet, food sensitivities, and environmental exposures can lead to inflammation, malabsorption, and increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut). Addressing gut health through a structured Functional Medicine approach called the 5R’s of gut repair—removing harmful triggers, replacing missing digestive factors, reinoculating with beneficial bacteria, repairing the gut lining, and rebalancing lifestyle factors—can restore balance and improve systemic health. 

In this episode, I discuss, along with Dr. Elizabeth Boham and Raja Dhir, the Functional Medicine approach to healing the gut and why the gut is at the center of imbalances in the body, including many health conditions.

Dr. Elizabeth Boham is Board Certified in Family Medicine from Albany Medical School, and she is an Institute for Functional Medicine Certified Practitioner and the Medical Director of The UltraWellness Center. Dr. Boham lectures on a variety of topics, including Women’s Health and Breast Cancer Prevention, insulin resistance, heart health, weight control and allergies. She is on the faculty for the Institute for Functional Medicine.

Raja Dhir is the co-founder and co-CEO of Seed Health, a microbiome science company developing innovative probiotics and living medicines to advance human and planetary health. He specializes in translating cutting-edge microbial research into impactful products and leads Seed Health’s academic collaborations with institutions such as MIT, Harvard, Stanford, Caltech, and the NIH. Raja co-chairs Seed’s Scientific Board alongside Dr. Jacques Ravel, guiding research across microbiology, immunology, genetics, and ecology. He also directs LUCA Biologics, a company focused on the vaginal microbiome and women's health, and oversees SeedLabs, which drives environmental initiatives. Through this work, Raja plays a key role in accelerating microbiome-based solutions from discovery to market.

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Full-length episodes can be found here:

What Is Leaky Gut And How Can You Treat It?How to Select a Probiotic and the Future of the MicrobiomeHow To Do The 10-Day Detox