Gut Health Support
Dr. Fred Harvey and his team considers the impact of lifestyle and diet on gut health. Optimizing gut health requires a comprehensive approach and it can have a significant impact on total body wellness.
dr. fred harvey
Functional Medicine Practitioner
Causes of illness
Gut health is connected to the five root causes of illness:
Stress:
Stressors (both physical and psychological) impact GI function in several ways. Living in a state of chronic stress, or sympathetic nervous system activation (“fight or flight” mode), impairs digestion. Poorly digested food damages the intestinal lining and causes inflammation. Damage to the intestinal lining allows poorly digested food particles and toxins to cross the intestinal barrier into the bloodstream (this is called “leaky gut”).
Toxins:
A poorly functioning GI tract leads to compromised detoxification processes in the body. This allows the body’s toxic burden to build and directly compromise other systems. Toxins are also a physical stressor on the body, which can trigger the aforementioned mechanisms.
Allergens:
Allergens cause damage to the intestinal lining and promote GI inflammation, which activates the immune system and leads to systemic inflammation. They are also physical stressors on the body, exacerbating intestinal lining permeability and GI inflammation further.
Microbes:
An overgrowth of bacteria and yeast can occur in the intestines due to stress, poor diet, toxins, food intolerances, some medications, and infections. An imbalance in the GI microbiome can lead to inflammation and leaky gut. Parasites and hidden infections can also reside in the gut, contributing to chronic immune system activation.
Poor Diet and Movement:
Nutrient deficiencies from a poor diet can impair the function of the GI tract, as well as all other bodily functions. A poor diet may also contribute to stress on the body, toxin exposures, an imbalanced microbiome, and leaky gut. An inactive lifestyle contributes to an imbalanced microbiome and promotes inflammatory pathways in the body.
our patients
what people say
Chris Vercelli
I’m a health practitioner who has worked with many of Dr. Harvey’s patients, and the feedback I’ve gotten from them about his care is wonderful. He is very well educated and very good at developing treatment plans for a variety of health problems. His approach to healthcare is SO needed in this world of cookie cutter “medicine”, and even if you only went to him for a second opinion, it’d be well worth it. Thanks for all you do Doc! God bless!
Kenn R.
Dr. Harvey is head-and-shoulders above any other medical practitioner we have encountered. When we first came to Sarasota, he gave my wife and me the most thorough physical exams we had ever had, ordering very different sets of blood tests for each of us based on his extensive initial questioning. From the blood tests, he figured out right away what had baffled my previous family doctor, and a high-dollar hematologist, and corrected my problem using simple dietary changes. With his help, my wife got off medications she had needed for decades. …Dr. Harvey is just a delightful, open person and a pleasure to work with.
Judith Harding
I’ve been a patient of Dr. Harvey’s for several years, something like seven years. He always has a very knowledgeable and supportive staff. Recently, I had a very quick and hard fall that changed my life drastically. Dr. Harvey and his staff, especially Haylee, Kerry, and Tracy have helped me through some dark days. I am so grateful for their support. I can see there is hope for me to have continued good health and quality of life.
Mrs Wright
When I came to you I was going doctor to doctor and feeling worse and believing that I was going down. All the medicines that I was taking to help me had so many adverse effects that I kept feeling worse and I never got any beneficial results. I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s syndrome, lifelong constipation, severe migraine headaches, insomnia, and lymphoma. I was extremely exhausted. Since I have come to see you I have never felt better. I am 80 and I feel better than I did at 50! … I have a life again! THANK YOU SO MUCH DR HARVEY!!! YOU Are my hero! I thank God every night for Him sending me to you!
Susan Miller
Best people in the world! Sweetest people! Doing the best job anyone can do on the planet present or future. Everyone here is an angel
YOUR HEALING BEGINS WITH A PHONE CALL
Schedule Your Appointment
What we do
SERVICES WE OFFER
Preventative Diagnostics
Diagnostic testing and evaluation is an important component to understand how your body’s processes are functioning.
Brain Health
This form of medicine focuses on detecting, dealing with, and preventing conditions that come with aging.
Functional Lab Testing
Functional laboratory evaluation is an important component to understanding how your body’s processes are functioning
IV Therapy
IV therapy with vitamins and nutrients has been in use for many years. Today, IV therapy has proven to be effective in dealing with a multitude of conditions.
Nutritional Counseling
Personalized Education including the evaluation of your current dietary intake and how that impacts your current health conditions.
Toxicity Reduction
Toxicity is the byproduct of industrial society. We are subjected to exposures of many toxic substances on a daily if not minute by minute basis.