Even if you don’t think you have gut health problems, treating your gut may be the key to obtaining optimal health and performance.

Today’s guest is someone I met at the gym, at a conference for health entrepreneurs. I had the fortunate experience of running into Dr. Vincent Pedre there at the gym and then later that day at a cocktail party, where we struck up a fascinating conversation about his transition from practicing internal medicine to practicing functional medicine, and how he healed his own digestive issues.

In today’s conversation, we go from discussing disease and the influence of the gut on chronic disease and autoimmune conditions, to discussing performance, the brain health axis, and the way that the health of our gut influences our ability to think clearly and execute profoundly every single day. This interview is not just relevant for people with digestive issues, it is relevant for anyone who is on a mission and wants to know where to start to improve their performance.

Key Takeaways:

[3:23] Dr. Pedre realized that he couldn’t offer his patients an exit strategy from the treatments he was giving them, and that drove him to functional medicine.

[6:19] Dr. Pedre realized that he could resolve his own IBS.

[9:21] Dr. Pedre mostly practices functional medicine, but he still performs screenings and recognizes his background in conventional medicine.

[10:34] This is where you can hear it from an MD: The food you eat affects your health, “100 percent!”

[13:18] Should everyone quit eating dairy and gluten?

[15:48] Changing your diet can be overwhelming, but you can do it. Find a doctor who empowers you.

[20:17] How are autoimmune conditions related to gut health?

[25:31] If you have elevated thyroid antibodies but still have normal thyroid function, you can prevent disease with lifestyle.

[28:22] How do you assess gut health? You might have gut issues and not know it.

[35:15] We think with our gut.

[39:27] Our current society is completely imbalanced.

[42:24] It’s important to learn to manage stress and cultivate supportive relationships.

[45:39] What does a healthy gut like to eat?

[48:23] Health is having the energy and the drive to do the things that you love.

[48:56] Take this month’s quiz at meghanwalker.com/entrepologyquiz.

[49:17] Let’s look at Dr. Pedre’s key performance indicators!

[54:42] Here’s how to follow Dr. Pedre.

If you enjoyed our conversation and would like to hear more, please subscribe to The Entrepology Podcast on Stitcher or iTunes. We would also appreciate a review.

Mentioned in This Episode:

Legacy Facebook Group

One Spirit Medicine: Ancient Ways to Ultimate Wellness, by Alberto Villoldo

Pedre MD

Functional Nutrition Training

Tweetables:

“I can feel optimal 98% of the time.”

“The biggest choice I have that influences [how I feel] is what I eat — why would I stray from eating the right things?”

“When I took dairy out of my diet I found that I quit getting sick so often. … ‘We’re not being taught this.’”

MORE ABOUT DR. VINCENT PEDRE

Dr. Vincent M. Pedre is the Medical Director of Pedre Integrative Health and Founder of Dr. Pedre Wellness, Medical Advisor to two health-tech start-ups, MBODY360 and Fullscript, and a Functional Medicine-Certified Practitioner in private practice in New York City since 2004. He is a Clinical Instructor in Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, also certified in yoga and Medical Acupuncture. He believes the gut is the gateway towards excellent health. For this reason, he wrote the book, “Happy Gut—The Cleansing Program To Help You Lose Weight, Gain Energy and Eliminate Pain”—which helps people resolve their digestive and gut-related health issues.

Check out Dr. Pedre’s advanced functional medicine training nutrition program on Mind Body Green.

CONNECT WITH MY GUEST

Facebook: @DrVincentPedre

Twitter: @DrPedre

Youtube: DrPedre

Instagram: @DrPedre

MONTHLY QUIZ

Part of improving your health and performance as an entrepreneur requires that you take inventory of your current state of health. To this end, we have prepared a monthly quiz related to the health and performance of entrepreneurs and go-getters. This month, the focus is on balancing blood sugar…

SEE WHERE YOU STACK UP AND ACCESS THE QUIZ RIGHT HERE

CALL TO ACTION

This week’s call to action is all about optimizing your diet. I challenge you to go gluten free for 2 week. Start reading labels, get familiar with what you need to look out for and monitor how you feel. Share your commitment to going gluten free in our Entrepology Facebook page, because when you are accountable, you are helpable.