One of our favorite Gastroenterologists who is also a TikTok star and a leading health content creator, Dr. Austin Chiang, @austinchaingmd, joins us to talk about his new book, Gut: An Owner's Guide. With an increasing influx of gut health influencers dominating our social media feeds, Dr. Chiang’s book is a timely and vital guide to help us better understand our digestive system and determine what is fact vs fiction from the overwhelming amount of information online. We discuss the key take-aways from his book, including how to find evidence-based information and credible resources. Dr. Chiang also explains how his outreach efforts on social media provide his audience with the info they may need to make informed decisions about their gut health with their healthcare provider.

Many listeners have had tons of follow-up questions about IBS-C from our previous episodes, so we invited back one of our favorite patient advocates to answer them for you. Karen is here to get into more details about her personal healthcare journey including her search for the right doctor. We also discuss more of the different subcategories of IBS-C, including DGBI (Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction) as well as the IBS-C treatment options that finally worked for her. This episode is brought to you by Ardelyx.

The number of “gut health” remedies and products circulating all over social media is confusing and overwhelming. How can we possibly navigate the constant daily stream of information bombarding us while making sure we’re not consuming things that may do more harm than good? Dr. Vivian Asamoah from the Houston Gastro Institute is here to share her insights and experience on helping her patients cut through social media noise and focus on their individual needs and health journey. We discuss the current landscape, validate patient concerns, and highlight the vital fact that just because a product or remedy worked for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you.