Did you know that Jenni, our owner and Physician Assistant at Berman Health and Wellness wrote a book?!
Hey, it is me, Jenni writing. I have been asked questions about my book so frequently that I wanted to share a little bit of information about the book, my why, who the book is for, who it helps, and who should read it! You can find the book here: https://a.co/d/0c9Y83Bn
- What inspired you to Write The Berman Method:
After years of trying to figure out my own health concerns, bouncing from doctor to doctor, and not getting answers – I knew I needed to help someone else to avoid this frustration. I wanted to write a book that can be understood by “non medical” individuals, provide a few steps that the individual can easily implement from home, but then also provide options for them to research further and gain more information on themselves with the right provider. There are so many books out there that are written for doctors, but we need more information out there for the general population.
- What are the Core principles of The Berman Method:
Treating problems and not symptoms. We have to dig deeper to find out the problem, the underlying cause, the primary issue rather than just treating symptoms. With the Berman Method we start out with gut health and blood sugar stability as this is a primary problem in the majority of autoimmune diseases.
- What does it mean when you say “Listening to Your Gut”:
We always hear the saying, “Follow your Gut” or “Listen to your Gut” – which is still 100% true and important. Taking it a little deeper though, Your Gut is Your Second Brain. We have to identify the cause which is often stimming from the gut or a result of issues impacting our gut lining. We have to identify the foods that are working well vs the foods that are harming our immune system which starts within the gut. We also need to know how our body is responding to hormone levels and vitamin levels which may hinder our gut health. We need to learn about inflammatory foods for our body, regulating our stress receptors, and then start the healing process. The most common inflammatory foods for autoimmune disease and mental health disease are gluten, dairy, yeast, and almond. There are others such as egg and soy, too.
- Do you discuss areas where Gut health is related to other aspects of health such as Mental and Physical?
Gut health, mental health, and physical health are absolutely interrelated. When we are treating a problem we have to look at the Mind-Body-Spirit. We have to treat it as a whole and not one individual section where we have symptoms. Over 75% of the immune system starts in the gut, 90% of our dopamine levels (the upper, happy hormone) is produced in the gut. If the gut is not healthy, we will not have balanced hormones that control our mood, emotions, and brain abilities. We also will not have a healthy immune system. The stress hormone, cortisol, and our gut significantly impact our organs such as thyroid, metabolism, joints, brain, and more. These factors also impact our ability to gain lean muscle mass or avoid the natural process of the loss of muscle, preventing osteopenia, and muscle tightness.
- What are the Common misconceptions about gut health:
The most common thing I hear – “I would never last as a Vegan.” The thoughts that we have to go plant based or Keto are most common when people hear “healthy gut”. We do not need to follow a plant based OR keto meal plan for our gut to be healthy. We do need to identify the foods that are right for our body though. In addition, eating healthy for your gut does not have to be boring. It does not have to be limiting. It does not mean that we can’t ever eat out or have a cocktail. It is important to develop a maintainable lifestyle when we are working to improve our gut health. Learn more in my book about how we develop maintainable lifestyles!
- Do you have success stories for clients who have implemented The Berman Method?
I have worked with many clients on their gut health who didn’t even come to my practice for their “gut”. Infertility clients, menopause clients, clients with anxiety, rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, weight loss. We see clients all over the board, but gut health has to be the starting point as the common denominator of all of these issues is inflammation. We had a client with Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ulcerative Colitis, and Ankylosing Spondylitis – a lot of big words for a lot of inflammation and on many medications including opioids and steroids. He came to me for weight loss. Much to his surprise, we were able to get him off opioids and steroids as he was feeling 100% better in regards to his pain and inflammation with determining the underlying cause for these autoimmune diseases: his food. He also lost over 30 pounds.
- What is one takeaway for someone to implement to improve their Well-Being?
The most impactful change to take away right now from a dietary standpoint: stop starving yourself. Wake up, drink 16 ounces of water, and eat a protein packed breakfast. From there, focus on lean protein every 2-3 hours. This will have amazing benefits on your blood sugar which will help your mood, energy, satiety (reducing hunger), sleep, metabolism, and more. Then, focus on cooked vegetables as opposed to raw vegetables in your day.
- Is stress a factor in The Berman Method?
Stress – internal or external – meaning your environment, work, home, finances, versus medications, food sensitivities, or hormone imbalances increases cortisol levels. Cortisol is the stress hormone from the adrenal gland. This hormone is a steroid and has systemic (usually negative) effects on the body. Cortisol is good in acute situations like running away from a dog, but it is an issue when it is chronically high. It breaks down the gut lining which affects dopamine production – this then impacts our mental health hormones and increases risk of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and more. It also affects our thyroid function, sleep pattern, and blood sugar levels which impacts our immune system, energy, mood, weight, male and female hormones, and more.
- What is one first step to someone new to this process?
First steps for gut health – write down your food. Evaluate how often you are getting gluten, dairy, soy, egg, almond, yeast. Review labels so you can actually see how much of the “inflammatory foods” you are getting in a day. Consider food sensitivity testing through a blood test to really identify the foods causing a problem for you. Focus on your protein every 2-3 hours to stabilize your blood sugar which will reduce inflammation. Practice techniques to lower your stress hormone: walking, grounding, sunlight, meditation, yoga, exercising for 30 minutes daily, protein every 2-3 hours during the day, cooked vegetables.
- What Future projects do you have planned or next books are you launching?
We are continuing to expand on the Infertility/Fertility World in addition to HRT. Our online modules launched in July 2024 and now we will focus on my second book!
You can purchase a copy of the book HERE: https://a.co/d/0eZvSWnL
Dr. Jake Berman
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