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Integrative Brain and Body

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Downers Grove, IL
Integrative Brain and Body

Integrative Brain and Body specializes in providing patients with answers to chronic health conditions The key to individualized care is proper testing!

Our goal at Integrative Brain and Body is to empowering people with knowledge to overcome chronic health concerns so they may live healthy, fulfilling lives. We respect that no two people are alike, even if they have the same condition. Because of this, we take time to get to know patients as individuals so we may deliver custom tailored care. If you do not feel “normal” your body is telling you that there is something physiologically not right! If you’ve been told your lab results are normal the root cause that is driving your condition hasn’t been addressed. To see the list of laboratory tests we offer, visit ibrainandbody.com/labs. For all the conditions we help we offer laboratory analysis, nutritional counseling, neurological rehabilitation, supplementation, chiropractic care and lifestyle modifications. Some conditions we help:
Thyroid dysfunction
Autoimmune diseases
Gut/digestive disorders
ADD/ADHD
Vertigo
For a complete list, visit http://ibrainandbody.com/who-we-help/

03/16/2026

B. longum is a “foundation” genus in the human gut that can help calm the immune system and possibly even our brain's fear response!

Clinically, you can also think of it as a stability microbe, it is often part of the core ecosystem that helps other beneficial species thrive.

Gut-brain angle:�

One of the cooler examples is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in IBS patients using Bifidobacterium longum NCC3001. It showed an improvement in depression scores and changes in brain response to negative emotional stimuli on fMRI. (PMID: 284835)�

How to support it naturally:
�Instead of thinking “buy it,” think feed it and protect it:�🥣 Prebiotic fibers: found in eating a diverse range of vegetables and fruit �🍚 Resistant starch: cooked then cooled potatoes or rice (PMID: 18543927;36512032) �🚶 Consistency habits: regular meal timing and daily movement, your gut microbes love predictability (PMID: 28971851)

If your gut is a garden, Bifidobacterium longum is the soil conditioner. 🌱

Send this to someone who wants better gut-brain balance.�

03/14/2026

“I eat so clean… so why is my blood sugar getting worse?”

If that question has ever crossed your mind — read this.

A study following over 200,000 adults for 10+ years found:

🔹 The more antibiotics someone used
🔹 The longer they used them
➡️ The higher their risk of developing diabetes

Not a correlation that disappears when you “adjust for lifestyle.”
A dose-dependent relationship.

So this isn’t about blaming antibiotics.
They save lives.

But it does explain a pattern we see every single week in functional medicine:

You did everything “right”
You followed the diet
You exercised

And yet…

• your weight won’t budge
• your energy crashes after meals
• your cravings are worse than ever
• your A1c keeps creeping up

Now zoom out and look at your history:

👉 years of sinus infections
👉 recurrent UTIs
👉 acne treatments
👉 multiple rounds of antibiotics growing up

That’s not just your past.

That’s your metabolic timeline.

Because your gut bacteria:

✔ train your immune system
✔ control inflammation
✔ regulate insulin sensitivity
✔ influence how many calories you extract from food
✔ produce the signals that tell your brain you’re full

So when they get repeatedly wiped out…
Your metabolism doesn’t break overnight.
It slowly loses its regulatory system.
And no one connects the dots.

This is the difference between:
Managing blood sugar vs Understanding why it became dysregulated in the first place

We want to look at:
🧠 What disrupted the system?
🦠 What’s missing?
🌱 What needs to be rebuilt?

Because prediabetes, insulin resistance, and stubborn weight gain are often downstream symptoms — not the root cause.

And for many people…
The story starts in the gut years before the diagnosis.

Your history matters.
Your microbiome remembers.
And it can be rebuilt.

03/13/2026

We all have 5 minutes in our day to spare…

For Dr. Matt, meditation has been life changing. But this goes beyond just my personal experience - it’s shown in studies that it can potentially change the brain for the better. 🧠

Meditation is often mystified to overcomplicate what it really is. To get started, all you have to do is set a time and try your absolute hardest to only focus on your inhale and exhale.

“I am now inhaling… I am now exhaling.”

But this is the perfect example of the old adage “easier said than done.”

You’ll start to notice, especially during your first time, how much your brain will bounce in other directions, away from your breath. That is OK and totally normal!

Where the magic happens is when you re-direct your focus back to your breath. This can directly active an amazing brain region called the DLPFC, which has to do with focus and emotional regulation. Over time, you should notice that it’s easier to focus only on your breath. And even over more time, you should be able to get really good at doing this during real world situations! (PMID: 29505943.; 29505943) )

Send this to someone who is an overthinker (so everybody)!

03/12/2026

One of the most routine microbes we look for in our patients is Lactobacillus.

Lactobacillus is dominant where gut dysfunction often begins...the small intestine.

That gives it direct control over:
🛡️ immune signaling
⚔️ microbial defense
🍽️ nutrient absorption
🧠 gut-brain communication

Low levels show up again and again in:
🦠 SIBO patterns
😮‍💨 chronic stress physiology
💊 post-antibiotic dysbiosis
🌸 recurrent vaginal or urinary issues

And the key clinical point:

Not all Lactobacillus behave the same.

Strain specificity determines whether it helps inflammation, histamine, mood, and metabolism.

03/11/2026

New research shows that during the menopause transition, gut permeability (“leaky gut”) increases — and this gut dysfunction is directly correlated with lower lumbar spine and hip bone density. (PMID:31830000)

This is a reminder that bone health is whole-body health, and a healthy gut may be just as important as strong bones when it comes to preventing osteoporosis.

During this transition period, it’s essential that women support their gut barrier, reduce inflammation, and balance hormone. These are powerful strategies that can protecting your skeletal system and ensure longevity. 💪

03/10/2026

Two of the biggest levers are improving the microbiome and strengthening the gut barrier.

Some of my favorite strategies for supporting the gut barrier include:

✔️ Avoiding gluten & alcohol
✔️ L-glutamine — a primary fuel source for the cells that line the intestinal wall
✔️ Butyrate — a short-chain fatty acid produced by beneficial microbes that helps maintain the integrity of the gut lining
✔️ Zinc carnosine — supports repair of the mucosal lining and improves barrier stability

When the gut barrier is strong, large inflammatory molecules like LPS can’t easily slip through the cracks.

And that can make a huge difference in lowering baseline inflammation throughout the body.

Follow along this month as we break down more ways to optimize the gut microbiome and gut barrier.

03/09/2026

It's another Gut Microbe Monday, so let's highlight another beneficial critter that lives in most of our GI tracts!

Akkermansia Muciniphila is a microbe associated with:
🟢Better blood sugar + insulin sensitivity�
🔥 Less fat gain and lower inflammation�
🧠More natural GLP-1 signaling (satiety and glucose support)�
🧱A stronger gut barrier (thicker mucus layer, tighter “junctions”, less leakiness)�
🧘Immune balance that can calm “over-reactive” inflammation

It also shows up in research on NAFLD, IBD, C. diff resilience, cardiovascular inflammation, healthy aging and even blood brain barrier protection! While context matters and most data is still preclinical, the news coming out about Akkermansia is quite exciting!

How to support it naturally:�
🥦 Prebiotic fibers: such as those found in chickpeas or lentils �
🍵 Polyphenols: such as those in pomegranate seeds, blueberries, and green tea!�
🥜 Fiber-rich whole foods and certain polysaccharides�
🌙 Circadian-friendly habits (melatonin signaling may matter too!)

If your gut barrier is the castle wall, Akkermansia helps keep the bricks tight. 🏰🔥

Send to someone who deals with gut and metabolism issues!

03/08/2026

Gut Microbe Monday: Faecalibacterium prausnitzii.

Why it matters:
This is one of the most common “good” microbes in a healthy colon. It helps make short chain fatty acids, especially butyrate, which is fuel for the cells lining your colon and is linked with calmer immune signaling in the gut. Lower levels are often seen in inflammatory gut patterns and in metabolic dysfunction research, so clinicians pay attention to it as a “resilience” marker. (PMID: 32534182; 30809639; 23831042)

Faecalibacterium prausnitzii also may play a very unique role in the gut-brain axis. Research out of Harvard found that this species may play a significant role in production of samE, a precursor to dopamine and seratonin, two essential neurotransmitter (brain chemical messengers) for proper brain function and mood! (PMID: 39543781)

So how do you get more of this guy in your gut?

For most people, the best strategy is to feed it, not to buy it. This microbe is extremely oxygen sensitive, so it is not commonly available as a standard probiotic.

What tends to help is increasing prebiotic fibers that reach the colon, especially fructooligosaccharides and resistant starch. That can look like oats, beans or lentils, slightly green bananas, cooked then cooled potatoes or rice, onions, garlic, asparagus, and apples. Start low and go slow if you bloat easily. (PMID: 3525213) 🥬

In general, a diet high in diverse fibers is associated with greater amounts of faecalibacterium prausnitzii. Specifically, psyllium husk may be able to increase this microbe (PMID: 35930916). 🦠

Send this to someone who is always trying to work on their gut health!

03/07/2026

Centenarians have a different microbiome.
Not just more diversity...a different function.

One of the most consistent findings?

Higher levels of Bifidobacterium, a genus that:
– Produces anti-inflammatory metabolites
– Supports the gut barrier
– Regulates immune aging

We start life rich in it.
We lose it over time.

Maybe aging isn’t just the passage of years, but a change in biological processes over time...and maybe the loss of key microbes can accelerate or slow down that biological aging

03/06/2026

Most people think they are “just not a morning person,” but Dr. Matt has seen that mornings can be trained.

In this reel, he shares the single habit that helped shift him from a groggy slow starter into someone who wakes up with more drive and clarity: moving his body as soon as possible after waking. ☀️

The idea is simple. Early movement can help create a healthy morning cortisol rise, which often supports energy and focus for the day. Over time, consistency matters. When the brain learns a repeated pattern, neuroplasticity helps make that pattern feel more automatic, not forced. 🧠

(General education, not medical advice.)

If you want help building a personalized plan for energy, focus, and resilience, book a discovery visit, link in bio.

03/05/2026

If we had to pick one microbe most strongly associated with metabolic health, it would be Akkermansia.

Not because it’s trendy...but because of what it does mechanistically:

🧱 strengthens the gut barrier
🔥 reduces endotoxemia
🩸 improves insulin signaling
🍽️ regulates satiety hormones

Low levels are something we consistently see in:
⚠️ insulin resistance
📦 visceral adiposity
🌡️ chronic inflammation
🍔 ultra-processed diets

Rebuilding the mucus environment is the most important thing for cultivating abundant Akkermansia in the gut.

03/04/2026

Did you know that your gut microbiome can impact your thyroid? 🦠📉 A fascinating study found that low levels of a gut microbe called Akkermansia muciniphila are linked to hypothyroidism, with a 16% higher risk for those with reduced levels.

This microbe plays a key role in keeping your immune system balanced and supporting your thyroid’s ability to function properly.

Want to boost Akkermansia? Focus on eating polyphenol-rich foods like pomegranates, berries, and even green tea. 🍇🍵 Small dietary changes can help you cultivate a healthier gut and support your thyroid naturally!

The gut-thyroid connection is just one example of how powerful your microbiome is for your overall health.

Address

2777 Finley Road Suite 5
Downers Grove, IL
60515

Opening Hours

Tuesday	10am - 1pm
	2pm - 6:30pm
Wednesday	2pm - 6:30pm
Thursday	10am - 1pm
	2pm - 6:30pm
Friday	10am - 1pm

Telephone

+16309687891

Website

https://ibrainandbody.com/

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