Dr. Natalie Scheeler: Naturopathic medicine, FMT, and Helminthic therapies (E97)

Dr. Natalie Scheeler, a naturopathic doctor specializing in integrative treatments for gastrointestinal conditions, shares her perspective and valuable insights on gut health. She discusses the difference between naturopathic doctors and traditional MDs, the use of fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) and Helminthic therapies in treating inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the impact of food and probiotics on IBD, and trends in flare management and remission. Dr. Scheeler also provides information about her practice, Modrn Med, and offers a final message of hope and encouragement for patients seeking alternative or complementary treatment options.

Takeaways

• Naturopathic doctors focus on preventative medicine and finding the root cause through a whole person approach using integrative treatments that can be used alongside conventional therapies.
• Fecal microbiota transplant (FMT) and Helminthic therapies are alternative treatments for IBD that show promise in inducing remission and maintaining gut health.
• Diet plays a significant role in creating a diverse microbiome.
• Modrn Med is an integrative and functional medicine practice that offers telehealth consultations and works in collaboration with other healthcare providers.
• There are other treatment options available for patients who have not found success with conventional therapies, and it is important to work with a knowledgeable practitioner to explore these options.

Topics covered in the interview

• Difference Between Naturopathic Doctors (ND) and traditional doctors (MD or DO)
• Integrative Treatments for Gastrointestinal Conditions
• Fecal Microbiota Transplant (FMT)
• Impact of Food and Probiotics on IBD
• Trends in Flare Management and Remission
• Helminthic Therapies
• About Modrn Med

From the show

Stephanie: What are some of the trends that you've seen with helping people to get out of a flare and into remission?

Dr. Scheeler: …the dietary aspect is a large trend I'm seeing I think, too, with social media. There's just the ability to spread so much information and so that is oftentimes how people coming into our office and have said, ‘I've tried these diets’ or ‘I've done these diets’ versus us kind of introducing them to that idea. So that's interesting.

The other one is an herb called Qing Dai. It's a Chinese herb…which is an herb that can be really helpful for inducing remission, typically. We usually reserve it for remission induction versus maintenance therapy because there are some safety risks to that…I would always, always recommend working with a provider who's familiar with that herb…something that is important to say is that natural medicine isn't always safer, and it isn't always safe in general. There is risks associated with any treatments that you do. And so knowing those risks, having somebody who is familiar with those risks is important, especially if you are on the kind of quote-unquote conventional medications and add this stuff in, there could be interactions.

Stephanie: Can you talk a little bit about the Modrn Med practice and what types of patients you see?

Dr. Scheeler: Yeah, so ModernMed, we are a practice, we are all naturopathic doctors. There's four of us there. And we do integrative and functional medicine. A large part of our practice is gastrointestinal disease, including inflammatory bowel disease. I personally see patients exclusively via telehealth…but there is a location in LA, too, if people are interested.

With that, since I do telehealth, I'm licensed in California, Arizona, Maryland, Vermont, and Connecticut, as of now. But all of us depending can either see you as patient if we're licensed in that state or do what we consider educational consults. So with patients who live out of state, we can share some of this information with you and help you do things safely or talk with your provider too…it’s very common for us to work with other providers, especially myself working with gastroenterologists. I think when we all work as a team is when we get the best outcomes. And so patients, who may be in a state that we're not licensed in, we're comfortable talking to providers and usually there's no issues with that as long as we explain what we're doing. We always do evidence-based medicine. So as long as we share, even if they're not familiar with it off the bat, most people are open to working together and helping the patient out.

Links and studies from the show

• Modern Med: https://www.modrnmed.com/dr-natalie-scheeler
• FMT for UC: Nishida A, Inoue R, Inatomi O, Bamba S, Naito Y, Andoh A. Gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease. Clin J Gastroenterol. 2018;11(1):1-10. doi:10.1007/s12328-017-0813-5 (PMID: 29285689) 
• FMT for CD: Zhou S, Cui Y, Zhang Y, Zhao T, Cong J. Fecal microbiota transplantation for induction of remission in Crohn's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Colorectal Dis. 2023;38(1):62. Published 2023 Mar 8. doi:10.1007/s00384-023-04354-4 (PMID: 36882658) 
• Helminthic Therapy in CD (Trichuris suis specific): Schölmerich J, Fellermann K, Seibold FW, et al. A Randomised, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled Trial of Trichuris suis ova in Active Crohn's Disease. J Crohns Colitis. 2017;11(4):390-399. doi:10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjw184 (PMID: 27707789) 
• Helminthic Therapy in CD (Trichuris suis specific):  Garg SK, Croft AM, Bager P. Helminth therapy (worms) for induction of remission in inflammatory bowel disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2014;2014(1):CD009400. Published 2014 Jan 20. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD009400.pub2 (PMID: 24442917) 
• Paper co-written by Dr. Scheeler on Qing Dai (Pronounced "Ching Dye") a.k.a. Indigo Naturalis: https://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/clinical-application-of-indigo-naturalis

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