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Visceral: Listen to Your Gut features the latest research updates and treatment options on specific digestive diseases.

Episodes are presented by physician-scientists and experts at the University of Chicago and feature compelling patient stories.

A Podcast From the GI Research Foundation

Visceral: Listen to Your Gut features the latest research updates and treatment options on specific digestive diseases. Episodes are written and produced by Anna Gomberg and feature physician-scientists and experts at the University of Chicago and compelling patient stories.

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Episode 12

Bowel Frequency: How Often Should You Really Go?

In this episode, we interview Dr. Jeffrey Nathanson, partner and gastroenterologist at Comprehensive Gastrointestinal Health and GI Research Foundation Board Member. We discuss bowel frequency—shedding light on what is considered “normal” and when it may be necessary to seek advice from a physician. Our aim is to raise awareness about this often overlooked and sensitive subject.

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with sponsorships from:

Episode 11

Seeing Clearly: Intestinal Ultrasound in Crohn’s & Colitis Care

In this episode, we sit down with Dr. Noa Krugliak Cleveland, Director of the Intestinal Ultrasound Program, and Dr. Amelia Kellar, Director of Pediatric Intestinal Ultrasound, both at the University of Chicago Medicine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center. We explore how a tried-and-true technology, intestinal ultrasound, is revolutionizing the way gastroenterologists and patients in the U.S. monitor Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Learn how real-time imaging of the GI tract is transforming diagnosis and ongoing care and discover how support from the GI Research Foundation is driving research and enhancing patient outcomes through innovative monitoring protocols like intestinal ultrasound.

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with a sponsorship from:

Episode 10

Voices of Resilience: IBD Patients Share Their Journeys

In this compelling episode, host Anna Gomberg brings together four courageous individuals to share their personal journeys with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). They answer questions such as:

• • • What was it like to be diagnosed with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis?
    • What important lessons have you learned about living with a digestive disease?
    • What are your best tips on diet and nutrition based on your experiences?

Listen in as they discuss the highs and lows of living with IBD, from initial diagnosis to managing daily challenges. Our guests open up about their struggles, triumphs, and the impact IBD has had on their lives, relationships, and mental health. Whether you’re a patient, caregiver, or simply curious about IBD, this roundtable offers valuable insights and heartfelt stories, shedding light on what it truly means to live with a chronic illness. Discover how gifts to the GI Research Foundation are fueling research and impacting patient lives as you join us for an eye-opening conversation that aims to educate, inspire, and connect our community.

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with sponsorships from:

Episode 9

Metabolites in the Midnight Hour: The Gut-Sleep Connection in Crohn’s and Colitis

With David T. Rubin, MD, Joseph B. Kirsner Professor of Medicine; and Ashley Sidebottom, PhD, Research Assistant Professor and Platform Director, Host-Microbe Metabolomics Facility, University of Chicago

Struggling with sleep and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)? You’re not alone. This episode dives deep into the surprising connection between sleep, gut health, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Join us as we chat with world-renowned experts David T. Rubin, MD, and Ashley Sidebottom, PhD who shed light on the intricate relationship between the microbiome, sleep, and IBD:

• • The science behind the gut-sleep connection in IBD
  • How metabolites can trigger inflammation and sleep disturbances

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with sponsorships from:

Episode 8

Keeping it Moving: Gut Motility and Digestive Health

With Lalitha Sitaraman, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, the University of Chicago Medicine

Lalitha Sitaraman, MD, one of the newest members of the University of Chicago Digestive Diseases Center, focuses her research on the connection between the nervous system and the lower intestinal tract. Disordered motility can contribute to constipation, irritable bowel syndrome, and pelvic floor disorders, and is also related to Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Learn more in this episode about this important part of digestive health and wellness, and the mind-body connection.

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with a sponsorship from:

Episode 7

Caring for Children and Teens with Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis

With Amelia Kellar, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, the University of Chicago Medicine

Join us for a candid conversation about pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Our guest, Amelia Kellar, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, specializes in the treatment of children with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Dr. Kellar is also one of only a few physicians in the United States to use a non-invasive diagnostic tool, intestinal ultrasound, to diagnose and treat Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis as part of office treatments.

We’ll delve into:

• • Early signs and the diagnosis journey: How to recognize the often-misunderstood symptoms in children.
  • Recent advancements and the future of pediatric IBD care: promising new treatments and research that offer hope for better management and potential cures, including intestinal ultrasound.

This episode is for parents & families, and anyone touched by pediatric IBD. Don’t miss this vital conversation!

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with a sponsorship from:

Episode 6

Don’t Cut That Out: How to add foods to your diet to optimize nutrition

Featuring Lori Rowell Welstead, MS, RD, LDN and Courtney Schuchmann, MS, RD, LDN, Registered Dietitians with the University of Chicago Digestive Diseases Center

“People might think that a registered dietitian is going to say, ‘cut this out, cut that out,’ where in reality, we focus on adding food back into to your diet to really optimize your nutritional status.”

In this episode, patients with digestive diseases learn what they should eat, why they should eat it, how they should manage their diet, and how to make sure that they’re maximizing their nutrition so they get all of the optimal benefits of the food they are eating. Registered dietitians with the University of Chicago Digestive Diseases Center, Lori Rowell Welstead and Courtney Schuchmann share their expertise on nutrition and its relationship to IBS, Celiac disease, Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis, gastroparesis, fatty liver disease, and more.

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with a sponsorship from:

Episode 5

IBD and The Mind-Body Connection

Featuring Alyse Bedell, PhD, GI psychologist at the University of Chicago

Episode 5 of Visceral features Alyse Bedell, PhD, GI psychologist, who discusses the ways in which Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis can impact mental health and personal well-being. Dr. Bedell shares research to help patients understand how IBD relates to anxiety, depression, and other mental health challenges, and how to harness the mind-body connection to help manage pain and symptoms.

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with a sponsorship from anonymous donors.

Episode 4

IBD or IBS…or Both?

Featuring Benjamin Levy, MD, and Mary Ayers, RN at the University of Chicago

Confusingly, similar acronyms describe two very different conditions of the lower GI tract: IBD (inflammatory bowel disease) and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome). IBD is often treated with biologic medical therapies that are infused, injected, or taken orally. IBS, or irritable bowel syndrome, is a diagnosis of exclusion, and treatment includes a different set of medication options and dietary advice. Experts from the Digestive Diseases Center Benjamin Levy, MD, and Mary Ayers, RN, offer their insights into treating IBD and IBS… and how the two conditions may even overlap.

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with a sponsorship from:

Episode 3

All about Ostomy Care

With Janice Colwell, APRN, CWOCN, FAAN, and Marita Kametas, MSN, APN, FNP-BC, CMSRN, COCN at the University of Chicago

Advanced Practice Nurses and leaders in the field of ostomy care Janice Colwell, APRN, CWOCN, FAAN, and Marita Kametas, MSN, APN, FNP-BC, CMSRN, COCN offer need-to-know information about post-surgical life with an ostomy for IBD patients.

Jan Colwell speaks from over 40 years of experience as a wound, ostomy, and continence specialist, and is the director of the Ostomy Care Clinic at the University of Chicago Medicine; and Marita Kametas specializes in ostomy care for IBD patients at the University of Chicago IBD Center.

During this conversation, Jan and Marita employ their expertise to address the most common questions (and misconceptions) of patients regarding life with an ostomy.

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with a sponsorship from:

Episode 2

The Art and Science of IBD Treatment

With Russell D. Cohen, MD, and Emily Dobrez, APN at the University of Chicago

In the latest episode of Visceral: Listen to Your Gut, Russell D. Cohen, MD, and Emily Dobrez, APN, discuss the ways patients can best manage their Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis using the latest available treatments. Listen now to episode 2: The Art and Science of IBD Treatment.

More information on treatment options from Dr. Cohen and Sushila Dalal, MD, is also available in this online video.

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with a sponsorship from:

Episode 1

The Role of the Gut Microbiome in Your Health

With Eugene Chang, MD at the University of Chicago

In this podcast, we interview Dr. Eugene Chang, a national and renowned physician-scientist from the University of Chicago. In his lab, he and his team study the interactive relationship between intestinal microbes and the gut they live in, a relationship that is fundamental to our health. When the right balance is disturbed, the consequences can be catastrophic. Large shifts in the bacteria that make up the human microbiome (often caused by changes in environment and lifestyle) can trigger the development of autoimmune diseases such as IBD, Celiac, Diabetes, and others, especially in people who are also genetically susceptible. Dr. Chang’s lab works tirelessly using cutting-edge approaches to better understand the human gut microbiome to prevent and treat disease.

The GI Research Foundation was able to produce this episode with a sponsorship from:

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