Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC

Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC Get Healthy - and Get Back to Your Life! Dr. Michael Ruscio, DC is a clinician & researcher Serving patients in the U.S. via Zoom.

With his clinical and research teams, Dr. Ruscio, DC scours existing studies to inform his ongoing clinical research, patient care, and guidance for health seekers and fellow clinicians around the world. His primary focus is digestive health and its impact on other facets of health, including energy, sleep, mood, and thyroid function and optimization. Dr. Ruscio’s, DC research has been published in peer-reviewed medical journals, and he speaks at integrative medical conferences across the globe. While actively seeing patients in his clinic, he also runs an influential blog and podcast, as well as a newsletter for functional medicine practitioners. For more information on how to become a patient, please contact our office.

02/17/2026

Depression and sexual side effects from medications like SSRIs can be tough to navigate.

But science is showing some promising ways to help - and it might involve probiotics.

In a recent study:

Women taking SSRIs who also took a probiotic blend of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium for 8 weeks saw:

✅ Improved libido

✅ Better sexual satisfaction

✅ Increased marital satisfaction

Interestingly, both groups improved in mood, but only the probiotic group experienced the sexual benefits.

💡 Probiotics are not contraindicated with SSRIs - in fact, they may be synergistic.

This is a great example of how gut health can influence hormones, brain chemistry, and intimacy.

02/16/2026

Getting off birth control can feel scary. Many women expect mood swings, painful periods, or sleep problems - but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Daffnee's story:

→ She started a gut-support protocol a month before stopping her pill

→ By the time she stopped, she felt amazing - no symptoms, no flare-ups

→ Her GI health was stable, which helped her hormones adjust naturally

✅ The gut and female hormones are closely connected

✅ Supporting your gut first can make the transition much smoother

✅ Even long-term BC pill users can feel good afterward

If you’ve been thinking about getting off your birth control but are worried about the side effects, this is a real example of how to do it safely and feel great.

💚 Comment your experience or questions below

Erectile dysfunction is commonly framed as a testosterone problem - but research suggests it’s often a whole-body signal...
02/16/2026

Erectile dysfunction is commonly framed as a testosterone problem - but research suggests it’s often a whole-body signal instead.

Sexual function depends on multiple interconnected systems, including stress regulation, sleep quality, gut health, metabolic health, circulation, and inflammation levels. Even when testosterone labs are normal, signaling and performance can still suffer if these systems are under strain.

The good news?

Addressing foundational lifestyle factors often improves erectile function naturally.

Research-backed strategies discussed include:

• Improving sleep quality

• Reducing chronic psychological and physical stress

• Supporting gut health and digestion

• Increasing regular movement and circulation

• Addressing metabolic health and blood sugar balance

• Reducing systemic inflammation

Many men see improvements not by “boosting testosterone,” but by restoring the systems testosterone depends on to function properly.

This approach reframes ED away from deficiency - and toward resilience.

Sexual health reflects overall health.

Support the foundation, and function often follows.

02/14/2026

Severe menstrual pain + IBS flare-ups had her at the point of considering a hysterectomy.

Instead of going under the knife, she tried targeted gut support:

• Used Elemental Heal before her cycle

• Kept her other meals normal

• Did this consistently for a few months

The result? Her IBS no longer flared during her period, and she was able to avoid surgery entirely.

Sometimes, the simplest interventions are the most powerful.

💚 Try Elemental Heal for yourself - link in our bio

🔹 Use the code in our bio for 15% off your first order

02/13/2026

She was at the point of scheduling surgery.

Severe menstrual pain, IBS flare-ups, bloating, and missed work had taken over her life - until she focused on gut support first.

Instead of an extreme protocol, she used the Elemental Diet in a modified, realistic way:

→ Replaced breakfast with an Elemental Heal shake

→ Continued eating whole foods

→ Used it strategically around her cycle

That small shift was enough to calm gut inflammation, reduce symptom flare-ups, and help her avoid a hysterectomy altogether.

Healing doesn’t always require more - sometimes it requires simpler, smarter support.

🔗 You can try Elemental Heal yourself - link in our bio

💚 Use the code in our bio for 15% off your first order

Progesterone symptoms often show up quietly - and early.Low progesterone doesn’t always mean levels are clinically low. ...
02/12/2026

Progesterone symptoms often show up quietly - and early.

Low progesterone doesn’t always mean levels are clinically low. In many cases, progesterone is simply too low relative to estrogen, creating symptoms long before menopause or abnormal lab results.

Chronic stress plays a major role. Cortisol and progesterone share the same building blocks, so when stress is high, progesterone production often drops. This can disrupt sleep, increase anxiety, worsen PMS, and make cycles feel unpredictable.

Gut health can further influence this pattern by affecting estrogen breakdown, indirectly worsening progesterone imbalance.

If you’ve been told “everything looks normal” but still don’t feel like yourself - it doesn’t mean nothing is happening. It often means the imbalance hasn’t crossed a diagnostic threshold yet.

Hormone patterns shift before lab values do.

02/11/2026

One of the most frustrating parts of healing is not knowing what progress should look like - or when.

You change your diet.

You add supplements.

And then you wonder: “Is this even working?”

This is why we use 3–4 week check-ins. Not to expect perfection - but to ask one key question:

👉 Are you improving, yes or no?

In Emily’s case:

🧠 Brain fog lifted

→ Bloating improved

🧘🏼‍♀️ She felt calmer and more energized

Not everything resolved right away - and that’s okay.

Progress tells us what to keep, what to adjust, and what to target next.

This step-by-step approach prevents overwhelm and helps us personalize care instead of guessing.

🎧 The full conversation is available on our Podcast and YouTube channel, where we walk through Emily’s entire case and what happened next.

02/10/2026

Many people labeled as “complex cases” aren’t broken - they’re overstimulated.

More supplements.

More protocols.

More reactions.

In sensitive systems, more intervention often creates more noise - not better outcomes.

That’s why, in many cases, a simplified, targeted approach works better:

→ Fewer variables

→ Clear checkpoints

→ Adjustments based on real response

Emily’s case is a perfect example.

After seeing multiple providers and trying countless supplements, it wasn’t more that helped - it was doing less, but better.

🎧 The full breakdown of Emily’s case is available on our Podcast and YouTube channel, where we walk through how and why this approach works.

02/10/2026

In healthcare, treatment often starts and ends with lab results.

But here’s the problem 👇

Not all lab markers are definitive or highly predictive.

When we treat numbers without understanding their real meaning, we risk missing what actually matters: how the patient feels.

That’s why, in many cases, we take a different approach:

→ We use evidence-guided testing

→ We don’t chase unclear or speculative markers

→ We let symptoms help guide care when labs fall short

This isn’t anti-science.

It’s patient-centered, evidence-guided care.

If you’ve been told your labs are “normal” but you still don’t feel well, there may be more to explore.

Reach out to book your first visit with one of our doctors. We’re here to help.

02/10/2026

For years, Emily thought feeling “off” was just part of who she was.

Daily headaches.

Bloating.

Brain fog.

Low energy.

Within 3–4 weeks, she put it simply:

👉 “It was almost like a fog was lifted.”

Instead of jumping straight to hormone treatment, we started with the gut.

Her care focused on:

→ A short-term, non-restrictive nutrition reset

→ Targeted probiotics

→ Simple, evidence-based support (not supplement overload)

→ Gentle hormone support after gut symptoms improved

The gut plays a major role in hormone balance, inflammation, and neurological symptoms like headaches and brain fog.

✨ Long-standing symptoms don’t have to be “normal.”

If you’re struggling with gut or hormone symptoms and want a personalized approach, reach out to book your first visit with one of our doctors.

Estrogen dominance is one of the most misunderstood hormone patterns.Despite the name, estrogen dominance is rarely abou...
02/08/2026

Estrogen dominance is one of the most misunderstood hormone patterns.

Despite the name, estrogen dominance is rarely about having too much estrogen. More often, it reflects insufficient progesterone relative to estrogen, creating an imbalance in how estrogen acts in the body.

This explains why many women experience estrogen-dominant symptoms even when blood work shows “normal” estrogen levels - or sometimes even low estrogen.

Progesterone plays a regulatory role. It helps buffer estrogen’s effects on tissues, mood, and the menstrual cycle. When progesterone declines due to stress, poor sleep, inflammation, or gut issues, estrogen can feel overwhelming - regardless of lab values.

Hormone symptoms are often about ratios, timing, and regulation, not just numbers on a report.

Understanding this distinction helps shift hormone care away from fear and toward foundational support.

Hormone symptoms are often treated as isolated problems - but the body doesn’t work that way.Research shows hormone bala...
02/08/2026

Hormone symptoms are often treated as isolated problems - but the body doesn’t work that way.

Research shows hormone balance depends heavily on foundational systems like gut health, stress regulation, thyroid function, sleep quality, and inflammation levels. When these systems are under strain, hormone signaling can become disrupted - even when lab values appear “normal.”

This is why symptoms like fatigue, PMS, irregular cycles, mood changes, weight fluctuations, and low libido often persist despite hormone-focused treatments.

Instead of asking “Which hormone is broken?”

A better question is: “What foundation are my hormones responding to?”

Supporting digestion, reducing chronic stress, improving sleep, and addressing gut imbalances often leads to more stable hormone patterns - without aggressive interventions or hormone manipulation.

If you want to start with the basics, we created a free Gut Reset Guide that walks through practical, real-life steps to support digestion and hormone signaling.

💬 Comment RESET and we’ll send it to you.

Hormone balance starts with the foundation - not perfection

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