Member Price: FREE
Available: July 1, 2025
Title: The Gut-Brain Axis
Description:
The gut-brain axis, a bidirectional network linking the GI tract and CNS, is pivotal in functional and preventative medicine but often neglected in traditional care, highlighting a need for Nurse Practitioner education. This system integrates neural, hormonal, and immune pathways, with gut microbiota influencing neurotransmitter synthesis, immune regulation, and inflammation. Dysregulation is linked to conditions like IBS, anxiety, depression, autism, metabolic disorders, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative disorders. Functional medicine targets root causes through personalized approaches, including dietary interventions (e.g., low-FODMAP, anti-inflammatory diets), medicinal herbs, supplements, probiotics, prebiotics, and stress management techniques like mindfulness to enhance vagal tone. Nutrient optimization with magnesium, omega-3s, and L-glutamine supports neurotransmitter production and gut repair. Preventative strategies, such as microbiota-focused nutrition and stress reduction, lower risks of chronic diseases. Integrating gut-brain axis insights into practice bridges traditional and functional care, optimizing outcomes and promoting long-term wellness.
Presenter: Lauren Duroy, FNP, APRN, FNP-C, AAMA, CFMP
Release Date: July 1, 2025
Expiration Date: July 1, 2026
Learner Outcome:
Learners will develop and outline a personalized care plan integrating functional medicine interventions (e.g., dietary changes, probiotics, stress management) for a hypothetical anxiety patient.
Learners will identify and articulate at least three key mechanisms of the gut-brain axis and how these mechanisms influence the development and management of conditions such as IBS, anxiety, and depression.
Accreditation:
Learners will be awarded 1 Contact Hour. Completion of the course and evaluation are required.
Provider Statement:
Texas Nurse Practitioners is approved as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by Louisiana State Nurses Association - Approver, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. If you are required to use an activity number or provider number on certificates, please use LSNA Provider N003232
Disclosures:
No disclosures exist for presenters or Nurse Planners of this Educational Activity
