Cases applying the 5R program in patients with functional digestive diseases caused by gut dysbiosis

Functional digestive diseases are common conditions in primary care and chronic diseases that are not easily treated with traditional medicine approaches. This is because the one of fundamental causes of functional digestive diseases is gut dysbiosis, and therefore the 5R program as a functional medicine approach, is very effective in patient management. The 5R program has five steps: an elimination step (remove) to eradicate the overgrowth of harmful bacteria in the intestines, a digestive enzyme supplement step (replace) to help with food digestion, a reinoculation step to supplement beneficial bacteria following the elimination of harmful bacteria, a repair step to supplement nutrients to help restore damaged intestinal mucosal cells broken by inflammation caused by gut dysbiosis, and finally an education stage (rebalance) to improve bad lifestyle habits that may cause altered gut microbiota. These case studies demonstrate how the 5R program can be applied to patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders using non-absorbable antibiotics, digestive enzymes, probiotics, and nutritional supplements.