Health
Experts reveal 5-step approach to a healthier gut and stronger immunity
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A healthier gut could start with one letter.
Some medical experts recommend using the “5R approach” to help restore the gut’s biodome, which may improve mood, reduce inflammation and alleviate some chronic health conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and autoimmune disease.
First coined by the Institute for Functional Medicine in Washington, the plan focuses on five components of gut healing to help restore overall digestive health.
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These include removing toxins and harmful triggers, replacing depleted digestive enzymes, reinoculating “good” bacteria in the gut, repairing the gut lining and rebalancing lifestyle.
Dr. Sydne Ford-Norton, a board-certified family medicine physician and co-founder of Spark Performance and Wellness in Atlanta, Georgia, said the 5R approach has helped her patients boost their energy levels, reduce bloating and improved bowel movements within a month.
Some medical experts recommend using the “5R approach” to help restore the gut’s biodome. (iStock)
The gut-health connection
Poor diet, certain medications, environmental exposures and food sensitivities can all disrupt the gut microbiome, physicians told Fox News Digital.
This can lead to symptoms like gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, irritable bowel and joint pain.
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The condition can also cause the cell lining in the gut to “leak” poorly digested food particles and inflammatory cells into the bloodstream, triggering inflammation and autoimmune reactions.
“The GI tract is the biggest immune organ of the body,” Dr. Joel Evans, chief of medical affairs at the Institute for Functional Medicine, told Fox News Digital in an interview.
“When you have problems with your gut, not only do you not feel good, but you end up with problems with your immune system, which can lead to autoimmune disease.”
To rebalance, a doctor recommends getting seven to nine hours of sleep each night and using stress management tools such as yoga, meditation and walks. (iStock)
Jesús M. Luévano, M.D., an Atlanta gastroenterologist and spokesperson for the American Gastroenterological Association, confirmed the role that gut balance plays in overall health.
“What we eat affects how we feel, from the microscopic level where it promotes cellular health, to the balance of our gut microbiome with our own homeostasis,” he told Fox News Digital.
“Providing our gut and our microbiome with the right forms of energy and avoiding pro-inflammatory agents — such as fried and fatty foods, alcohol, tobacco and ultraprocessed foods — is a key component for good gut health.”
“The GI tract is the biggest immune organ of the body.”
Dr. Alan Weiss, medical director of Annapolis Integrative Medicine in Maryland, agreed there is “no question” when it comes to gut’s influence on overall health.
“Your GI tract has about 80% of your body’s immune tissue in it, and your gut produces about 85% of the body’s neurotransmitters,” Weiss told Fox News Digital.
What are the 5Rs?
The 5R approach relies on the following essential steps to restore a healthy gut balance.
Remove
Removing stressors, foods and toxins considered to be inflammatory triggers is the first step, according to Ford-Norton.
These typically include gluten, dairy, sugar and processed foods. Testing can be performed to detect any food sensitivities or allergies.
“What we eat affects how we feel, from the microscopic level where it promotes cellular health, to the balance of our gut microbiome with our own homeostasis,” an expert told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
Replace
This component involves replacing depleted digestive enzymes, vitamins and minerals.
“A lot of people are not producing the enzymes that are needed to properly break down food and get the nutrients we need,” Ford-Norton said.
Reinoculate
Reinoculation involves introducing good bacteria to the gut through prebiotics and probiotics.
“If you go back in time, people knew that fermented foods were important,” Ford-Norton noted. “As we’ve gotten more busy in society and moved away from eating a more natural diet, we stopped eating those foods and replaced them with processed foods.”
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The expert encourages people to get their prebiotics through food rather than a separate supplement.
Fiber-rich foods, as well as fermented foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, are rich sources ofese nutrients, she advised.
Repair
Repairing the gut lining is essential to improving nutrient absorption and reducing inflammation.
“Inflammation is the underlying imbalance that leads to most of the complex chronic diseases in the population, and then it affects our emotional well-being through the gut-brain connection,” Evans said.
Reinoculation involves introducing good bacteria to the gut through prebiotics and probiotics. (iStock)
In most cases, Ford-Norton noted, the gut experiences some degree of harm — perhaps from medications, such as antibiotics, or chronic stress.
She typically prescribes omega-3 fatty acids, the amino acid L-glutamine, zinc supplements, and anti-inflammatory herbs such as aloe vera to repair the gut lining.
“It’s all about rebalancing your emotions, your nervous system and your digestive system.”
Eating foods rich in omega-3s, including chia seeds, hemp seeds and walnuts, can also be helpful.
It’s important to check with a physician before taking supplements to avoid any interactions with underlying conditions, Ford-Norton added.
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Rebalance
Rebalancing is “the key component that a lot of people miss,” according to Ford-Norton.
“A lot of people want to just take supplements, [and] feel better without their sleep.”
Hands, pills and bottle in closeup for person with drugs, routine and schedule for health in home. Elderly patient, container and pharma product for supplements, wellness or benefits in retirement (iStock)
To rebalance, the doctor recommends getting seven to nine hours of sleep each night and using stress management tools such as yoga, meditation and walks.
“It’s all about rebalancing your emotions, your nervous system and your digestive system — it’s all playing together,” she said.
Guidance is key
When implementing 5R, Ford-Norton said it is important not to skip any portion.
“I’ve seen so many people who do the elimination diet, but they don’t do the Replace or Reinoculate component, so they have an incomplete treatment,” she told Fox News Digital.
It is important to perform the approach under the guidance of a trained practitioner, experts advised. (iStock)
Evans and Ford-Norton agreed that while the 5R approach is not a guaranteed cure for health conditions, they have seen improvements in many patients’ symptoms — and in some cases, reversal of chronic diseases.
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It is important to perform the approach under the guidance of a trained practitioner, they advised.
Weiss noted that while the 5R approach is a good resource, it is also vital to see a doctor to rule out infections or other diseases that could contribute to a person’s symptoms.
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Colorectal cancer, once considered a disease of older age, is becoming a crisis for younger adults. New research shows one group getting hit the hardest – those without a college degree.
A recent study from the American Cancer Society analyzed data from over 101,000 adults aged 25 to 49 who died from colorectal cancer between 1994 and 2023.
While death rates remained stable for college graduates, they climbed significantly for those without a bachelor’s degree, the findings showed.
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For young adults with a high school education or less, the mortality rate rose from 4.0 to 5.2 per 100,000 people, while the rate for those with at least a bachelor’s degree stayed flat, at approximately 2.7 per 100,000.
This does not mean that a degree offers some kind of biological protection, researchers cautioned.
Colorectal cancer, once considered a disease of older age, is becoming a crisis for younger adults. (iStock)
The difference is likely driven by the conditions in which people live and work, which often correlate with education levels, the researchers noted.
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The study suggests that the higher death rates are likely driven by differences in the prevalence of risk factors, including obesity, physical inactivity, smoking and diet, which are “known to be elevated among children and young adults with lower [socioeconomic status].”
Because the study relied on death certificates, researchers couldn’t say exactly why college graduates had better outcomes.
Because the researchers didn’t have the patients’ actual medical records, they couldn’t see things like frequency of screenings or treatment options, which would impact survival outcomes. (iStock)
Certificates typically list the cause of death, age, race and education level, but they do not include a person’s full medical history.
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Because the researchers didn’t have the patients’ actual medical records, they couldn’t see things like frequency of screenings or treatment options, which would impact survival outcomes.
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Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death for men under 50 and the second leading cause for women in the same age group, according to recent statistics.
While colorectal cancer death rates remained stable for college graduates, they climbed significantly for those without a bachelor’s degree, the findings showed. (iStock)
Because the disease is highly treatable when caught early, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lowered the recommended screening age from 50 to 45 in 2021.
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Common signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer can include a change in bowel habits, such as diarrhea, constipation or narrowing of the stool, that lasts for more than a few days, according to the American Cancer Society.
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Other signs that warrant seeing a doctor include blood in the stool or a persistent feeling of needing to go to the bathroom but being unable to go.
The research was published in JAMA Oncology.
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A young woman who started vaping at the age of 15 has been given just 18 months to live — after being diagnosed with lung cancer in her early 20s.
Kayley Boda, 22, of Manchester, in the United Kingdom, was engaging in heavy vaping on a regular basis when she started coughing up a brown substance with “grainy bits” in it in January 2025, news agency SWNS reported.
The retail assistant said doctors turned her away eight times, telling her she had a chest infection — until she began coughing up blood.
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After seven biopsies, Boda was diagnosed with lung cancer. She underwent surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, as well as chemotherapy — and in February 2026, got the all-clear, the same source reported.
Two months later, though, doctors said the cancer had come back in the pleural lining. Now she’s been given 18 months to live.
Kayley Boda, 22, is shown in the hospital. She started coughing up a brown substance with “grainy bits” in January 2025, she said. She had been vaping since the age of 15. (SWNS)
The young woman has now issued a warning to others to be aware of the dangers of vaping.
Boda said she smoked a bit as a young teenager. She took up vaping after that.
Then, “a few months after I switched from reusable vapes to disposable ones, I started coughing up brown, grainy mucus,” as SWNS reported.
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“Doctors turned me away eight times with a chest infection. … Then I started coughing up blood, so they did an X-ray and found a shadow on my lung,” she added.
“They told me they were 99% sure, [since I was] so young, that it wasn’t cancer, so not to worry about it. When I got the results back, and they told me it was lung cancer, it felt so surreal.”
Boda said she was “very naive” before her diagnosis and thought that “something like this would never happen to me.”
She said that she had surgery to remove half of her right lung.
“After the surgery, I started chemo and I had a terrible reaction to it. I couldn’t lift my head up. I was throwing up blood. I was urinating blood. I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t sleep.”
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She said that when she got the “all clear [in Feb. 2026], it felt amazing, but just two months later I was told the cancer had come back, and I have 18 months to live.”
She added, “I’m 22. This isn’t meant to happen to somebody my age.”
“Stay off the vapes because they will catch up with you.”
She blames her cancer on vaping, she said.
“My symptoms started a few months after I started disposable vapes, and there’s no lung cancer in my family,” she said. “I haven’t vaped for three months, I’ve made my partner stop, I’ve made my mom stop, I’m urging all my friends to stop. Stay off the vapes,” she continued, “because they will catch up with you.”
When doctors did an X-ray, they found a shadow on Boda’s right lung. She was later diagnosed with lung cancer and has undergone surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, as well as chemotherapy. (SWNS)
She said she’d been using reusable vapes since the age of 15 and began using disposable vapes a few months before her cancer symptoms started.
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In November 2024, when she developed a rash all over her body, doctors said it could have been due to shingles, chicken pox or scabies, she told SWNS.
‘Nothing worked’
“I got treated for all three, and nothing worked,” Boda said. “It got to the point where I was cutting myself from scratching so hard.”
A few months after that, she began coughing up a dark brown mucus, with “grainy bits, the consistency of sugar, in it,” she said. When the coughing continued, she visited the doctor’s office, but was told it could be scarring from pneumonia or a chest infection, she also said.
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It wasn’t until March 2025 that she began coughing up bright red blood. At that point, doctors gave her a chest X-ray and told her they’d found a shadow on her lower right lung.
Over the next four months, she had seven biopsies as doctors took samples from the “shadow.” In August, when she went to get the results, she was told she had stage one lung cancer.
Boda is shown in the hospital. She was diagnosed with lung cancer and had surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, as well as chemotherapy. (SWNS)
In September 2025, she had surgery to remove the lower lobe of her right lung, and the surrounding lymph nodes. During the surgery, doctors upstaged her cancer from stage one to stage three after finding cancer in six surrounding lymph nodes, she said.
Following the surgery, Boda was unable to breathe properly and had to learn to walk all over again.
“The oncologist said this is so rare.”
After finishing chemotherapy in February 2026, Kayley was given the all clear, leaving her feeling elated.
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However, just a month after that, she began experiencing extreme chest pains and was told by doctors she had a pleural effusion — a build-up of fluid in the lungs. She had the fluid removed, but when doctors tested it, they discovered her cancer had returned to the pleural lining of her lungs, giving her 18 months to live.
“The oncologist said this is so rare, and usually something they see in patients that are 80 years old,” she said, as SWNS reported.
Increasingly, vacation hot spots are enforcing strict bans on the use of e-cigarettes in public venues. (iStock)
Boda claimed that doctors were unable to pin her cancer to a specific cause — but told her that smoking and vaping definitely didn’t help.
Since her diagnosis, she has stopped and is urging others to stop, too.
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She’s hoping to raise the thousands of dollars needed for treatment to try to prolong her life, she said.
Last year, Fox News Digital reported on the case of a Pennsylvania woman, 26, who said she vaped for just one year before her lungs collapsed. She was 22 when she took up the habit, she said in an interview.
“Everybody warned me about it, but I didn’t listen — I wish that I did,” she said.
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Dr. David Campbell, clinical director and program director at Recover Together Bend in Oregon, told Fox News Digital at that time that signs of collapsed lungs include sharp chest or shoulder pain, shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.
Lung issues are just one of the many health issues linked to vaping, he warned. The habit can also increase the risk of heart disease and stroke, as well as exposure to harmful heavy metals.
Melissa Rudy of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.
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The key to feeling better in a fast, overstimulated world might be surprisingly simple: Live a little more like your grandparents.
A growing social media trend, dubbed “nonnamaxxing,” draws inspiration from the slower, more intentional rhythms associated with an Italian grandmother.
The lifestyle is often linked to activities like preparing home-cooked meals, spending time outdoors and making meaningful connections.
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“Nonnamaxxing is a 2026 trend that embraces the slower, more intentional lifestyle of an Italian grandmother (a Nonna). Think cooking from scratch, long family meals, daily walks, gardening and less screen time,” Erin Palinski-Wade, a New Jersey-based registered dietitian, told Fox News Digital.
Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)
Stepping away from screens and toward real-world interaction can have measurable benefits, according to California-based psychotherapist Laurie Singer.
“We know that interacting with others in person, rather than spending time on screens, significantly improves mental health,” she told Fox News Digital, adding that social media often fuels comparison and lowers self-esteem.
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Living more like previous generations isn’t purely driven by nostalgia. Cooking meals from scratch, for example, has been linked to better nutrition and more mindful eating patterns.
Adopting traditional mealtime habits can improve diet quality and support both physical and mental health, especially when meals are shared regularly with others, Palinski-Wade noted.
One longevity expert stresses that staying healthy isn’t just about food — it’s also about joy and community. (iStock)
There’s also a psychological benefit to slowing down and focusing on one task at a time. Anxiety often stems from unfinished or avoided tasks, Singer noted, and engaging in hands-on activities can counteract that.
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“Nonnamaxxing encourages us to be present around a task, like gardening, baking or knitting, or just taking a mindful walk, that delivers something ‘real,’” she said.
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Palinski-Wade cautions against turning the trend into another source of pressure, noting that a traditional “nonna” lifestyle often assumes a different pace of life.
The key, she said, is adapting the mindset, not replicating it perfectly.
Nonnamaxxing, derived from the name for an Italian grandmother, is a trend that incorporates lifestyle habits hundreds of years in the making. (iStock)
The goal is to reintroduce small, intentional moments that make you feel better.
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That might mean prioritizing a few shared meals each week, taking a walk without your phone or setting aside time for a simple hobby, the expert recommended.
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Singer added, “Having a positive place to escape to, through whatever activities speak to us and make us happy, isn’t generational – it’s human.”
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