CONSULTATIONS
I WOULD LOVE TO HELP YOU
Microbiologist and human microbiome expert
Karina Kaplun, Ph.D
“All Disease Begins in the Gut”
Hippocrates
He was 100% right!
I am a scientist with a PhD in the field of human gut microbiota.
Currently, I help my clients return their gut microbiota to a healthy state.
There are trillions of bacteria that reside in our gut, and there are more bacterial cells in our body than our own cells. They all play an important role in our health and disease.
Most people, including many physicians, do not realize that at least 80% of your immune system is located in your gut, meaning that a healthy digestive system and a healthy microbiome is a major focal point if you want to maintain optimal health.
When all your beneficial/good intestinal bacteria are in balance, your body is in balance as well. Once something alters the balance of your intestinal bacteria, a number of complications can occur.
Disorders such as allergies, atopic dermatitis, asthma, Candida infection, type 1 diabetes, irritable bowel disease, celiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, gastroenteritis, obesity and colorectal cancer have all been linked to dysfunctional gut microbiota.
The more we learn about our bodies, our microbiota, and the food we are eating, the sooner we can recognize that we have the ability to improve the way we feel every day and that we can care for ourselves in a much better way. If you are interested in learning more and you are considering making changes to the way you live, then you want to have the benefits of working with a highly-qualified PhD one-on-one who is dedicated to your health and well-being. Let’s get on the path towards a balanced microbiota and better health!
The more we learn about our bodies, our microbiota, and the food we are eating, the sooner we can recognize that we have the ability to improve the way we feel every day and that we can care for ourselves in a much better way. If you are interested in learning more and you are considering making changes to the way you live, then you want to have the benefits of working with a highly-qualified PhD one-on-one who is dedicated to your health and well-being. Let’s get on the path towards a balanced microbiota and better health!
It’s my passion to help people! However, there are only 24 hours in a day, and I am limited as to how many people I can counsel and provide a quality, unique service to. As of currently, you may need to be on my waitlist for approximately 4 months before I am able to see you.
Please check my calendar to see my availability or email me at karina@mygutmatters.com.
Since the demand for my consultations is so high, myself and my colleague, certified nutritionist Yana Etemadi, decided to open an online school “Health & Microbiome” and create several digital courses that will help you understand why microbiome is so important and will give you step by step instructions on how to improve it at your own pace.
Right now most of the courses are in Russian language but I am doing my best to translate everything into English. There is a high probability that you will not need my consultation after you take one of my signature courses.
What My Clients Say About Me
How i can help you
I have a PhD in Microbiology and I love teaching through simplifying the science of it. My passion is to help you understand the microbiology of your gut microbiome so that you can make steps towards better health.
Here’s how I can help and what I would love to do for you:
I can help you develop actionable priorities and an overall strategy for improving the balance of your gut microbiome and health.
I can discuss your experiences and suggest potentially useful tests that you could ask your primary health provider about.
I can analyze the results of microbiome tests, genetic tests, electronic food journals, and potentially other markers of gut health and nutritional status. I can perform my own evaluation of these test results to suggest practical strategies that you could implement under supervision of your health care professional.
I will be your microbiome data analyst, your consultant, and your strategist.
I am not a health care provider, registered dietitian or a coach of any kind, so here is what I cannot do
and what I am able to do instead:
Q I can’t order lab tests for you
R What I can do instead:
I can suggest tests that your doctor and/or certified nutritionist can order and/or companies that will provide physician authorization signatures themselves.
Q I can’t diagnose you with a disease
R What I can do instead:
I can discuss your case with you in an educational manner, which may help you look for possible diseases.
Q I can’t treat any disease you may have
R What I can do instead:
I can additionally discuss your case with you which can help find possible ways to prevent, mitigate, or treat a disease.
Q I can’t bill your insurance
R What I can do instead:
I can provide you with a receipt for your payment. However, my consultations are not therapeutic in nature, therefore your health insurance will not cover them.
Q I can’t bill your insurance
R What I can do instead:
I can provide you with a receipt for your payment. However, my consultations are not therapeutic in nature, therefore your health insurance will not cover them.
I am not a health care provider, registered dietitian or a coach of any kind, so here is what I cannot do and what I am able to do instead:
Q I can’t order lab tests for you
R What I can do instead:
I can suggest tests that your doctor and/or certified nutritionist can order and/or companies that will provide physician authorization signatures themselves.
Q I can’t diagnose you with a disease
R What I can do instead:
I can discuss your case with you in an educational manner, which may help you look for possible diseases.
Q I can’t treat any disease you may have
R What I can do instead:
I can additionally discuss your case with you which can help find possible ways to prevent, mitigate, or treat a disease.
Q I can’t bill your insurance
R What I can do instead:
I can provide you with a receipt for your payment. However, my consultations are not therapeutic in nature, therefore your health insurance will not cover them.
Q I can’t bill your insurance
R What I can do instead:
I can provide you with a receipt for your payment. However, my consultations are not therapeutic in nature, therefore your health insurance will not cover them.
My passion is to help you the best way possible. Here is what I cannot promise you and what I can do instead:
I cannot analyze and describe the significance of every microbe in your microbiome and give you a list of all possible supplements to take or design your whole diet around your microbiome. Why? Because I am not a registered dietitian. Additionally, I don’t believe that taking all possible probiotics in the world works. Therefore, I can only help you through science-based methods and in ways I believe are truly effective.
What I will do instead
I will focus on certain microbes that I have good reason to believe focusing on will help you meet your health goals. I will look for specific beneficial microbes, and for opportunistic pathogens that can potentially harm you under certain circumstances. When used in a targeted way as part of the bigger picture, this can be very useful.
I won’t sell you supplements or give you advice on buying supplements from one particular brand that gives me commission.
What I will do instead
I will discuss supplements and dietary approaches that might be useful, and help you decide what are the most beneficial and cost-effective options that meet your goals. I will make suggestions for only clinically-tested probiotics and other supplements which you may need to order from different companies. I will share affiliated links to some of the products that earn me a commission, however you do not have to use them to purchase.
Before you sign up for a consultation
you need to know
It is my passion to help people, however there are only 24 hours in a day and I am limited to how many people I can counsel and continue providing a high-quality service. Right now, you may need to be on a waitlist for approximately 4 months before I can see you. Check my calendar to see the availability or email me to karina@mygutmatters.com
If you really want to take your microbiome under control, I suggest you do microbiome testing. If you choose one of the companies, I estimate that it may take up to 2 months on average to get your results back.
Because the wait time is about 4 months, you will need to book the consultation first to get on my schedule. After this is done, you can order the test and send your specimen back to the lab. By the time you get your test results back, your turn for consultation will almost be up.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to schedule my sessions now, or can I schedule my sessions later?
When you purchase a single session, you have to schedule it immediately upon buying it. The wait time right now is about 4 months therefore please plan accordingly. More often than not people get their test results ready and want to be seen right away. Unfortunately, it is not possible.
When you purchase a package, you schedule your initial consultation right away and the follow ups within 3 to 6 months after the initial consultation.
What if my schedule changes?
Once you schedule your appointment, you will receive an email with instructions, the unique link to your Zoom meeting me on a scheduled day and the link in the bottom of the email to reschedule or cancel. I strongly recommend to save this date in your calendar. You can use this link at any time up to 24 hours before the appointment with no penalties. To reschedule within 24 hours of your appointment, you will need to reschedule by email and pay a $100 rescheduling fee. If you miss your appointment without a notice, you lose the consultation and the consultation fee is not refundable because the time was hold specifically for you.
If I buy a package, do I have to use my sessions within a specific time limit?
To make sure these terms and prices stick, you need to use all your appointments within 1 year of purchase. If you have credits remaining, we will need to negotiate together what to do with them. However, you have to contact me before they expire so we can come up with an agreement. If you do not contact me within a year, you will not be able to use the expired consultation(s).
What if my data analysis request takes less than 30 minutes or more than an hour?
30 minutes is just an approximation. I do not prorate unused time, and I do not bill you extra if it goes a little over for the microbiome analysis. However, if you send me extra test results, I will discuss it with you directly and we will negotiate how I should prioritize my analysis to make the price we agreed on work, or negotiate a different price for me to do what you are asking.
Do I need to add the event to my calendar?
When you finish booking, I recommend you adding this event to your calendar. I will be sending you reminders for your appointment via email and text message. But I still recommend you adding it to your calendar to make sure you do not miss it.
How do I schedule the follow up sessions in my package?
Once you purchase a package, you will receive an email with the link to a prepaid follow up which you can use for scheduling both of your follow up sessions. If you cannot locate the link please send me an email to karina@mygutmatters.com and I will resend it to you.
Do you offer email support?
I do my best to respond to emails that consist of brief clarifications, answers to quick questions, or brief discussions of priorities for how to use future sessions within a one-week time frame. A longer email describing your situation or data could be used as part of a one-hour consultation or a follow-up consultation. I am sometimes away from email for defined periods of time longer than a week: for example, I will not be responding to emails during the second week of July, 2021 and most of August, 2021. I do not offer frequent email check-ins between appointments or answers to questions that require careful consideration of your case between sessions. Your best bet is to schedule a consultation and ask all your questions during the prepaid time.
Do you offer FREE consultations?
If you have a question related to one of the products, I carry in my online shop like Norwex, TruAura, Doterra, Hyperbiotics, Live Culture or others please send me an email with the “Product name subject” as subject name. You may be qualified for a 15 min free consultation.
Can you provide a family plan?
Absolutely! Although I don’t offer any special pricing for family plans, you can use one of the packages (the best one for this purpose is “Microbiome program”) as a family plan. Simply explain in the questionnaire that there are multiple family members who will use the service, who they are, and answer the questions for each family member. Keep in mind that I cannot split one-hour consultation for two people. I can make comments for two people however I can only analyze one microbiome test and prepare written recommendations only for one person. I do not suggest splitting one hour between two people. But you can split a 2-hour package between two people.
Can we discuss diseases?
We can discuss diseases; however, we need to agree clearly that I am not offering diagnosis, treatment, or treatment advice. My consultations are purely educational and I can provide you with what I believe are the causes, ways to look for, and ways to prevent or treat diseases, and I can recommend you discuss specific possibilities with your doctor.
Can you suggest specific providers for specific lab tests?
I can suggest labs during an appointment that you can ask your doctor or other health care provider about in the future.
Can you analyze tests of sex or stress hormones?
I am familiar with these tests, but they are not currently my primary areas of expertise. I may be able to provide valuable insights but I would not schedule an appointment with me if these are the only things you wish to discuss.
Can I ask you for career advice?
Sure! As long as we agree that I am not liable for the consequences of your career choices, and as long as you recognize that I am not an expert in career counseling, I’m happy to talk to you about career choices for as long as you want when it is part of your consultation.
Need more information? Ask a question
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