You could be waking up at 3am with severe stomach pain, hives, or worse, and your doctor might have no idea why. In this episode of the Gut Check Project, Dr. Kenneth Brown and Eric Rieger break down one of the most under-diagnosed conditions in America: Alpha-Gal Syndrome (AGS), a red meat allergy triggered not by the meat itself, but by a single tick bite.
They're joined by Brian Allgaier, MD, a board-certified ER physician from East Texas who has AGS himself. He shares a firsthand account of how three tick bites quietly rewired his immune system and what happened the night his mother-in-law's beef stew sent him into the worst pain of his life.
If you spend any time outdoors east of the Rockies, this episode could change how you think about your gut symptoms forever.
Topics covered:
What alpha-gal syndrome actually is and why it's the only known sugar allergen. Why your blood type determines your risk (type B? You're probably safe). The Lone Star tick larvae you can't see that can still bite you. Why AGS is likely behind thousands of mystery GI cases going undiagnosed. Hidden sources of alpha-gal including porcine heart valves, Armour Thyroid, and pancreatic enzymes. Emerging treatments including acupuncture protocols and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. The shocking 12.8x increased risk of coronary artery disease linked to AGS.

Links:
https://nypost.com/2019/07/17/house-orders-pentagon-to-reveal-if-it-turned-ticks-into-biological-weapons/
https://open.spotify.com/episode/4f9iRFDkG3K0sWy3VFHkfS?si=S6MGpLixTL6_xfYOXa9V2Q&nd=1&dlsi=49dcec44be6842b9
https://academic.oup.com/ofid/article/12/8/ofaf430/8209804?login=false
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8729907/
https://vetmed.illinois.edu/i-tick/wp-content/uploads/sites/69/2019/06/Steinke-et-al.-2015.pdf
https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/ATVBAHA.121.316878

You bloat every day. You unbutton your pants after meals. You've been told it's "just IBS," just stress, just part of getting older - and you've been suffering for years. Here's the truth: bloating isn't normal. It's a signal.
In this episode, Dr. Kenneth Brown breaks down why up to 80% of people diagnosed with IBS may actually have something else entirely - small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) - and why gastroenterology has been getting this wrong for decades. You'll learn where gas actually comes from, the three conditions driving chronic bloating (IBS, SIBO, and functional constipation), the surprising link between food poisoning and lifelong gut issues, and why proton pump inhibitors may be making it worse.
Plus: the real problem with the low-FODMAP diet, why most SIBO treatment fails, how bloating-driven inflammation may be fueling dementia, and the natural and pharmaceutical protocols Dr. Brown uses to actually fix it - including the polyphenol research behind Atrantíl.
If you've been told your symptoms are "in your head," this episode is the one to share. All health begins and ends in the gut.

You’re not supposed to talk about this stuff…

So we did.

In this episode, we sit down with one of the top colorectal surgeons in the country and nothing is off limits.

We cover:

• How your body actually knows the difference between gas and disaster
• Why so many people are struggling to go to the bathroom (and doing it wrong)
• The real reason hemorrhoids are exploding in younger people
• The uncomfortable truth about habits no one wants to admit
• What doctors are seeing WAY more of right now… including cancer

And yeah…

we also went into the stories doctors usually only tell at dinner parties.

But underneath the humor is something serious:

👉 Colon cancer is rising.

👉 Younger patients are being diagnosed more than ever.

👉 And most people are ignoring the signs.

This episode will make you laugh…

…and then make you think twice about your health.

Share this with someone who “doesn’t like talking about this stuff.”

They probably need it the most.