Joel Sprechman
Integrative Foundation
Joel has a vision to unify the Integrative IBD community. He built a patient centered foundation called the “One Great Gut” to help patients thrive through curative solutions. They also support research and development of integrative and functional solutions for IBD.
Joel is a conscious mindset coach, an engineer, a certified holistic health coach, an established author, yoga and meditation teacher, and an acclaimed speaker featured at TEDxCardiffbytheSea and on NPR among others. He has worked with companies like Johnson & Johnson, Alphabet, and the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation. Joel is on a mission to educate and empower the growing global IBD community to thrive.
In 2001 Joel was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis and later diagnosed with Crohn's disease in 2018. He has found success in integrative, functional and naturopathic medicine, eating a clean diet, implementing mindset improvements, and has turned to a higher power to help him thrive despite his prognosis.
He has been to over 35 countries and built hundreds of connections with providers, influencers, and patients in his search for answers. We all have a lot we can learn from Joel's experiences.
Joel is and has always been a serial optimist choosing holistic tools sometimes combined with pharmaceuticals for better results. He even practiced yoga while hospitalized. Joel's optimism has gone through a bit of refinement over the years from the challenges he has faced.
Being told at the age of 29 that you have an “incurable” and chronic disease is a tough pill to swallow for anyone, but after 10 hospitalizations in three countries, often traveling across the globe for treatment, and years of on and off again bloody stools it felt as if everything was just too much for Joel. The US health insurance system had failed him and the gold standard for Ulcerative Colitis management had quit working for him. During this time, Joel discovered not only the importance of mindset and diet, but also his physical environment. Hidden home toxins, despite how clean they looked, resulted in debilitating symptoms such as neurological disorders, psychosis, and a weaker immune response which increased infections and amplified his IBD symptoms. All of this plus the isolation of covid 19 sent Joel into a deep clinical depression. As Joel reflected on this period of his life with me, he confessed that he was in a world of pain both physically and emotionally and felt alone. He contemplated suicide more than once.
Joel reached out to others around him for support, both friends and even professionals at the National Suicide Prevention Hotline and the Crisis Text Hotline, but didn’t receive the emotional reprieve he needed. It was at this point that his mom told him six simple words that reiterated that his mission wasn’t complete - “You’ve got to keep going Joel!” Mama Sprechman knew a few things about persevering through challenges, as she is a holocaust survivor! If she could overcome the most horrific period in history then Joel knew he could overcome his battle as well.
When Joel looks at his life today he is reminded of the famous Albert Einstein quote “There are just two ways to live your life. As if nothing is a miracle, or as if everything is a miracle.” Joel’s challenges have pushed him to places he never thought he would go. Joel is now an expert and thought leader on all things IBD. He has devoted his life to learning all he can about integrative health to benefit others. Joel has built a resilience that only comes from perseverance through the toughest of trials - he now knows he can overcome anything life throws his way.
Try and surround yourself with people who understand what you are going through and who have similar values as you. Joel told me that something as simple as going to a restaurant with friends can be a challenge when your friends don’t care about their diets. One “friend” even complained that he was “high maintenance” because of his health needs. Joel learned how to set boundaries, make bold requests and the importance of radical honesty, acceptance, compassion and self-responsibility. These tools are helpful for anyone wanting to fight IBD!
Joel also wanted to share that “just because something happened in the past, it doesn’t mean it is likely to happen again in the future”! Yes, life with IBD is hard and yes you’ve gone through some very challenging circumstances but the truth is that all of that could change today. Keep an open mind about your future!
One Great Gut Foundation is a community of individuals looking for better gut health, looking to thrive! Some are patients, some are practitioners, most have IBD, and everyone is seeking to improve their families happiness, quality of life, and lifespan. This community comes together to discuss and find integrative solutions for Crohn's disease, Ulcerative Colitis, and more. One Great Gut Foundation publishes content, both free and paid, which empowers patients and their loved ones with the latest information on integrative solutions for IBD and also looks for creative ways to provide scholarships for those underprivileged. In 2017, Joel hosted the Crohn's and Colitis Summit in partnership with the One Great Gut community which has so far been seen by over 20,000 people around the world in over 50 countries. Joel and his team are extremely grateful to everyone in the community, to the donors who help their mission become a reality and the greater IBD community for showing up every day with strength and resilience. With some days better than others, we are all in it together.
Thank you Joel for all you are doing for the IBD community with the One Great Gut!
Bigger things are coming for the One Great Gut initiative…. so stay tuned!.
Joel's website https://www.joelsprechman.com/
Read more of Joel's story here.
Watch Joel's TEDx talk here.
Learn more about the One Great Gut.
