Gut Health, Trauma, and Transformation: A Conversation with Dr. Chanu Dasari
This week on the Resoluna Podcast, we sat down with Dr. Chanu Dasari of the MindGut Immunity (MGI) Clinic to dive into the fascinating connection between gut health, trauma, and autoimmune disease. Dr. Dasari’s work bridges surgical expertise with whole-body healing — and his personal journey makes this topic deeply relatable.
From Surgeon to Whole-Body Healing Advocate
Dr. Dasari is a gut surgeon based in Las Vegas. He’s treated countless patients with Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, and other inflammatory bowel diseases — conditions that often lead to surgery when traditional medications fail.
What most patients don’t know when they walk into his clinic?
Dr. Dasari had four autoimmune diseases himself at just 19 years old. Through rebuilding his gut microbiome, he was able to ditch his medications and reclaim his health. Today, his online coaching program helps people worldwide do the same — often seeing dramatic improvements in as little as two weeks.
The Trauma–Gut Connection
One of Dr. Dasari’s biggest discoveries is that 100% of his autoimmune patients share a common thread: long-term neglect of their own needs.
This “trauma” isn’t always the result of a dramatic event. More often, it’s the quiet conditioning of life — putting others first, chasing societal expectations, or suppressing emotions — for months, years, or even decades.
“People with autoimmune disease often have no idea they’ve been ignoring their needs,” says Dr. Dasari. “It’s not about fixing trauma in a month. It’s about creating awareness — and that awareness is powerful.”
Men often resist acknowledging trauma, while women tend to experience it through people-pleasing or over-nurturing. In both cases, the result is the same: unmet needs that eventually show up as physical illness.
The Science Behind It
Far from being “woo-woo,” this mind–gut link is backed by science:
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80% of the immune system is in the gut (specifically the mucosa-associated lymphatic tissue).
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Chronic stress and unmet needs raise cortisol levels, disrupt the microbiome, and fuel inflammation.
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The gut produces the majority of the body’s neurotransmitters, directly influencing mood, energy, and mental clarity.
The connection works both ways: what you eat affects your thoughts, and your thoughts affect how you digest.
Five Foundations for Healing
In his clinic, Dr. Dasari focuses on five core pillars:
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Diet – Precision-calibrating foods to reduce inflammation.
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Digestion – Supporting microbiome balance.
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Sleep – Prioritizing restorative rest to lower stress hormones.
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Stress Management – Building awareness and reducing mental load.
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Exercise – Moving in ways that support healing.
Diet and digestion alone make up about 60% of the healing equation, since they directly influence immune response.
Choice as a Healing Tool
One of the most empowering ideas from the conversation? Choice.
Patients often feel trapped, believing they “have no choice” in their health or lifestyle. But recognizing you do have a choice — and actively exercising it — can shift everything.
“Some people think they have no choice. Others never even think to make one,” says Dr. Dasari. “Awareness changes that.”
Lessons from Toddlers
Interestingly, Dr. Dasari’s own toddler has become one of his greatest teachers. Babies are experts at expressing their needs — they eat when they’re hungry, rest when they’re tired, and cry when they’re upset. Somewhere along the path to adulthood, many of us lose that skill.
Parenting, he says, is less about teaching kids to express their needs and more about not interfering with their natural self-awareness.
The Takeaway
Healing autoimmune disease — or any chronic condition — isn’t just about medication. It’s about looking at the whole person: their microbiome, their mind, their choices, and their unmet needs.
As Dr. Dasari puts it:
“If you reorient your daily life toward self-care, align it with reducing inflammatory risk factors, and commit to the process — people get better. Sometimes in weeks. Sometimes in months. But they get better.”
If you want to hear the full conversation with Dr. Dasari, tune in to this week’s Resoluna Podcast episode on your favorite streaming platform.
