Digestive Health
Supporting you to optimise your digestive health
What is the digestive system?
The digestive system can be conceptualised as a series of chambers responsible for the sequential ingestion, digestion and absorption of nutrients and the elimination of wastes.
The gut is home to the commensal gut microflora which play a fundamental role in the functioning of our immune and hormonal health including our mental and emotional wellbeing. Additionally, the gut microflora are integral to how we digest and metabolise fats, carbohydrates and proteins such that we now understand that they can be classed as a vital ‘metabolic organ’ integral to human health.
Understanding digestive imbalances
When the body is out of balance it may communicate with us via symptoms, however, the gut only has a limited repertoire of symptoms to do this, including indigestion, bloating, flatulence, constipation, diarrhoea and cramping. Hence the underlying triggers of a given symptom for one person, e.g. bloating, may be different to those for another individual.
You may have been told that you have IBS, which is an umbrella term for the symptoms listed above. However, you may not be sure how to manage this and ongoing symptoms can be distressing and impact your day-to-day life.
I work with many clients who are determined to understand and address their digestive imbalance.
Understanding the digestive imbalances for an individual can require significant detective work.
The Functional Medicine Model is useful for this and I work with clients to identify the ‘triggers’ and ‘mediators’ that are perpetuating their symptoms. However, sometimes functional laboratory testing is required to pinpoint specific imbalances.
Some of the tests that I consider for clients include:
- Comprehensive Stool Analysis
- SIBO Breath test
- Gut Permeability test
- Food intolerance and food sensitivity tests
A FODMAPS exclusion diet is often recommended for people trying to reduce digestive imbalance and many clients contact me after having tried this approach. This may prove beneficial for some people. However, this approach is only intended as a short-term intervention as it can have a significant impact on the composition of the gut microflora.
I work with clients to determine if a FODMAPS approach is appropriate for them. For clients following this approach, I support them to understand the benefits and limitations, how to optimise nutrient density whilst restricting certain foods and most importantly how to manage the reintroduction of foods.
The content of this website is for general information purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or substitute medical advice.
