Functional Naturopathic Support for Gut & Digestive Health
Our Process for Gut health Dysfunction
Discuss your health concerns and find out whether our approach is right for you
Just because you are experiencing lower gut health issues, does not mean that you should only focus on lower gut therapies.
I see this, time and time again, people coming in for something affecting them lower in the gut, whether that’s bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, gas. The first thing they think about is fibre, probiotics and healing the gut lining.
But it’s more simple than that! Think of digestion like baking a cake.
You can have the perfect ingredients, but your oven is set to the wrong temperature and your cake comes out dry, dense or undercooked.
Adding more ingredients won’t fix the recipe if the oven temperature was wrong all along.
Or you could have the perfect temperature settings and ingredients, but you don’t melt the butter first. The end result is the same – it’s just not right.
Digestion is similar – The upper portions of the gut pave way for the next stage. And you may not know what went wrong when you only look at the end result. The symptom.
Our Multi-staged Approach
The same symptoms don’t always have the same cause. Bloating doesn’t always mean dysbiosis, and reflux isn’t always caused by excess stomach acid.
That’s why we use a multi-stage approach to identify potential underlying contributors rather than applying the same treatment to everyone.
Naturopaths believe in the claim that Hippocrates made 2400 years ago: All disease starts in the gut. So we take this approach in all cases to identify how the gut may be affecting other body systems. Now not all diseases actually start in the gut. And many other diseases can affect the gut first. But we hold the premise that the gut affects the entire body very seriously.
BLOCKERS – Assess parts of your health that may be blocking progression of healing
Gut health doesn’t exist in isolation. Thyroid function, metabolic health, chronic stress, medication and poor sleep and nutritional deficiencies can all influence digestive function.
These factors may affect stomach acid secretion, digestive motility, enzyme activity and other processes essential for healthy digestion. If they remain unaddressed, they may continue contributing to symptoms or limit the effectiveness of treatment.
Most often, improving the gut is not just about focusing on the gut.
NOURISH – Support the Foundations
The foundations of healthy digestion are often overlooked. When you’ve experienced digestive symptoms for years, something as simple as chewing properly may seem too basic to make a difference. While it may not be the complete answer, it can still be an important part of the picture.
Reflux is a good example of why we investigate these interconnected systems. Although reflux is commonly associated with excess stomach acid, insufficient stomach acid production may also be a contributing factor in some individuals.
In my clinical experience, almost every client with reflux who I’ve treated by supporting stomach acid production has reported a reduction in reflux events. This is why looking at individual contributing factors is so important. Not all reflux is due to too much acid. I explain the nuance of this in a blog post here.
Nutrient deficiencies can also influence digestive function. For example:
Magnesium supports muscle and nervous system functions, including processes involved in intestinal motility. It’s also vital for stomach acid production and liver & gallbladder function.
Zinc contributes to stomach acid production, digestive enzyme activity, intestinal wall protection as well as gut immune processes.
Vitamin D regulates the gut/immune processes and helps prevent microbial bacterial moving where it shouldn’t while strengthening the intestinal barrier.
B1 (Thiamine) aids nervous system and energy functions that allow the gut to function appropriately.
These are just a few examples of how nutritional status can influence digestive health. Nutrients, digestive secretions, nervous system signalling and gastrointestinal motility all work together. Focusing exclusively on the microbiome may overlook other important contributors to digestive dysfunction.
By improving the nutritional and behavioural foundations of digestion, we can begin to support healthier gut function, providing the digestive system with the essential components it needs to operate effectively.
RESTORE – Support Elimination & Protective Barriers
Ongoing digestive dysfunction can disrupt gastrointestinal motility, bowel regularity and intestinal barrier function. This stage focuses on supporting these processes that address normal elimination, detoxification and barrier function.
In this phase, we focus on restoring processes around digestion, including liver and biliary function, and the integrity of the intestinal lining.
By supporting normal elimination pathways and strengthening the gut’s protective barriers, we can then better address the microbiome as well as potential pathogens.
DEFEND – Address the microbiome directly
The microbiome can be an important factor in many digestive complaints. Many people try to address this phase first, without ensuring the gut environment is ready for change.
Addressing the previous stages may itself influence the ability for good bacteria to prosper and crowd out bad or pathogenic microbes. This may not be enough to fully restore an adequate microbiome, however, it can increase the efficacy of antimicrobials/antibiotics and targeted probiotic therapy.
Where appropriate, this is where we can focus more directly on microbial imbalances, overgrowths and other factors affecting the intestinal environment.
REGULATE – Support the inflammatory and immune processes of the gut
Some conditions require ongoing inflammatory and immune support. For example, in IBD, continually supporting the inflammatory and immune system can reduce relapse and intensity of events.