Gut Health

 Do You Suffer From Any Of These?

  • LEAKY GUT SYNDROME
  • FOOD INTOLERANCE
  • SIBO (SMALL INTESTINAL BACTERIAL OVERGROWTH)
  • AUTOIMMUNE DISORDERS
  • YEAST
  • FUNGAL & PARASITIC INFECTIONS
  • FOOD ALLERGIES
  • ACID REFLUX
  • DIARRHEA
  • BLOATING
  • CONSTIPATION
  • FIBROMYALGIA
  • IBS

Within your gut, there are trillions of beneficial bacteria. You have more than ten times more bacteria in your gut than all of your body’s cells. While it might sound scary to have this much bacteria, it is actually where 80 percent of your immune system is located! The feel-good hormone known as serotonin is also in your gut.

With that being said, your gut is an extremely important and complex system. It regulates our hormones, blood sugar, and has a big role in strengthening our immune system. Often called the “second brain”, your gut is the largest sensory organ, which communicates information to your brain.

Your gut is your gatekeeper, and the trick for a healthy brain starts with a healthy gut.

My education and personal experience have led me to pursue cutting-edge information on functional nutrition. I’ve studied the ins-and-outs of the human microbiome, which has given me the knowledge of diagnosing labs and offering preventative and lifestyle coaching.

I specialize in functional medicine and use it with all of my clients. I will assist with choosing a healthy lifestyle that works for YOU. This means the choices made will have lasting results.

The Seven Causes of Gut-Related Problems:

  1. Parasites, bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and candida/fungal overgrowth.
  2. Food Allergies/sensitivities
  3. Excess exposures to pesticides, chemicals, heavy metals, mold, genetic methylation issues, and toxins.
  4. Stress
  5. Nutrient Deficiencies (especially zinc, magnesium, vitamins A, B and D)
  6. Adrenal Fatigue
  7. Leaky gut

The 5 'R' Program

1. REMOVE

Remove the bad. The goal is to get rid of things that negatively affect the GI tract such as inflammatory foods, infections, and gastric irritants like alcohol, caffeine or drugs.  Inflammatory foods such as gluten, dairy, corn, soy, eggs and sugar can lead to food sensitivities.

I recommend food sensitivity testing to determine if any foods are a problem for you. Infections can be from parasites, yeast or bacteria. A comprehensive stool analysis is key to determining the levels of good bacteria as well as any infections that may be present.  Removing the infections may require treatment with herbs and anti-fungal medication/supplements.

2. REPLACE

Replace the good. Add back in the essentials for proper digestion and absorption that may have been depleted by poor diet, drugs (such as antacid medications), diseases or aging.  This includes digestive enzymes, HCL and bile acids that are required for proper digestion.

3. Reinoculate


Restoring beneficial bacteria to reestablish a healthy balance of good bacteria is critical.  This may be accomplished by taking a probiotic supplement and taking a prebiotic (food for the good bacteria) supplement or consuming foods high soluble fiber is important.

4. Repair

Providing the nutrients necessary to help the gut repair itself is essential. Powerful gut-repairing supplements are l-glutamine, berberine, glycine, quercetin, curcumin. Marshmallow root, Mega Mucosa and aloe.

These nourish and soothe your gut cells, restore your gut’s natural mucosal lining, and maximize gut-mending fatty acid production. Other key nutrients include zinc, omega 3 fish oils, vitamin A, C, E as well as herbs.

5. Rebalance

Consider the other lifestyle choices which contribute to health: Sleep, exercise, and stress can all affect the GI tract as well as additional strategies to help to boost immunity and help prevent future ill-health. Balancing those activities is important to an optimal digestive tract.

FUNCTIONAL LAB TESTING

Getting to the Root Cause of Your Health Issues, You should Test, Don’t guess.

The only way to really know what is going on inside your body is to order lab testing. I evaluate your lab tests from a functional/optimal range and look at the patterns of your lab results to customize a program specifically for you! 

Testing includes:

Genova Diagnostics: GI Effects Comprehensive Profile looks at bacterial balance, food digestion, GI inflammation, Parasitic infections, Yeast overgrowth and more.

KBMO - Food Sensitivity FIT TEST: IgG, IgM, IgA and IgE antibody testing

SpectraCell Micronutrient Test (MNT) - Nutrient Deficiency Testing

Intestinal Permeability Testing - Leaky Gut testing

ZRT Toxic Metal and Chemical Testing

ZRT Hormone and Cortisol, Neuro Transmitters, and Adrenal Stress Testing

Great Plains Labs Organic Acid Testing

Here is the list of the *functional labs that I currently provide in my practice:

This test provides a comprehensive assessment of both extracellular and intracellular levels of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, antioxidants, and fatty acids. It enables us to examine not only whether you are deficient in a particular nutrient, but also whether you’re actually absorbing the nutrient in your cells.

This test provides a comprehensive metabolic picture and includes markers for oxidative stress, detoxification, mitochondrial function, neurotransmitters, vitamins and antioxidants, fatty acid metabolism, amino acid metabolism, oxalates, yeast, and bacteria.

The primary test that I work with not only looks at markers for zonulin (i.e. “leaky gut”), intestinal inflammation, intestinal immunogobulin (IgA) levels and enzymes, it also looks at bacteria, yeast, and parasites. Food and nutritional supplement support are critical for supporting the gut and bringing it back into balance.

This test measures free cortisol, free cortisone, cortisol metabolites, cortisone metabolites and DHEAs. Customized adrenal support involves a combination of food, nutritional supplement support and self-care practices.

This test measures levels of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, DHEA-S and their respective metabolites and also includes 3 organic acid markers and 3 neurotransmitter markers. Food and nutritional supplements can be powerful tools for balancing hormones and altering the way you metabolize hormones.

I generally use food sensitivity panels with clients who are still experiencing symptoms after an elimination diet. For clients with certain inflammatory conditions, I may also recommend specific wheat and/or dairy sensitivity tests, or a gluten cross-reactivity test, depending on the client’s particular issues.

For clients with labs presenting with high levels of certain heavy metals and/or environmental toxicity, I am able to provide specific nutritional support recommendations to help support the detoxification process.

*Functional labs are not diagnostic and any nutritional support recommendations tailored to functional labs are designed to address biochemical imbalances and are not intended to prevent, diagnose, treat or cure any disease or condition.