My heart really goes out to you if you’re someone who has heartburn. That odd sensation is so vastly uncomfortable. I even knew someone who thought they were having a heart attack that turned out to be ordinary heartburn.
Last year, I suddenly started having heartburn and reflux in the evening. Every night, I take some Magnesium and vitamin B6 before bed, but I had added a new supplement called MotilPro to improve my gut motility.
I had to work the same clinical process I use with my clients on myself. It turned out the MotilPro was a huge trigger, and I also benefited from a very simple stomach acid support.
(This is a case-in-point argument for starting supplements one at a time! I talk more about how to do this properly in my earlier video Supplements to Help Digestion and IBS.)
The tragedy of heartburn is that it’s often quite simple to resolve.
Maybe you’ve been told to avoid fatty and fried foods, or to take acid-lowering medications. But even if you’ve tried all the low-hanging fruit, there are likely still pieces of the puzzle that haven’t been considered.
In fact, these curious puzzles that have you and your doctor scratching your heads are my favorite kind of challenges. As I always say, to solve these confusing digestive issues, we have to get down to business using the right APPROACH.
I want to help you figure out WHY you have heartburn, and therefore, what you can do to fix it.
It’s not applying a random list of techniques, but a systematic way of thinking about how your digestion works, and how we can support it.
So this week, I made you a short video with immediate relief tips for heartburn, so you can stop that discomfort straightaway.
But I take the conversation a step further to highlight how to think about changing the conditions that created the heartburn in the first place.
When you’re ready to work with a practitioner who takes your symptoms seriously, and takes the time to really understand the how and why behind your symptoms, go ahead and schedule a free, 30-minute Assessment Session with me, to see if we’re a good fit for working together. I’ll answer your immediate questions, point you in the right direction, and you’ll have the opportunity to continue working with me.
If you’re not quite ready for that, but would like to get started on your own, I’ve created an easy-to-use action guide called Roadmap to Gut Recovery. It’ll help you get started right away creating your own personalized plan for resolving your gut troubles. You can download your free copy here.
If you don’t have any idea what a dysbiosis protocol is, or haven’t been prescribed a course of treatment by your MD or ND, count yourself lucky…
But if you’re one of the many people who find themselves struggling with the sometimes-elaborate supplement protocols and their side effects, such as nausea, diarrhea, body pain, or fatigue, this week’s video is for you.
Last week, someone reached out to me because they weren’t sure what to do. They were feeling icky, tired, and nauseous from a protocol their ND recommended. But the ND didn’t give them any follow up instructions.
They weren’t sure how to adjust things, or if adjusting the assigned protocol was ok.
For a lot of people, these cocktails of antimicrobial herbs cause side effects just like medications, and in fact, this is more the norm.
Though the herbs and supporting supplements are important tools for restoring your gut health from unwelcome bugs, they need to be used properly so they don’t overwhelm your body.
Many people’s bodies aren’t quite prepared for these protocols, and they often need to be adjusted to account for this reality.
In this week’s video, I talk about:
The essential steps you should complete before beginning a dysbiosis protocol, no matter who has recommended it.
How to use the herbs and other supplements properly.
What to do if you run into side effects or a herxeimer reaction
You can watch it here:
When you’re ready to work with a practitioner who takes this methodical process seriously, and takes the time to really understand the how and why behind your symptoms, go ahead and schedule a free, 30-minute Assessment Session with me, to see if we’re a good fit for working together. I’ll answer your immediate questions, point you in the right direction, and you’ll have the opportunity to continue working with me.
If you’re not quite ready for that, but would like to get started on your own, I’ve created an easy-to-use action guide called Roadmap to Gut Recovery. It’ll help you get started right away creating your own personalized plan for resolving your gut troubles. You can download your free copy here.
Two weeks ago, I shared my top tips for dealing with constipation, so I only thought it fair to share my tips for when things are going the other way, in case you are one of the unfortunate folks facing regular…diarrhea.
The big “D” isn’t only uncomfortable, it can be a really big inconvenience, and can impact your ability to do your life normally.
It’s doubly so for someone like me who drives a lot of northern California backroads, where bathrooms are few and far between! I’ve had to get creative on more than one occasion!
While resolving persistent and chronic diarrhea requires a big picture approach, and can take some time to really investigate, there ARE some things you can do to both relieve your discomfort, and reduce the severity of your symptoms in the short term.
So this week, I share my top 5 Diarrhea Relief Care Tips for you over on YouTube. You can watch it here.
When you’re ready to work with a practitioner who takes the time to really understand the how and why behind your symptoms, go ahead and schedule a free, 30-minute Assessment Session with me, to see if we’re a good fit for working together. I’ll answer your immediate questions, point you in the right direction, and you’ll have the opportunity to continue working with me.
If you’re not quite ready for that, but would like to get started on your own, I’ve created an easy-to-use action guide called Roadmap to Gut Recovery. It’ll help you get started right away creating your own personalized plan for resolving your gut troubles. You can download your free copy here.
What should you do to start fixing your digestion?
The answer is…nothing specific.
Wait, what?
Nope. At least, not until I know more about you.
The answer to the question “What should I do to start fixing my digestion?” is “IT DEPENDS”. Unless I understand the whole context of your situation, I don’t really know what is the right thing for you.
And this is really the heart and soul of Functional Nutrition (and Medicine). It’s about customized recommendations and personalized medicine.
You are entirely unique, and your path to resolving your digestion or allergies is one-of-a-kind.
So, how DO you begin fixing and restoring your digestion, if there’s no set protocol? You work within an systematic approach rather than a rote protocol. A SYMPTOM does NOT EQUATE to a SPECIFIC SOLUTION!
Case In Point #1:
A client came to me complaining about “gas pains”. After a thorough assessment, including a case history, food-symptom diary, and some functional lab testing, it became clear that the attacks were triggered by high fat foods, and were related to their gall bladder.
AlkaSelzer may have been able to resolve these symptoms temporarily, but this client needed to support their gall bladder and digestive function, while reducing triggering foods.
Case In Point #2:
A client came to me with signs of difficulty detoxing, as evidenced by skin rash, sensitivity to smells, and urinary urgency. After a thorough assessment, including a case history, food-symptom diary, and functional lab testing, it emerged that they were reacting to mold in their home.
A dermatologist wasn’t able to resolve the rash because it was being triggered by the client’s home environment. This client needed to resolve that hidden stressor, and support their body’s detox function with specific nutrients in order to heal.
Why Fixing Your Digestion Requires the RIGHT Approach
You might get lucky with a standardized protocol. Some people do. But many don’t, and they are left wondering what’s wrong with themselves (nothing!), and they often keep trying random approaches without getting anywhere.
I spent several years trying to repair my health this way, trying all the therapeutic diets out there, leaky gut and supplement protocols, and failing to get anywhere. In fact, I made my symptoms a lot worse. Whoops!
In today’s video, I share how to stop this vicious cycle, and how to start choosing the solutions that are right for YOU. And it all begins with a thorough assessment of where you’re at. Not a knee-jerk diet. Not an herb you read about online.
When you can begin viewing your health through this lens, you will be able to separate the hype from the real possible solutions.
Let’s get you on the path to true healing:
When you’re ready to work with a practitioner who takes this methodical process seriously, and takes the time to really understand the how and why behind your symptoms, go ahead and schedule a free, 30-minute Assessment Session with me, to see if we’re a good fit for working together. I’ll answer your immediate questions, point you in the right direction, and you’ll have the opportunity to continue working with me.
If you’re not quite ready for that, but would like to get started on your own, I’ve created an easy-to-use action guide called Roadmap to Gut Recovery. It’ll help you get started right away creating your own personalized plan for resolving your gut troubles. You can download your free copy here.
Today, I want to share a little more in depth about the single most important tool you can use on your digestive health journey.
You’ve maybe already tried a lot of tools to help you on your digestive or allergy journey.
You might think I’m going to tell you that supplements are the go-to tool. Or lab tests. Or elimination diets.
But the single most valuable tool to help you get a handle on your symptoms—and to help you understand what is going on in your body—is a Food-Symptom Diary.
A Food-Symptom Diary is the single most important tool on your gut-healing journey.
It’s not sexy. It’s not snazzy. Especially because when you use it, I ask you to take a look at your poop!
But truly, if you can learn how to properly use a food diary, you’ll find some answers. It helps you learn:
what foods your body is reacting to.
where seemingly disconnected symptoms are actually coming from.
what you can do in your daily life to reduce symptoms and feel better.
I use a food diary with every single client that walks through my door.
OK, but how do you use it?
I made a video for you this week, explaining what to do with it. You really don’t want to miss it.
If you’ve been frustrated with trying to figure out how food is triggering your symptoms and you’re looking for some help, I invite you to schedule a free 30-minute Assessment Session with me. In this focused session, we’ll discuss where you’re at, and what I think would be your next best steps. If I can’t help you, I’ll be sure to give you a referral to someone who can.
Have you ever felt bad about your digestion problem progress after reading heroic stories of health recovery on your Facebook feed? Or felt like there’s something wrong with you because you aren’t better yet?
I most certainly have faced this, and it feels double-strong for me, because I’m a coach who is supposed to have figured this all out.
But the truth is this: I still have digestive problems, and I still need digestion remedies!
The other truth: for some of you, there is no complete “cure”.
But this doesn’t mean that you are S.O.L. (that’s “sh*t out of luck”!)
Au contraire.
The solution instead is learning how to take care of yourself in a way that fits in your life.
If you’re like most of my clients, you’ve already been on this journey to restore your health for quite some time. But where I see a lot of people getting stuck is in the try-everything-and-see-what-sticks phase.
You deserve a more strategic approach that helps you build an arsenal of tools that you know work specifically with your unique physiology AND works with your life.
There’s a bit of a myth in the wellness space that says that you have to do a lot of complicated dietary and lifestyle gymnastics to see real results. And while some people are able to do this, others really struggle with it. Sometimes, life is just too full for a complete overhaul.
So I think you might find my video this week refreshing…in it, I share my current digestion remedies, which I continue to use daily. Hint: It’s not hugely complicated. Give it a watch, and let me know if you learning anything surprising.
