by Amanda Malachesky | Feb 4, 2019 | Digestion, Food Intolerance, Functional Medicine and Coaching, Functional Nutrition, Testing
If you’ve been diagnosed with IBS, or another digestive illness, you may have been told there’s not much you can do, other than change your diet. And while diet changes are foundational for success with your IBS, there is a lot of useful information to be gained by gut microbiome testing using functional labs.
As many as 80% of IBS sufferers may in fact have SIBO, or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth as a primary cause of their symptoms. And other types of gut dysbiosis has been shown to be associated with IBS as well.
To create a meaningful strategy for healing from IBS and other digestive challenges, it’s important to do gut microbiome testing because choosing the right strategy requires knowing which types of organisms are overgrown.
Read on for a gut microbiome testing overview, and to learn which specific labs I use with my clients.
What is Gut Microbiome Testing?
With the recent evolution of DNA-PCR technology, it’s become easier and more affordable than ever to do DNA gut microbiome testing. Several labs have developed technology to identify the presence or absence of particular microorganisms in a sample of stool.
We all have a prolific community of miocroorganisms in and on our bodies, including bacteria, yeasts, parasites, and viruses. Some writers and researchers have said that our communities of microorganisms outnumber our individual cells! These communities are an integral part of maintaining our digestive function.
Gut microbiome testing uses DNA analysis to find out whether there are known pathogenic, or infectious, microorganisms in our digestive system. Some gut bugs are normal residents, but can cause problems if there are too many of them, while others are non-normal residents and can cause symptoms and illness.
Before DNA testing was available, most gut microbiome testing was done by culturing a stool sample for bacteria and yeast, and physically looking for evidence of parasites, such as eggs or parasite bodies, with a microscope. The huge advantage of using DNA testing is that it can detect much smaller quantities of organisms than can be visually seen. Labs claim that they can detect down to 3-5 cells worth of an organism by identifying its DNA fingerprint.
Gut Microbiome Testing for IBS and Other Digestive Problems
Because an irregular microbiome is a hallmark of chronic digestive problems, using gut microbiome testing can provide you with important direction when planning your individualized plan for healing.
The symptoms of IBS, IBD, Crohn’s Disease, SIBO, Celiac disease, and other digestive related disorders are similar, but the approach to helping you reach remission will be unique and individual to you. Likewise, symptoms of infection with parasites, bacteria, or yeasts are similar, but the best approach for each situation is different.
It’s always best to test, not guess to move forward with the most accurate and specific information possible, so you can create the most personalized plan.
Gut Microbiome Test #1: Diagnostic Solutions Laboratory GI-MAP
The GI-MAP is a stool test. Using the scoop in a little test vial with preservative solution in it, you collect stool at home, and ship it back to the lab for testing.
The GI-MAP test is my go-to gut microbiome test for these reasons:
- Thorough testing for the best normal and worst pathogenic players, including H. pylori, C. difficile, Giardia, Enterotoxigenic E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bifidobacteria spp., Lactobacillus spp., Blastocystis hominis, Dientameoba fragilis, Candida albicans, and parasitic worms.
Includes markers for gut health, including Secretory IgA, Anti-gliadin IgA, elastase, calprotectin, and more.
- Its cost is reasonable compared to other similar tests.
- It is fairly often covered by insurance.
- It’s easy to collect your sample, doesn’t require complicated preparation like some other stool tests, and the sample doesn’t need to be mailed immediately.
Understanding particularly which types of organisms are likely contributing to your problem is essential to creating your healing strategy. For example, if parasites are present, it’s important to address them first, before working on bacteria or yeast. Or, if yeast overgrowth is the only thing that shows up, then the appropriate strategy would be different.
Gut Microbiome Test #2: SIBO 3-Hour Lactulose Breath Test by BioHealth Labs
It’s estimated that a high number of IBS patients actually have SIBO (Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth), which is an overgrowth of normal bacteria that has migrated from the large intestine to the small intestine.
To take the Biohealth Labs SIBO test, you prepare a day ahead of time with a special diet, and then drink a lactulose solution. You then collect breath samples into glass tubes every 20 minutes (materials are all included in the test kit) for 3 hours. You mail these back to the lab for analysis.
If you have a bacterial overgrowth in your small intestine, levels of hydrogen and methane gas will spike during the 3-hour period.
SIBO is notoriously difficult to resolve, but knowing which type you have is critical for reaching resolution, because the healing approach for each type is different.
Gut Microbiome Test #3: Intestinal Permeability (IP) Testing by Genova Labs
The Intestinal Permeability test by Genova Diagnostics is not a specific gut microbiome test, but it can show you how leaky your gut is. When your gut is permeable, proteins that shouldn’t be able to cross into the bloodstream are able to do so. This is an acknowledged autoimmune trigger, and also can leave your gut vulnerable to infection with pathogens.
This test doesn’t have a whole lot of clinical value, because we can assume a leaky gut if certain symptoms, such as multiple food sensitivities are present, but some people want to know for certain if their gut is leaky or not. This test answers that question.
Gut Microbiome Test #4: Mediator Release Test Food Sensitivity Testing by Oxford Biomedical OR IgG Food Sensitivity Testing by US Biotek or Genova Labs
Again, food sensitivity testing is not specifically Gut Microbiome testing, but food sensitivities are often a side effect of underlying infections or gut dysbiosis. I generally recommend my clients first use Food-Symptom Diary tracking to get clear on their own particular and unique triggers. (You can download your copy of my Food-Symptom Diary with instructions on how to use it here.) But sometimes, the situation is really confusing, or people are unable or unwilling to complete the full elimination diet process.
I recommend the Mediator Release Test (MRT) from Oxford Biomedical Food or IgG Food Sensitivity Testing by Genova Labs or US Biotek. Food sensitivity testing can help shorten the food sensitivity discovery process, and provide a useful place to start the diet modification while working on healing the gut microbiome.
How to Get Gut Microbiome Testing for IBS or Other Gut Challenges
While there are some gut microbiome testing services that are available to the public, the tests I have mentioned here require working with a practitioner who has an account. Though more and more traditional doctors are becoming aware of the value of gut microbiome testing for their patients, many are still not using it. Functional medicine doctors and practitioners are generally using these tests and principles in practice, as well as many nutrition practitioners as well.
Check out the following referral links to find a practitioner near you, or one who works online or long distance:
Now that you know how important gut microbiome testing can be to finding your pathway to healing your gut or allergy symptoms, go get tested! I can provide access to all these tests I mention, in addition to others, as they may fit with your situation.
Not sure whether testing is right for you, or whether something else might be better first? I invite you to schedule a 30-minute Assessment Session with me to find whether testing is the next best step for you. I hope to meet you there.
by Amanda Malachesky | Dec 7, 2018 | Digestion, Food Intolerance, Functional Nutrition, Symptoms
Having an IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) flare is no fun.
To illustrate, imagine this scenario:
I live a 90-minute drive over remote mountain roads from the nearest city, and I make the trip once a week, to resupply my groceries and other necessities. It’s an all-day affair. I leave after I drop my kids off at school, and I return around 5:30 pm. It’s challenging on the best of days, but even more so on one of the days when I used to have an IBS flare.
One January day, I found myself pulled over on the side of the road in the pouring rain, frantically digging a hole, trying to keep out of sight, while my belly cramped. I knew I was in for a crappy day when that happened (pun intended!).
Later that day, I had trouble finding a decent public restroom. Belly rebelling, I managed to make it into a not-so-clean bathroom in a local grocery store.
On this day, I felt not only crampy in my belly, but exhausted, stressed, and fed up with this process! Unfairly, my IBS flare days often seemed to happen on my town days. I was pretty motivated to figure out not only how I could prevent these flare days, but also how to stop them from ever happening! Because, you know, life happens, and I had things I wanted to get done!
So to help you have less frequent and less severe IBS flares, I want to share how IBS patients and practitioners work through an IBS flare, and some bigger picture strategies for unraveling their root causes.
What is an IBS flare?
IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome is a broad, non-specific digestive disorder. IBS typically waxes and wanes, much to the chagrin of sufferers. Sometimes it’s quiet, and not causing much trouble. But other times, it decides to rear its ugly head. In general, IBS symptoms may include:
- Bloating
- Gas
- Constipation OR Diarrhea
- Alternating Bouts of Constipation and Diarrhea
- Urgent need to use the bathroom, or stool is difficult to pass
- Clear, white mucous in the stool
The specifics can look different for each of us, but an IBS flare is an increase in the frequency or intensity of the symptoms. For me, this looked like frequent stool (up to 5-6 times in a day, though it might be even more for you), cramping, pain or soreness, along with fatigue, dehydration, and general malaise. As a practitioner, I have found that a food allergy flare looks quite similar, which suggests to me that IBS symptoms are likely to be connected with food sensitivities or allergies (more on that in a minute).
What Causes IBS?
If you’ve been given a diagnosis of IBS, it’s likely you have these symptoms. But this doesn’t mean that you or your doctor know what’s causing them. The IBS diagnosis is usually given when other digestive pathology, like Crohn’s, Colitis, or other diseases are ruled out.
But from a Functional Medicine or Nutrition perspective, there are a lot of possible causes, and you owe it to yourself to try to uncover them.
One of the main causes of IBS that is well within your control is food allergies or sensitivities. Many of you with IBS are already aware that certain foods flare your symptoms and you avoid them like the plague. But clearly identifying all of those trigger foods can be a game changer. (To read more about how to figure out your particular food triggers, check out Food Intolerance Primer: What I Wish I Had Known here.) Another commonly overlooked cause of IBS is Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, or SIBO. Some studies suggest that as many as 85% of IBS cases are actually caused by SIBO. In SIBO, bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine can cause malabsorption issues, diarrhea OR constipation, bloating, gas, and many other symptoms. (Sounds like IBS, right?) In addition to SIBO, other potential root causes of IBS are underlying, previously hidden infections, including parasites, fungus, bacteria in the large intestine, or things like Lyme disease. Other potential players or contributors include mold, stress, environmental toxins, or poor water quality in your home.
How to Repair IBS and Restore Normal Gut Function
As tempting as it is to want a quick, easy fix for a problem like IBS, restoring normal gut function is more of a long-game. But even in the worst cases, there is hope for a more normal life. The first step to repairing your gut function isn’t to dive into every possible solution you can think of. Instead, you want to zoom out, and really understand what you’re seeing in context. Gathering information about your story, family history, the triggering events that may have started your problem, your collection of test results, understanding when, where, and how often your symptoms occur, and your current diet and stool habits can really help in creating the right solution. Once you have this information, you can begin to adjust your current diet and habits that are likely to lead to a change in your symptoms. This can often mean adding digestive supports like stomach acid, enzymes, or probiotics, removing foods that may be aggravating your gut lining, adding in nutrients that appear to be deficient, or even focusing on stress management. After you have adjusted these parts of your life, if you still have symptoms, now is the time to consider testing for deeper dysfunction, like infections or SIBO. (If you’d like to see all this mapped out, with some suggested action steps you can take on your own, I invite you to download your free copy of Roadmap to Recovery. I go into a bit more detail about what this looks like in real life, and provide you with some things you can do right now to get started.)
What to Do When You Have An IBS Flare
Even when you are diligent, and work really hard to avoid an IBS flare, they sometimes happen anyway (Damn it!). So what then? In a lot of ways, living with IBS or other bowel disorders is about learning how to minimize your flares. You may never be able to completely eliminate your symptoms, but you CAN certainly minimize them and live well in spite of them. I do want to make sure to say that not ALL of these tips is likely to help you. Choose two or three to test next time you have a flare, and see how you respond. If your body doesn’t like what you’ve chosen, now you know to move on to something else. You can keep a running list that details what works for your body and what doesn’t. This list is GOLD, because you now have a personalized tip sheet to turn to when symptoms get out of hand. If you have already created a Functional Nutrition Matrix, you can note these details in the “Mediators” section. These are important clues that help detail what your body is doing and why. This is at the heart of the Functional method of practice. I asked around my community of chronic illness bloggers and Functional Nutrition professionals to find out what they do themselves, or what they recommend to their clients when they experience an IBS flare.
Here is the list of tips they shared to quickly work through an IBS flare:
#1: Simplify Your Diet and go back to your known safe foods:
I find my flares often happen when I decided to get a little more adventurous on purpose. The first thing I do in response is to try to identify what the food trigger may have been, and return to foods I absolutely know to be safe. And I add a “note to self” to continue avoiding that trigger food while I work on my gut repair.
Here are some other SIMPLIFY tips from IBS patients and practitioners:
Shauna Gourley, Certified Bulletproof Coach and FDN: “Fasting works fast!”
Jessica Donces, FDN, Owner Optimize to Thrive: “I suggest basic, easy-to-digest animal proteins. They are broken down and digested earlier on compared to veggies, therefore “easier” on the gut in terms of symptoms one may be experiencing with IBS. Also, elemental diets can be a great tool, there are several different types.”
Amber Blackburn, IBS patient: “My biggest tip when I have a bad flare up is I start eating basically only from the BRAT (Bananas, Rice, Apples and Toast) diet. And I do that for a few days at least until my gut feels better.”
Marya Mesa, IBD patient, blogger at Chronic Mom Life: “I had IBS for years and now IBD – ulcerative colitis. When I flare I keep it very simple… stock, yogurt, smoothies, eggs, bananas, avocados.”
Candace Mantle, IBS patient: “I’ve also got Crohn’s disease. When I flare I just eat chicken, white rice and mashed potatoes. This allows my digestive system to rest.”
Collin Wong, IBD patient, blogger at Collin’s IBD Chronicles: “When I have a flare with IBD, I just avoid fried foods and spicy foods and keep it to steamed foods, and soluble fibers.”
Nicole NIckley, FDN Practitioner with The Health Mission: “Fasting with bone broth, chamomile tea, homeopathy (Ignatia Amara, or Nux Vomica remedies), and digestive essential oils blends, topically.”
Natalie Gardner, IBD patient and blogger at The Spoonie Mummy: “I have IBD (Crohns) and an Ileostomy. One of the first things I turn to when I feel like I’m starting to flare is the Low Residue diet (also known as a low fiber diet).
#2: Add binders
Binders, such as activated charcoal, bentonite clay, or citrus pectin, can bind up toxins or inflammation in your gut.
Nicole Nickley, FDN Practitioner at The Health Mission: “I had a flare up from my Thanksgiving feast and took GI Detox (you can get it here) and that took care of symptoms.”
I do want to add the caveat about binders: If you already trend toward constipation, you may want to skip these, or try them carefully and assess your reaction. Binders may cause or increase constipation. Here are a few specific products to explore (you can access most of these inside my online supplement dispensary at FullScript):
In addition to these shared tips, here are a few more than I have used myself for my flares, and might suggest for you if you are experiencing a flare.
#3: Plain water enemas, or coffee enemas, 1-2 x per day
I’ve found this practice greatly reduces the length of my IBS flares, especially since I generally trend toward constipation. Plus it allows my body to detox a little bit more thoroughly. I only recommend this frequency of enemas for a short period of time, maybe 1-2 days. To do enemas more frequently may lead to nutritional deficiencies and dehydration.
Here are instructions on how to perform an enema. Here is the enema kit I prefer.
#4: Return to your tried and true stress-reduction techniques
Stress has a huge impact on the digestive system. Any kind of stress can slow down (or speed up!) your digestion and appetite. If stress is part of your symptom flare, be sure to think about stress-relief techniques as part of your solution. For me, this includes:
You can also use any other stress relief methods you have found work.
This might include yoga, or walks outdoors, dancing, a hobby you enjoy, singing, time with people you love. Whatever feeds you and helps you feel happy is stress relief!
Rachel Romaine, FDN Practitioner with Present Day Wellness, recommends belly massage and a hot water bottle to relieve belly stress and pain. If you’re not too sore, massage in slow, small circles, moving always in a clockwise direction.
If I missed any stress relief techniques you like, please add yours in the comment.
#5: Include soothing, demulcent, or carminative supplements or essential oils:
This is a very bioindividual recommendation, because while some of these may help soothe your gut, some could irritate your gut. But many people find relief using herbs or botanicals orally, such as:
- deglycyrrhized licorice (DGL)
- aloe vera
- marshmallow
- cold soak slippery elm tea
- mastic gum to soothe the lining of the gut.
Rachel Romaine, FDN Practitioner with Present Day Wellness also suggests carminative herbs, which are herbs to support digestion. She includes fennel, ginger, peppermint, sage, and chamomile.
You can listen to her describe how to she uses these herbs for digestive support here.
Kara Louise, Certified Integrative Health Coach, Holistic Health Practitioner, and Functional Medicine Practitioner, and owner of Life Hub Center says:
“There are several essential oils that can help keep the digestive system in a state of relative calm. These are my favorites:
DiGize (Young Living brand) is an essential oil blend that includes Fennel, Tarragon, Ginger, Peppermint, Juniper, Lemongrass, Anise, and Patchouli. DiGize can be used internally (either via a couple drops in a capsule), rubbed on the lower belly, or via under the tongue. DiGize also helps relieve digestive problems like indigestion, heartburn, gas, and bloating to name a few. It is also known to help fight off candida and intestinal parasites making it an all-in-one essential oil blend that’s a must-have for every at-home medicine cabinet.
Marjoram, Basil and Peppermint are three single essential oils that when added to Epsom salt baths (3 drops each to a cup or more of Epsom salts) help relieve the cramping that is associated with irritable bowel. (Peppermint happens to be a great oil to keep with you at all time to help relieve stomach upset and nausea. It’s also great on the roof of your mouth to relieve headaches.)
Oregano is a “hot” oil that has strong anti-bacterial qualities. Many individuals have found it to be beneficial as part of their anti-candida therapy and to balance their microbiome. It’s best to work with a health coach trained in essential oil usage when it comes to using oregano.
Essential oils are powerful, strong and therapeutic. My two tips when it comes to essential oil usage are: (1) find the right company who can track your oil from Seed to Seal to be the best quality; (2) work with someone who is trained on aromatic medicine and can help you with an individualized approach to using essential oils as part of your healing journey.”
You can reach out to Kara at Life Hub Center here.
#6: Back off on probiotics temporarily
For some people, especially if SIBO is an issue, probiotics may aggravate symptoms. Back off on probiotics for a few days while you restore balance and calm inflammation.
#7: Increase antioxidants
Vitamins A, C, & E, CoQ10, or glutathione will help repair the inflammatory damage in your guts, whatever the cause. Give your cells the nutrients they need to do repair work! One simple way you can do this is by eating a rainbow of foods, if you can tolerate them, or by using herbal teas, which contain plant phenols which are natural antioxidants. While a nutrient-dense diet is always the preferred way to get these nutrients into your body, you can also include nutritional supplements to meet your needs.
#8 : Hydration
The body needs adequate hydration to do all it’s tasks. If you’ve had diarrhea as part of your flare, you may also be dehydrated. Be sure to drink plenty of fresh, clean water.
#9: L-glutamine
L-glutamine is an amino acid that your gut cells use to do repair work. Taking L-glutamine (1-5 or more grams per day) may help repair your gut lining during a flare. L-glutamine is generally well tolerated, but it’s always a good policy to start at a low dose and slowly increase to your tolerance to avoid any negative reactions.
Conclusion
You don’t have to simply wait out your IBS flare. With some attention and care, you can reduce the length and severity of a flare by trying out some of the methods shown here. If your IBS flares and attacks are an ongoing, regular occurrence, it may be time to get serious about investigating your root causes. When a client comes to me with symptoms resembling IBS, I always do a full case history, to try and identify when and why the symptoms first started. I help them do some dietary clean up and support their digestion first. If we’re not able to resolve symptoms that way, I suggest running a stool or breath test, to find out whether infections are involved. I’ve used this approach with myself as well as my clients. I’ve done so well with my IBS approach that I can’t remember the last time I had an IBS flare, let alone on my town trip day. What a relief! And though I do occasionally have a flare, they are no longer anywhere near as bad as they once were, and I’m able to resolve them quickly with a minimum of disruption of my life. My kids and my family need me, and I’d rather spend my time with them than be on my toilet. Wouldn’t you?
Let’s get you free from symptom flares, and back to comfortable belly function! When you’re ready to dig into your underlying reasons for your IBS flares, and are ready to see the length of time between your flares increase, grab your free copy of Roadmap to Recovery, and get started right away with some easy, accessible tasks.
by Amanda Malachesky | Oct 12, 2018 | Digestion, Food Intolerance, Functional Nutrition, Symptoms
Digestion. It’s that kind of icky thing that is supposed to go on without notice. We don’t really want to think about it, but it comes back to talk to us when it’s not working right.
Nausea. Bloating. Heartburn. Gas. Reflux. Diarrhea. Constipation. Even vomiting. Who wants to think about that?
But nearly three quarters of you normally have at least one of these digestion problems regularly. And if you’re trying to heal from a more complex health challenge, it’s highly likely digestive troubles are part of your picture. Not only are they uncomfortable, but they are an important signal that something in your body needs attention.
Because digestion is so important for health, I want to make sure that you have the information you need to create your good digestion foundation.
What are Digestion Problems?
Though they range from mild to severe, digestion problems can be symptoms, like heartburn, reflux, indigestion, nausea, bloating, or diarrhea. But digestion problems can also be a diagnosis, like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), Colitis, Crohn’s disease, and Celiac Disease. They can also be functional problems, like when your motility is too slow (constipation) or too fast (diarrhea). And don’t forget things like food sensitivities that can cause some or all of these symptoms.
All of these are signs or symptoms that signal that your gut isn’t working properly and needs to be supported. And no matter what health challenge you are facing, whether it is digestive in nature or not, we need to get your digestion working efficiently so your body can access the raw materials it needs for healing and maintenance.
Why Good Digestion is Key to Health
Of course, your body needs lots of high quality nutrients to perform its duties. You know, all those seen and unseen things it does every single day to keep you breathing, moving, and living.
If you think about the mechanics and chemistry of it, you chew your food up. Then little broken down molecules, like sugars, fats, and proteins or amino acids are absorbed into your bloodstream for use in your cells, tissues, organs, and systems.
Without this working right, you essentially starve to death, or at least work at a deficit.
If your carbohydrate digestion isn’t working well, your muscles may not have enough ATP to produce energy, and you feel fatigued.
If your fat digestion isn’t working well, you may not have the raw materials your body needs to create hormones or nerve cells, and you may feel moody, or experience pain, or memory loss.
If you can’t digest your proteins properly, your brain may not have the raw materials it needs to make your neurotransmitters, and you may feel depressed, or anxious, or irritable.
If you are low in particular vitamins or minerals, like B vitamins, for example, your liver may not be able to detoxify your waste as well as it should.
In this way, poor digestion can lead to just about any sign or symptom you can think of, though it might be difficult to track it back directly. And this is why, to give your body a fighting chance to maintain itself in full health, we want to make sure that your digestion is working at the top of its game.
A well-functioning digestive system also protects your body from outside invaders or pathogens that come in with your food, no matter how clean it is. If this function breaks down, for any number of reasons, you become susceptible to infections that can create more complex symptoms.
Beyond the fact that poor digestion can compromise your body’s ability to do it’s important work, there is an increasing amount of research that hypothesizes that one of the major sources of autoimmune disease is a permeable gut membrane.
So you can see how very important it is for us to evaluate and support our digestive systems at the highest level of health we can.
How to Assess Your Digestion
To assess your digestion, you want to look at the whole system from top to bottom.
Because digestion starts in your mouth, take a minute to consider how well you chew your food. Do you wolf your food down, or do you give yourself time to mix your food with your saliva?
Next down the line is the stomach. Your stomach produces a super important piece of the digestion puzzle: stomach acid. Without enough stomach acid, you can’t fully break down your protein, you are more vulnerable to infections because it’s supposed to kill them, and you are also susceptible to B12 and iron deficiency.
And though people often mistakenly believe the opposite, reflux and heartburn are actually a sign of not having enough stomach acid. This is because the acid helps maintain the sphincter that keeps stomach acid out of the esophagus.
Your stomach acid is ALSO responsible for causing you to release bile and pancreatic enzymes, for fat, protein, and carbohydrate digestion. It also helps move things along in your intestines.
So, to assess your stomach acid, consider: do you experience heartburn or reflux? How about poor fat digestion? Or constipation? A heavy feeling in your stomach long after you ate? Do you have a lot of food sensitivities? Mental health complaints?
If so, you may not have enough stomach acid to help move your digestion process along, release your needed co-factors for digestion, or the acid necessary to fully break down your proteins into amino acids and peptides.
Next in line is the small and large intestine. For many of you out there, the small intestine is not your friend when you eat the wrong foods. You experience such intense bloating that you may look 6 months pregnant. Or you experience brain fog with the wrong foods. Or maybe gas that smells so bad you’re afraid to go out in public.
The small intestine should have relatively low levels of bacteria, while the large intestine is designed to be teeming with beneficial bacteria. If you have trouble with diarrhea, constipation, bloating, brain fog, it may be a sign that your microbiome is out of balance. Stool testing or Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) breath testing may help you determine if dysbiosis is part of your digestive challenge.
Finally, at the far end of digestion is your poop, which is an awesome assessment tool. Your stool should be a number 3 or 4 on the Bristol Stool chart, slightly “S” shaped, soft, and well formed. And it should sink.
If this isn’t true for you or your poop, it can tell you that you may need to evaluate your digestive health and track down what is irritating it. Too mushy, and you likely have inflammation in your gut, possibly from food or medication sensitivities or infections. Too hard and dry, you may also be dealing with food sensitivities, infections, too little water, or poor motility.
One of the biggest controls you have over your digestion is understanding how the foods you eat are affecting you. Becoming a skilled food-symptom tracker can help you determine where you can improve your symptoms simply by making some dietary changes. Learning about the right therapeutic diet template as a starting place can help. In many cases, this is all you need to do to feel much better. And even if you have deeper layers to investigate, this buys you some symptom relief while you work on figuring out the underlying issues.
How to Support Your Digestion Foundation
Step 2 in my Roadmap to Recovery (you can grab your free copy here) is to Lay A Solid Health Foundation. As I hope you can gather by now, this is nowhere more important than with your digestive health.
Here are a few of the digestive foundation supports I recommend for most of my clients as they walk their road to recovery. Not all of these will be right for you. As with everything in Functional Nutrition, you will want to evaluate how right they are FOR YOU. If your body gives you negative feedback, listen to that closely, and see what else you can learn from it.
#1 Stomach acid: A little apple cider vinegar, lemon juice, or Betaine Hydrochloride supplement before meals can support your stomach acid, and make sure your proteins are fully breaking down, your secretions are flowing well, you are absorbing your B12 and iron, and your sphincters remain closed. Avoid this support if you have ulcers, or are currently infected with H. pylori, a bacterium.
#2 Enzymes/phytonutrients: If stomach acid has been low fore some time, you may need additional enzyme support for digestion. One way to get more natural enzymes is from colorful plant foods. Another option is chewable tablets or capsules. If you don’t have a gallbladder, taking ox bile as a supplement may be important to help your body properly digest the fats it needs for hormonal and brain health.
#3 Probiotics: An essential part of your healthy digestive tract is a vibrant, healthy community of beneficial bacteria. Adding a probiotic supplement can be a helpful addition for most gut problems. However, some people have a difficult time with some or all types of probiotics. If this is you, listen to your body, and maybe look into gut testing to see why. It’s often related to bacterial overgrowth or infections. If standard collections of Acidophilus and Bifido bacteria seem to cause trouble, you may do better on a soil-based, or a spore-based formula. (Email me about how to access MegaSpore Biotic probiotic supplement). Experiment to see what works.
#4 Essential Fatty Acids: Certain essential fatty acids are necessary for gut repair and maintenance. Some of these EFAs are made by beneficial bacteria in your gut (hence the benefit of using probiotics). Adding fish oil supplement and cod liver oil can help provide these needed nutrients.
#5 Vagus Nerve Support: Certain behaviors encourage the vagus nerve, the largest connection between the brain and your involutary organs. Things like gargling, singing loudly, bouncing on a trampoline, deep breathing, meditation, laughing, or yoga help promote digestive motility, and can be especially helpful for constipation or gastropareisis.
#6 Habits That Encourage Good Motility: Stopping eating by 6 or 7 pm, and avoiding food until your breakfast in the morning, as well as waiting beyond 12 hours between dinner and breakfast, can help restore your digestion by giving the system a break. This also goes for snacking between meals, if you don’t already struggle with low blood sugar issues.
#7 Chewing: Fully chewing your food, until you can taste the sweetness of it, not only helps promote the proper “rest and digest” nervous system state, it also mixes your food really well with digestive enzymes and secretions that help it absorb better.
#8 Bitters: Digestive bitters promote secretion of saliva, bile, and pancreatic enzymes, which all support good digestion, breakdown, and absorption of the foods you eat.
#9 Avoid Food Sensitivities: Foods that you know cause trouble for your digestion should be avoided. This can be a blind spot for many people, because many of you are sensitive to common foods, like gluten and dairy, but because you never take a full break from eating them, you can’t tell. Avoid your known sensitivities. If you’re not sure, but suspect you may be sensitive to foods, you can do an elimination diet to explore this possibility.
Conclusion:
Because poor digestion is linked to so many health problems, including autoimmune diseases, and because digestion is the fundamental center of health, you owe it to yourself to create a solid digestion foundation as a major part of your road to recovery.
And contrary to popular belief, there is no one solution for everyone, but only specific and targeted solutions for YOU. I encourage you to experiment with some of the supports I mentioned here to work on reducing symptoms and to lay your digestion foundation. This may give you the breathing room you need to investigate deeper. Or perhaps you will uncover the one or two things that will help you resolve your challenge at the roots.
When digestive symptoms continue over weeks, months, or years, it’s time to get serious about searching for root causes and resolving them. When you are ready for some support identifying and resolving your digestion troubles, schedule a free Assessment Session with me to get my opinion on how you may need to move forward. Or to learn more about what YOUR Roadmap to Recovery might look like, download your Roadmap here.
by Amanda Malachesky | Aug 7, 2017 | Chronic Illness, Digestion, Functional Medicine and Coaching, Functional Nutrition
You might think that since I’m a health care practitioner, and I help people sort out the root causes of all manner of health problems that I myself am in perfect health.
Well, wrong…
I wish it were true. The unfortunate truth is that I came to this field because of my own complex, confusing, seemingly-non-diagnosable, multi-tiered illness. And though all of us in these shoes desperately wish for a quick solution to our problems, the cold, hard truth is that the path from A to B is rarely a straight and simple line. It often requires some experimental investigating and self-treatments. Sometimes the steps are clear right away, but other times, they are not.
My training with Functional Diagnostic Nutrition taught me about using specialty lab testing to identify hidden stressors, factors I may not have realized were affecting my health. I was my own first client, and my testing revealed important imbalances and hidden infections I hadn’t known were there. So I began supporting my body to try to correct what I found.
I made improvements, to my digestion, and my moods. I worked hard to readjust my lifestyle habits to support health (i.e. I no longer stayed up till midnight every night, I incorporated daily exercise, and worked on reducing stress). But despite all my best efforts, I remain plagued by food intolerances that make it nearly impossible to eat out or at someone else’s home. I struggle with moods, and I know that my hormones are not right.
So now what?
My Newest, Known Health Challenge: SIBO
Now, I move into deeper layers of inquiry. All the first-line options have not produced the results I’m looking for, and so I look deeper and consider the question: What stone remains unturned? What have I ignored, or maybe not noticed?
Up until now, I hadn’t examined the possibility that I have SIBO, or Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth. I lack a few of the normally prominent symptoms, such as horrible bloating, which may be due to the painstaking work I’ve done identifying food triggers. I do have persistent, stubborn constipation, a rosacea-like redness on my face, and have not been able to resolve some of my gut health markers or food sensitivities. All of this, in spite of doing everything “right”. So I finally ran the SIBO test.
The results? I do indeed have methane-dominant SIBO, which causes the telltale constipation. In fact, the test uses a provoking agent, to encourage the bacteria to produce their gases for measurement. I experienced a dramatic increase in symptoms within the five days after the test, so this was another positive indicator for SIBO.
So now I have a new plan to move forward, and I will begin incorporating it next week.
Getting to Point B
The end goal of health maintenance and my coaching with clients, is to help them get to that Point B they are trying so hard to reach. But as I said, the path is never a straight line. Sometimes, we take several wrong turns before the right one turns up. Or we do support work, but it’s not enough. But we need to keep trying, systematically, until we discover what helps move things forward. The mistakes we make along the way provide equally important information. They inform us about our (in)tolerances, our unique physiology, what is already working, or what needs more support. The result of this inquiry is a personalized health plan, tailored just for YOU.
Even more important is having a practitioner or coach committed to working with you through this process. Doing this work on your own is confusing, frustrating, discouraging, maddening, and you may be often confronted by a desire to give up. By a process of tracking, trial, and noting success or failure, we move ever closer to understanding the source of the problem and root cause resolution.
My personal goal is to be able to walk into any restaurant and (within reason) eat most items on the menu, and to be able to go to dinner at a friend’s home without calling ahead to find out what will be served. Now that I’ve eliminated foods that seem to cause problems to alleviate my symptoms, addressed parasites, added in general digestive support, and removed endometriosis via surgery, my next step is to encourage my small intestinal health back to normal.
I’m going to keep at it with my own personal health, and so can you. If you’re interested in the kind of support I’m describing here, schedule a free discovery session here.
