Does This Sound Familiar?
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Bloating, gas, or abdominal discomfort after meals.
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Constipation, diarrhea, or a mix of both.
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Urgency or unpredictable bowel habits that make planning your day stressful.
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Acid reflux or heartburn.
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Feeling overly full, even after small meals.
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Your list of “safe” foods keeps getting shorter.
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Stress, travel, or a change in routine sets everything off.
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Feeling like you've tried everything without getting clear answers.
When your gut is unpredictable, everything else gets harder: work, meals out, even leaving the house. I work one-on-one with you to figure out your patterns and build changes around food, stress, and sleep, always with your doctor’s guidance in mind.
Common Contributors to Digestive Symptoms:
Digestive symptoms rarely have one cause. Many factors can play a role:
The Gut-Brain Connection
Your gut and brain are in constant communication. Stress, anxiety, and poor sleep can change gut motility & sensitivity.
Food Triggers
Some people are sensitive to certain fermentable carbohydrates (known as FODMAPs), which can cause gas and bloating. Others notice symptoms with large or high-fat meals, caffeine, alcohol, red meat, or artificial sweeteners/sugar alcohols. Triggers vary a lot from person to person.
Compromised Intestinal Gut Barrier
The lining of your intestines acts as a barrier, letting nutrients through while helping keep unwanted substances in the gut. When the barrier weakens (often called increased intestinal permeability, or "leaky gut"), it may contribute to common symptoms of digestive discomfort, and food sensitivities. Some factors that influence intestinal permeability include stress, alcohol, certain medications, infections, and a diet low in fiber.
Eating Habits
Eating quickly, skipping meals, eating while stressed, or not chewing enough can all affect how you feel after a meal.
Fiber Type and Amount
Soluble and insoluble fiber act differently in the gut. The wrong type or a sudden increase can make symptoms worse, while a gradual, well-matched approach can make a real difference.
Hydration and Movement
Both influence how smoothly things move through the digestive tract, affecting motility.
Gut bacteria Balance
The trillions of bacteria in your gut help break down fiber, produce compounds that nourish the gut lining, and interact with your immune system. Antibiotics, illness, and a low-diversity diet can shift this balance.
Routine Changes
Travel, illness, hormonal shifts, and life stress can all trigger flare-ups.
Gut Movement (motility)
Your digestive tract moves food along through coordinated muscle contractions, a process called motility. When movement is slower than usual, food spends more time in the gut, which can contribute to constipation, bloating, and a heavy, full feeling. When it's faster, it may show up as loose stools, urgency, or cramping. Many things influence the pace, including fibre intake, hydration, physical activity, meal timing, stress, sleep, hormonal shifts, and certain medications. Your gut also follows a daily rhythm, so irregular meals and disrupted sleep can affect how predictably it moves.
Digestive Infections and Illness
Stomach bugs, food poisoning, and other infections can leave lasting changes in digestion, sometimes for months afterward.
Medications
Some common medications, including certain pain relievers and antibiotics, can affect digestion. Never stop or change a medication without talking to your doctor or pharmacist.
Hormonal Shifts and Life Changes
Digestive symptoms often fluctuate with the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, perimenopause, travel, or major life transitions.
Underlying Digestive Conditions
Conditions such as celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and others require medical diagnosis and care. If you have persistent or worrying symptoms, speak with your doctor first.
Understanding Your Digestion
Digestion starts before your first bite. The sight and smell of food begin preparing your body, and chewing starts breaking food down and signals the rest of your system to get ready. Food then travels to the stomach, where acid and enzymes continue the work, and on to the small intestine, where most nutrients are absorbed. What's left moves into the large intestine (colon), where water is absorbed and trillions of gut bacteria help process fibre and produce compounds that support gut health. This whole process is coordinated by the muscles of your digestive tract, your nervous system, and your gut bacteria. When something is out of sync, whether the speed of movement, the sensitivity of the gut, or the balance of bacteria, you can feel it in your symptoms.
I support people with the following concerns, always alongside their doctor's primary care.
Chronic Constipation:
Infrequent, hard, or difficult-to-pass stools that don't fit an IBS pattern. We look at fibre types, hydration, movement, meal rhythm, and daily habits.
Bloating and Excess Gas:
Ongoing bloating, distension, or gas that isn't explained by a specific diagnosis. Often it's tied to food combinations, eating habits, or gut sensitivity.
Gut Changes After Antibiotics or Illness:
Digestive changes after antibiotics, food poisoning, or a stomach infection, and rebuilding eating habits that support your gut.
Diverticular Disease:
Education on eating patterns and fibre for people living with diverticulosis or a history of diverticulitis, following your doctor's guidance, especially during flares.
Gallbladder and Fat Digestion Concerns:
Discomfort after fatty meals, or digestive changes after gallbladder removal, where meal composition and portions often need adjusting.
Chronic Loose Stools and Urgency:
Frequent loose stools or unpredictable bowel habits, including after a stomach bug or a course of antibiotics.
Food Intolerances and Sensitivities:
Symptoms after foods like dairy (lactose), certain fruits (fructose), or wheat. A structured food and symptom journal helps us spot patterns, while keeping your diet as varied and enjoyable as possible.
Celiac Disease and Gluten-Related Concerns:
If you've been diagnosed with celiac disease, I can support you in navigating a gluten-free lifestyle and making everyday eating simpler. If you suspect celiac disease, please get tested by your doctor before removing gluten from your diet, as testing requires that you're still eating it.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS):
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common digestive condition that affects how the gut works, causing symptoms like abdominal pain, bloating, gas, constipation, or diarrhea. Symptoms often vary from person to person and from day to day.
Acid Reflux and Heartburn (GERD):
A burning sensation in the chest or throat, a sour taste, or discomfort after meals or when lying down. Meal size and timing, trigger foods, eating pace, and stress can all play a part, and small changes often make a real difference.
Suspected or Diagnosed SIBO:
SIBO is diagnosed and treated by a physician. I can offer education on gut-friendly habits and meal structure to complement your medical care.
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis):
IBD requires ongoing medical care. I offer complementary wellness support, including everyday food choices, meal planning, and overall well-being, in coordination with your healthcare team.
Gastritis and Sensitive Stomach:
Nausea, upper abdominal discomfort, or a sensitive stomach that flares with certain foods, stress, or irregular eating. Stress, hormones, and life changes: Gut symptoms that flare with stress, travel, hormonal shifts, or major life transitions.
What Does Working With Me Look Like?
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Discovery call: a conversation about your goals and whether we're a good fit.
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Initial consultation: a thorough assessment of your medical history, lifestyle, and current health concerns.
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Personalized plan of action: I consider all aspect's of a client's health, including physical, and mental/emotional well-being. I prioritize education, empowering clients to take an active role in their health. Recommendations encompass a combination of food, supplement, and lifestyle guidance that is supportive to your needs and goals.
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Regular follow-ups: we review progress, adjust and discuss new recommendations , and keep you accountable.
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Ongoing support: your personal client portal gives you access to documents, journaling, progress tracking, and chat access between sessions.
Your Action Plan
We start by talking through your eating habits, stress, sleep, daily routines, digestive symptoms, and health history. We also look at any medications or supplements you already take. From there, we build a roadmap that gradually works on five key areas that influence digestive function.
1. A healthy inflammatory response and a solid foundation: Food choices, stress, sleep, and daily habits all influence how your body responds to inflammation. We focus on anti-inflammatory eating habits, adjusting how foods are prepared so they're easier to digest (for example, peeling or cooking), and adding prebiotic fibers. We also talk through common gut triggers and work on the sleep and stress factors that can be linked to gut function. A food journal helps you spot connections between what you eat and how you feel.
2. Healthy gut movement (motility): The speed at which food moves through your digestive tract affects everything from constipation to urgency. We look at fiber type and amount, hydration, physical activity, meal patterns, stress, sleep, and build a daily rhythm that supports regular, comfortable digestion.
3. Supporting your digestive juices: Stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes, and bile all help your body break down food and absorb nutrients. We focus on ways to support these natural processes, which may include supportive foods, habits such as eating without rushing and chewing well, and, where appropriate and in coordination with your doctor or pharmacist, supplementation.
4. A balanced gut microbiome: The bacteria in your gut play a role in digestion, immunity, and comfort. We focus on plant variety, fermented and probiotic-rich foods, and continue to focus on pre-biotic fiber, introduced at a pace your body tolerates.
5. A healthy gut lining: The lining of your intestines acts as a selective barrier, letting nutrients through while helping keep unwanted substances out. When the barrier becomes less effective (often called increased intestinal permeability, or "leaky gut"), it may allow compounds from food to cross into the bloodstream, which can trigger an immune response in some people. We look at the everyday factors that can influence the gut lining, including stress, alcohol, diet quality, and medications.
Adjust as we go! Your approach evolves as your body responds. We review your progress regularly and make adjustments.
When To See Your Doctor First
Please speak with your doctor before making food changes or lifestyle changes if you have:
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Blood in your stool or black, tarry stools
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Unexplained weight loss
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Persistent vomiting
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Difficulty swallowing
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Severe or worsening abdominal pain
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Symptoms that wake you at night
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A family history of bowel disease, celiac disease, or colon cancer
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New digestive symptoms after age 50
These can point to conditions that need medical evaluation. My services complement, and don't replace, medical care, and I'm happy to work alongside your healthcare team.
Digestive Health FAQs
Disclaimer: Vital Wellness offers holistic wellness, food education and lifestyle support. The information on this website is for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical condition. It does not replace the advice of your physician or other licensed healthcare provider. Please consult your doctor before making changes to your diet or lifestyle, especially if you have a medical condition.