The beauty of yoga is that it can be practised anywhere and it really is for everybody regardless of age or ability. Some people may be sceptical about the benefits of yoga or think it’s all about difficult poses. It’s not. A number of studies have shown that a regular yoga practice can improve strength, flexibility, balance and help to reduce stress and distress. Given the intimate connection between your brain and your gut via the gut-brain-axis, stress can play real havoc with your gut. So you can see why yoga can be a useful habit in your IBS management toolkit. We’ve had countless patient ..read more

The Gut-Brain Axis The gut and the brain are in constant communication with each other via the gut-brain axis. This bi-directional relationship is complex and is not completely understood. Do you ever feel nauseous or have abnormal bowel movements before public speaking or a big exam? This is because when you feel stressed or anxious, your body engages the ‘fight or flight’ response. This response diverts energy to the perceived threat, slowing digestion and causing GI symptoms such as constipation/diarrhoea, loss of appetite, bloating and nausea. This ‘fight or flight’ response is orchestrate ..read more

What is Omega-3? Omega-3 fatty acids (omega-3s) are polyunsaturated fats that perform important functions in your body. Omega-3 is an essential nutrient, which means that your body can’t produce the amount of omega-3s you need to be healthy, and so you need to get them from the foods you eat. What do omega-3 fatty acids do? Omega-3 fatty acids help all the cells in your body function as they should. They’re a vital part of your cell membranes and while they’re important to all your cells, omega-3s are concentrated in high levels in cells in your eyes and brain. Omega-3s also have important ..read more

Up to 30% of people diagnosed with diarrhoea-predominant IBS (IBS-D) may also have BAD, or a degree of BAD contributing to their symptoms.  For those with BAD, a daily medication might significantly help their symptoms.  You may now be wondering if you fall into this category. So here’s what you need to know… What is Bile Acid Diarrhoea? Bile salts or bile acids are produced in your liver and they help with the digestion and absorption of fats in your small intestine. Bile acid are stored in your gallbladder and released into your small intestine when you eat. When bile salts rea ..read more

Today is World Mental Health Day. Here, at The Gut Experts, we are passionate about mental health. It is incorporated into the vital TEAMS elements of The FLAT Gut Diet Plan. There’s an incredible connection between the gut and the brain, known as the gut-brain axis, it’s like an information superhighway made up of a network of nerves, the immune system, and the hormonal system. The gut has even been called the ‘second brain’. There is constant two-way communication between the gut and brain meaning that what’s happening in one affects the other.⁠ Poor mental health ..read more

Have you noticed that your irritable bowel syndrome flares get worse when you are travelling? Or does your IBS tend to improve when you’re on holiday?  It can really go either way, so the more prepared (and relaxed) you are, the better. Travel can be an anxiety-including experience for some people with IBS. Whereas others are sipping prosecco from the get go and seem to be IBS symptom free for the most part. Why is my IBS worse when travelling? There are many possible reasons for this, including: Changes in your routine Lack of, or increased activity  Changes to what you’re eati ..read more

Veganuary. Are you doing it?  Do you already do Meat-free Mondays? These are certainly great ways to get more plant-based foods into your diet, provided you don’t opt for the heavily processed vegan products. We understand that some people have environmental or ethical concerns about eating animal products, but not all vegan products are kind to the environment either. For example, large amounts of water are  needed to produce things like almond milk or the huge number of air miles clocked up by every avocado you eat. But ultimately this is a personal choice, and we respect that.&n ..read more

We are crying over (spilled) milk, because we’re concerned about the number of people that have removed it from their diet unnecessarily. Many strict vegans say that ‘milk is for babies’ or point out that humans are the only adult mammals to consume milk and that therefore it’s unnatural and unhealthy for us to do this. This is completely simplistic and mis-leading. Should we not use any of the many life-saving medications that human ingenuity has invented, because other mammals don’t use them? Should we not drive cars because our horses don’t?  Anyway, back to milk…it’s good stuff. T ..read more

Is your pancreas kranky? Here’s what you need to know Do you know what your pancreas does? Or where it is? Or what it does? Or what happens when it’s not working properly? At Guts UK it’s Kranky Panky Pancreatitis Awareness Month and that means the pancreas is in the spotlight. Prof. Ryan has a special interest in pancreatic conditions and procedures. She has teamed up with Guts UK as one of their clinical advisors in a special initiative they’ve started with patients who have a particular pancreatic problem, called chronic pancreatitis.  So we’re really keen to support this brilliantly ..read more

I have performed more than 25,000 colonoscopies to date in my career as a Gastroenterologist in Ireland, the UK and The Netherlands. I know that going for a colonoscopy can be daunting but it can be central to helping diagnose the cause of digestive symptoms / gut problems. Why is a colonoscopy important? Colonoscopies are used to: Investigate bowel symptoms: identify changes in the bowel that may be causing symptoms like a change in bowel habit (either towards constipation or diarrhoea), bleeding from the back passage, abdominal pain, problems with controlling bowel motions (incontinenc ..read more