What got us sick won’t get us well. It’s recognizing the dysfunction of what’s not working for us anymore that can get us out. Most people use the same energy or strategy that got them sick, to heal themselves. Pushing too hard, being perfectionistic, all or nothing thinking, repressing emotions, ignoring reality and impatience are just some examples of dysfunctional patterns that can lead to chronic stress, nervous system imbalance and a major health crash. This is the stuff that no one wants to deal with because it’s hard. It’s emotional. It’s painful to see and scary to change. This pattern ..read more

Heavy metal toxicity can cause digestive issues. It did for me. Through running hair tissue mineral analysis (HTMA) tests on clients, I discovered that I wasn’t alone. Now I have a better understanding about how heavy metals affect the gut, by effecting other body organs. Heavy metals interfere with thyroid, adrenal and liver function and all three organs have a huge influence on gut health. The adrenals control inflammation. The thyroid regulates metabolism and motility and the liver helps clean out the small intestine and digest fat, protein and carbs. People are not equally affected by heav ..read more

In my practice, I’ve noticed that clients with both h. pylori (bacterial infection of the stomach) and SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), experience a huge improvement in digestive symptoms after treating h. pylori only. I observed this many times with clients, and have now found a scientific explanation for this backed up by three studies. Low stomach acid, as I’ve written about previously, plays a big role in the development of SIBO. When you don’t digest your food fully, due to low stomach acid, it feeds bacteria and yeast instead of you. If you want to know more about the two mo ..read more

In my experience, low stomach acid and depleted adrenals are among the top causes for gut infections and overgrowths like SIBO, LIBO (large intestinal bacterial overgrowth), yeast and parasites. Which lead to a leaky gut and rampant inflammation. This what most doctors write off as IBS and send you on your way with meds that don’t help. By addressing these two root causes you give the body the energy to heal and help your biome recover with better digestion. Good bye bloating! Why stomach acid & adrenals matter Stomach acid is the first line of defense against pathogens that enter our body ..read more

Why do I recommend getting a GI Map stool test, when you can get stool tests for free at your doctor’s office? The GI Map is expensive at $425, but this is why it’s worth it.  The GI Map is an incredibly sensitive test that spots infections other tests miss. Stool tests, breath tests and blood tests can miss h. Pylori even if it is present. And that means years of suffering without ever finding the root cause. H. pylori is a bacterial infection of the stomach. It is the infection I see most commonly in my clients, and it can lead to parasites, bacterial overgrowth and candida. H. pylori l ..read more

Adrenal function is vital to gut health because they produce cortisol. And cortisol helps balance inflammation and stabilize blood sugar. Because cortisol is a stress hormone, it gets depleted when there’s a lot of demand on the adrenals. Being under chronic, long term stress can run down the adrenals but so can a poor diet. Getting enough potassium and sodium in your diet is key for healthy adrenal function. The levels of the primary minerals in our body tell us a lot about our adrenal function. We need to support our mineral levels to support our adrenals, to lower inflammation and balance b ..read more

The relationship between minerals and gut health is not always apparent. I have learned from personal experience and years of coaching clients that the functioning of the gut depends on how well other systems in the body function. The liver, adrenals, thyroid and mitochondria all effect how well the gut functions, and all these systems depend on mineral support. The immune system and nervous system are also vital to gut function. When minerals are lacking these systems and organs can’t function properly, and the gut suffers as a result. I started offering a Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis test, a ..read more

Conventional health and nutrition advise says eat more fiber for a healthy and regulated gut. That advice is aimed towards people with average health, who want to improve their gut health and biome. But people with a compromised gut can’t follow conventional advice, which is often not right for them. But this advice is confusing and many try to follow it and get stressed or upset when they feel worse. People with a very inflamed gut, need to take a very different approach. For them, adding too much or the wrong kind of fiber can be like pouring salt on a wound. If you react to certain fibres o ..read more

Magnesium is an amazing mineral when taken correctly. Many people use magnesium to move stubborn bowels or tame anxiety. Magnesium is one of the most supplemented minerals. We’re told our soil is deficient and that helps with stress and relaxation. It’s also important for heart health and many metabolic functions. Without enough magnesium we can develop cravings for chocolate ( a magnesium source) or get eye twitches along with many other symptoms. We need magnesium to metabolize sugar and carbs. Most people think that supplementing magnesium is enough to ensure they have enough to meet their ..read more

One of the most common root causes of digestive systems is low stomach acid. Low stomach acid can lead to bacterial, parasitic and fungal overgrowth in the large and small intestine, which causes IBS-like symptoms. Bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine (SIBO) is a product of low stomach acid combined with poor motility. But it can also cause bacteria and yeast to overgrow in the large intestine. Low acid compromises our ability to digest food or kill microbes that we ingest (think food poisoning). Anything we don’t digest is not absorbed and becomes food for gut overgrowths. Low stomach ..read more