The gut microbiome is important because it affects nearly every organ in our entire body. It is fundamental to our immune system and has a direct connection to the brain. The gut microbiome is made up of a community of microbes that dictate digestion, mood, food cravings, and more. If the microbes are out of balance, it can cause digestive issues and also impact immunity, hormone balance, and mood disorders.
Naturally Sue’s Wellness in NYC goals are to address the underlying cause of your gas, bloating, constipation, and other digestive issues to heal your gut reverse your symptoms, and optimize your gut health and overall well-being.
Poor gut health can cause various digestive symptoms, like gas, bloating, diarrhea, or constipation. It can also lead to a variety of other health issues, such as:
Since the gut affects all areas of the body, an unhealthy microbiome could lead to nutritional deficiencies, thyroid issues, heart disease, mental health disorders, and so many other health issues.
There are a variety of reasons for digestive health problems. Common reasons for gut health issues include:
At Naturally Sue, some of the more common gut health problems we help include the following:
Crohn’s Disease is a chronic, autoimmune condition that causes inflammatory bowel disease, causing inflammation and irritation of the digestive tract. Symptoms of cramping, pain, diarrhea, bloody stools, fatigue, loss of appetite, and weight loss are typical with Crohn’s.
Constipation occurs when your stools become hardened or impacted, and there is difficulty passing your bowel movements. If you have less than 3 bowel movements a week, you may be constipated.
Diarrhea is when your bowel movements are loose or watery, and frequent. This can be caused by acute gastroenteritis or food poisoning, gut dysbiosis, C-diff, stress, and more.
A condition where small, bulging pouches or weak spots develop along the walls of the colon. If they become inflamed, it could cause complications, like infection, severe abdominal pain, changes in bowel movements, and nausea.
A fatty liver is a build-up of fat in the liver which can lead to liver damage and compromised function. This can be caused by regular alcohol use, or from a diet high in sugar, trans fats, and processed foods. Fatty liver can be reversed and should be taken seriously so that it doesn’t turn into cirrhosis of the liver which is the hardening of your liver which is irreversible.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) is a chronic acid reflux disease. It occurs when stomach acid or bile repeatedly flows backward, up into the esophagus and throat. It can cause symptoms like heartburn, indigestion, sour stomach, nausea, and sore throat. Over time it can damage the esophagus and cause changes, in the lining, that can become cancerous.
Gas and bloating happen when your body can’t or won’t digest foods properly. They are typically symptoms of a larger issue, like an unhealthy diet, compromised gut health (including SIBO and H Pylori), hormone dysfunction, or stress.
H. Pylori infection is caused when the Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) bacteria attack the lining of the stomach or small intestine and cause infection. It is the most common cause of ulcers. Symptoms include burning stomach pain, unexplained weight loss, and bloody vomit. Additionally, gas, burping dermatological conditions like rashes, rosacea, and anemia. Because H. Pylori causes nutrient absorption concerns, it can also affect fertility. It’s a common bacterial infection and can be treated either conventionally or with herbal medicine.
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a condition of the digestive tract that causes abdominal pain, gas, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation. It can be managed through changes to diet and lifestyle. Often this is a diagnosis that just encompasses symptoms of alternating diarrhea and constipation and it is vital to find the root cause.
Leaky gut is a deterioration of the gut lining, causing permeability, or holes in the lining that allow food and toxins to penetrate and leak into the bloodstream. This can lead to inflammation systematically, food allergies, and an imbalance in healthy gut microbes. There are many causes behind leaky gut including gluten and dairy compromising the gut lining, stress, and more. Many patients who do a comprehensive stool analysis have markers of leaky gut that come up which validates their health concerns. There is a connection between a leaky gut and thyroid, skin, mood, and more.
Intestinal parasites, like worms and protozoa, cause inflammation of the digestive tract. Parasites can live in the digestive tract for years without causing symptoms, but when symptoms do occur, they include digestive distress like constipation, diarrhea, gas, bloating, stomach pain, nausea, fatigue, and rectal itching.
Proctitis is inflammation of the rectum. It can cause rectal pain, bleeding, or mucus, tenesmus (constant feeling like you need to poop), painful bowel movements, and diarrhea.
Patients do great when working on diet and lifestyle and working on supporting their intestinal health.
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) is a condition where there is an overgrowth of unhealthy bacteria in the gut. SIBO can inhibit your ability to absorb nutrients and digest your food. It can cause uncomfortable symptoms, like gas, bloating, and diarrhea. Oftentimes, mold exposure can keep a person from healing from SIBO. It is also important to consider stress, trauma, Lyme disease, and other chronic infections that can put someone at risk of SIBO.
An ulcer is a sore that develops from stomach acid in the lining of your intestine, stomach, or esophagus. They are typically caused by poor diet, bacteria, like H. Pylori, or long-term use of over-the-counter medications like nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), like ibuprofen or naproxen sodium. Stomach pain is a typical symptom of ulcers. There are many ways to support the healing of ulcers with demulcent herbs recommended to you by your ND.
A type of inflammatory bowel disease, ulcerative colitis is inflammation and ulcers in the colon. It is chronic and can cause symptoms like stomach pain or tenderness, diarrhea, blood, pus, or mucus in the stool, urgent need to poop, tenesmus (constant feeling like you need to poop), fatigue, and weight loss.
Food sensitivities, intolerances, and allergies can cause digestive distress like gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and stomach pain. They can also cause systemic inflammation affecting one’s joints, musculoskeletal system, thyroid, hormones, nervous system, and more. Poor diet and lifestyle and big culprits. The gut health issues listed here may also be a factor. Finding the root cause is essential for the treatment and management of food sensitivities and allergies.
An autoimmune disease where there is destruction to the small intestinal villi. This is not an allergy or a gluten intolerance. The elimination of gluten should be taken seriously, as eating gluten with celiac can increase the risk of colon cancer.
Candida is an opportunistic pathogen. Yeast infections are caused by an overgrowth of the fungi candida, known as Candidiasis. Overgrowth can occur on the skin, mouth, vagina, penis, and digestive tract. Overgrowth in the gut can cause bloating, gas, pain, diarrhea, constipation, and fatigue. Oftentimes, a diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates can cause candida to grow out of control.
At Naturally Sue, we listen to the entire patient’s clinical history and then suggest dietary and lifestyle modifications specific to the patient’s case.
We will then recommend useful homeopathic supplements like herbal medicine, vitamins, and minerals.
We also utilize functional comprehensive stool testing by Genova Diagnostic Labs or Diagnostic Solutions (GI Map) which is a comprehensive look at your entire Microbiome., including a check for parasites, bacteria, commensal bacteria (good bacteria), digestive function, immune function in your gut, inflammation markers, and much more. These tests will help us determine a very specific course of action for each patient.
The doctors at Naturally Sue Wellness make sure to address the whole person and check for markers that will negatively impact your gut through:
Do you often feel gassy, bloated, sour stomach or heartburn? Are constipation and/or diarrhea frequent visitors? Are you moody, anxious, or exhausted? At Naturally Sue, we utilize a safe and effective naturopathic approach to treating gut health. We will partner with you to customize a gut healing protocol that will address the underlying cause of what’s causing your digestive issues. Ready to get started with Naturally Sue Wellness?
Contact the office to book a free consultation to optimize gut health, naturally.
A balanced, anti-inflammatory, fiber-rich diet is recommended for gut health.
The foods we eat contribute to the quality of microbes in the gut and keep the digestive tract intact to prevent inflammation and immune issues. Fiber and fermented foods are very beneficial to the gut.
Fiber is important because it becomes food for the microbes in your gut. When your microbes are healthy, your gut is healthy. Good sources of fiber include:
Fermented foods are also a wonderful way to contribute to the population of good microbes and gut flora, as they contain live and active cultures that become healthy gut bacteria. Examples of fermented foods include:
To get the benefit of probiotics from fermented foods, and prebiotic fiber add little bits to your daily meal routine each day. A little goes a long way and if you eat too much at once, you can have digestive distress, so go slow. Some patients may be able to tolerate small amounts of yogurt, whereas others do not, and can try plant-based yogurt alternatives.
In naturopathic medicine, we use herbal remedies to help destroy the overgrowth of bad bacteria, restore the gut lining, and reduce inflammation. Common herbs used in naturopathy for this purpose in gut health include:
It’s important to remember that these are just some herbs that we can use with a patient, but there are so many more options that could be chosen based on the exact presentation of the patient, as well as their comprehensive stool results. It’s essential to make sure you are addressing the overall terrain before going and “killing” bacteria, so if the soil/environment is one where these bad bugs can thrive, they will find their place right back and you are starting at square one.
Our Naturopathic Doctors make sure you are doing these steps in the right order for you to get optimal results.
The digestive system is built to filter and eliminate toxins and waste from the body. Creating a routine that includes good hydration, nutrient-dense foods, and regular physical activity will support the body’s natural detoxification and elimination processes.
If your digestion is slow and sluggish, and health issues arise as a result, you can take a more deliberate approach to detoxification. Your naturopath can work with you to help free up congestion using detox and cleansing therapies through dietary changes, herbs, teas, and colon cleanses.
A few things you can do to support the digestive system and flush out unhealthy microbes include:
The naturopathic approach for resetting gut health is known as the “weed and feed” process. This means eliminating the overgrowth of bad bacteria (i.e.: weeding), and restoring gut health with good bacteria (l.e.: feeding).
As part of the weeding process, we will recommend removing anything that is contributing to the bad bacteria, like certain types of food and other stressors. We will use herbal treatments, supplements, or other antimicrobial treatments to kill the bad bacteria (the wedding), and then a probiotic is prescribed to repopulate the gut with good bacteria.
Next we “feed” or repopulate the healthy microbes with probiotic and polyphenol-rich foods, fiber, supplements, and herbs to ensure there are enough good bacteria to crowd out any leftover harmful microbes. The feeding process will also include restoration of the gut lining to promote a hospitable environment for flora prevent future damage, and support proper digestive functioning.
Start your healing journey with us…
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