Eating challenges, IBS & the gut

If you experience digestive complaints, how does this affect what and how you eat? Perhaps it preoccupies your mind whilst you try to understand what can alleviate the symptoms?

If you also experience eating challenges, perhaps you have not considered the role this may be playing in your gut symptoms including bloating, acid reflux and abnormal bowel movements.

WHAT IS IBS?

April is IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) Awareness Month and many of the people I work with suffer with this condition. IBS is known as a functional gut disorder diagnosed in the absence of structural problems and inflammatory bowel disease amongst other conditions.

WHAT’S THE CONNECTION?

In addition to the clients who come to me for help with their gut, many of have eating challenges. Interestingly, 44% of people with IBS type symptoms are disordered eaters and 98% of people with eating disorders have co-occurring gut disorders. It is no consequence. Digestive symptoms have been found to correlate with psychological distress; thought to be due to the eating behaviours that disrupt digestion, changes in the physiology of the gut and an imbalance in the microbiome (the eco system of our gut).

Food restriction leads to delayed gastric emptying and a feeling of premature fullness along with nausea and bloating. The villi (the small finger like projections lining the gut that allow absorption of nutrients), become flattened. Low food intake or purging often leads to constipation. Unsurprisingly, purging also results in a weakened oesophageal sphincter and GERD (Gastroesophageal reflux disease).

A VISCIOUS CYCLE…

This often leads to a vicious cycle, gut discomfort and pain results in further food restriction in order to manage symptoms. Digestive complaints may also lead to the desire to eat ‘perfectly’ even when the diet does not relieve symptoms. It causes rigidity and fear when eating certain foods. Disruption of digestive processes also impacts appetite cues, so it can become challenging to feel hunger and/ or satiety. Commonly, strict adherence to diets can also lead to binge eating.

If you are experiencing distressing digestive symptoms, it doesn’t have to be this way. I work with a wide variety of people struggling with different digestive health complaints. Some have had an official diagnosis from their doctor, while others have been told everything looks normal, but they just don’t feel themselves. 

I offer a full range of professional tests to get to the root of your gut problems. Combining test results with an in-depth assessment helps me devise a personalised programme just for you. If you also have eating challenges, this requires a nuanced approach to avoid further harm with the likes of restriction or elimination diets.

Please do book in a complimentary call HERE to see how I can help

How to boost this little-known nutrient & why it’s so powerful

It’s likely you’ve never heard of butyrate - the mighty gut loving nutrient produced by our intestinal bacteria.

Butyrate not only nourishes the digestive system by maintaining the health of our gut lining but also supports the immune system, assists our bowels to pass stools efficiently (also reducing chance of diarrhoea) and is involved in regulating our genes! Some research also suggests it may help prevent colon cancer and inflammatory conditions such as obesity, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Deficiencies in this nutrient are common -many people don’t eat enough of the specific foods needed by our friendly gut bacteria. I regularly discover low butyrate levels (after testing) in clients who suffer with abdominal discomfort, constipation, indigestion and gas.

Of course, this is not a well-known nutrient. You’d be hard pushed to find much about it in the health and wellness space, compared to equally essential nutrients such as vitamins A, C, D and B’s.

The good news is that we can stimulate our gut bacteria to make more butyrate by eating particular foods in the form of specific dietary fibre and resistant starch. These include green bananas, beans, peas, lentils, overnight oats, (cooked and cooled) potatoes or rice, ground flax seeds and stewed apple.

If you suffer with distressing digestive problems, then investigating butyrate levels is just one of the array of functional testing tools that I am able to use to find the underlying cause of your symptoms and my Gut Restoration Programmes can help bring your body back into balance. Book in a complimentary call HERE to find out more and see how I can help.