Most people have heard the saying “You are what you eat”.

This is true but it leaves out a very important piece of the equation.

We can eat the cleanest and most nutrient dense diet available but, if we don’t adequately break down and absorb the foods in our digestive tract, we won’t benefit from them.

A more adequate statement is “You are what you eat, digest and absorb”.

Every client I work with has some level of digestive dysfunction whether they experience digestive related symptoms or not.

Digestive dysfunction can cause uncomfortable digestive symptoms like gas, bloating, heart burn, nausea, constipation and diarrhea.

It can also cause seemingly unrelated symptoms like brain fog, moodiness, skin rashes and hives, headaches, fatigue, cravings, inability to lose weight, insomnia and more.

Poor digestion and absorption leads to nutrient deficiencies that can leave your body depleted of the resources it needs to function in all areas. It also can damage the gut lining and create microbiome imbalances.

Gut health has become a popular topic these days as we learn more about the connection between a damaged gut, poor health and a whole host of uncomfortable and frustrating symptoms.

April is IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome) awareness month.

I’ll be covering some important topics around IBS and gut health in the next few emails to help you become more aware of the symptoms, how digestive dysfunction occurs, and how to support better gut health.

An important concept to understand as we dive into the topic of gut health is that digestion is a “North to South” process.

Digestion begins with your brain and nervous system, then your mouth, then stomach, then liver/gallbladder/pancreas and small intestines, and finally the large intestines.

Dysfunction can happen in any of these areas and will have a downstream cascading effect on the rest of the system.

If your health plan only addresses the downstream issues, you’ll likely end up back where you started (because those issues likely developed from a problem upstream).

One of the most common things I see with my clients who have been struggling with digestive symptoms is that they’ve been given a protocol or treatment plan that address the downstream issues without considering the upstream issues that need correcting.

What generally happens is that they feel some symptom relief but they don’t fully clear the issue. So they continue from protocol to protocol or elimination diet to elimination diet with no end in sight.

When working with my clients I use assessments and functional labs to identify the areas throughout the entire “north to south” process where dysfunction could be occurring. Then we start making improvements in the north end of the process while working our way down to the south end.

If you are tired of the endless struggle of trying to resolve your digestive issues, I can help.

With advanced training in digestive health, I can help you to get to the root cause of your symptoms and build you a plan to help address your entire digestive system.

You’ll get tons of support and encouragement from me as well. I will never just send you a plan and let you go it alone!

If you want to discuss your digestive symptoms (or other symptoms that are likely related to your gut health), book a complimentary discovery session with me.

At this session we will discuss what’s going on for you, a recommended course of action, and how my program can help you get rid of your digestive discomfort once and for all!

No more missing out on life because of your digestive symptoms. It’s time get to the root cause of your health concerns and nourish your body so you can thrive! 

Heather Glenn, FNTP, RWP, HHC