IBS & Digestive Problems

IBS Can Make You Miserable

We Can Help You Solve Your Issues and Feel Great!

Strong digestion involves a series of steps that includes many of the body’s organs working in concert with one another. Normal digestive capability begins in your brain and is impacted by the workings of the esophagus, salivary glands, mouth, stomach, liver, gallbladder, pancreas, small and large intestine. When you eat, food passes through your body in a series of tubes. At each stage, there are various acids and actions which are supposed to break down food so  your body can absorb the food-based building block nutrients.

The system is only as good as the weakest link. So, it’s our job to figure out where that link is, and boost its capability. There are likely culprits in our world causing digestive distress including gas, bloating, abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea and constipation, which are traditionally called irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Often lab results, x-rays and biopsies have come back negative (thank goodness), but pesky symptoms remain.

Likely Culprits Include:

  • Physiological impact of stress
  • Pancreatic digestive enzyme deficiency
  • Malabsorption of nutrients
  • Nutrient deficiency
  • Intestinal permeability and food sensitivity as underlying factors
  • Sluggish gallbladder
  • Histamine intolerance
  • Antibiotic overuse
  • Low stomach acid (after high stomach acid has been ruled out)
  • Hydrochloric acid deficiency
  • Gut microbiome imbalance
  • Inflammation, etc.

How We Address IBS at Healthy Nest Nutrition

Through food elimination/provocation and discussion, we can sometimes pinpoint the issue. Other times, we use the most updated scientific testing available on the market today (poop, saliva and blood tests).

Then, we repair, rebuild and rebalance the system.

  • Repair: We believe if you give the body the proper food (what it needs), it will heal itself.
  • Rebuild: We use food and target nutrients to build up the system.
  • Rebalance: Again, if given what it needs, finding your individualized nutrition plan, the body will rebalance and your pesky symptoms should go away.

What Makes Our Approach Different?

We have a plan for success: Food and nutrient changes are not easy. We help you along the way with a personalized nutrition plan outlining what to eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. If you have a plan, you can make it through the busiest of days, even with a restricted diet. We’ve got you covered with recipes, menus, grocery lists, pick-up ideas and more.

We hold you accountable so change actually happens: In between sessions, we work through an online app, and you’re in communication with a holistic nutritionist.  We eat so often that we want your questions answered quickly and we’re supportive during and in between consults. It’s this individualized hand-holding that makes our programs so successful.

We are invested in your success: We want to solve your problems as quickly as possible, “graduate” you from Healthy Nest and have another satisfied and happy client. Most of our clients need only four in-person sessions to overcome their issues, although some choose to continue with support sessions.

Common Digestive Problems We Can Help With

Bloating: Sometimes after you eat, you get bloated. It might be immediate. It might take 2-4 hours or longer. Bloating isn’t normal. It can be caused by an immediate or delayed reaction (food sensitivity or allergy). Sometimes it’s caused by stress-depleting hydrochloric acid which causes gas to develop and make you uncomfortable. Sometimes bloating is caused further down the digestive tract. Our holistic nutritionists can untangle the bloating problem. We have tools to help alleviate bloating, make you more comfortable in the short term and assist in figuring out the root cause.

Abdominal Pain: If you’re getting stomachaches after you eat, that’s not normal either. Normal is you eat, your body automatically breaks down your food, and you’re energized by your food. If you’re getting pain from food, there is a problem. It could be a handful of problems including food sensitivity, allergy, overactive/confused immune response to food, lack of digestive firepower to break down your food, or imbalanced bacteria in your gut. Our holistic nutritionists can help you figure out short- and long-term solutions.

Constipation: Normal poop is 1-3 times per day, milk chocolate in color, and about sausage shape. Does your poop look like that? If your poop doesn’t look “normal” there is a reason. It could be weak stomach breakdown, food sensitivity, inability to absorb nutrients, microbiome deficiency, intestinal bacterial overgrowth, or some other problem. We ask questions, test when needed, and make suggestions to better your outcome.

GERD (gastro-esophageal reflux disease) & reflux: This is normally caused by too little stomach acid to break down your food, NOT too much stomach acid. We encourage digestive firepower to alleviate this problem in addition to short-term supplementation.

Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth: The small intestine IS NOT supposed to have a lot of bacteria in it. That is for the large intestine. If bacteria does get into the small intestine, it sometimes causes digestive distress (constipation, diarrhea, bloating). It takes some work and a particular individualized nutritional protocol, but we can alleviate symptoms and eradicate bacteria overgrowth in the small intestine.