Imagine a life where your energy levels are high, but your anxiety is low, your sleep is great, your skin is clear and your tummy is flat.
If you have suffered from digestive issues, like acid reflux, colitis, diverticulitis, food allergies, peptic ulcers, or any of the symptoms under the broad term IBS, it is very likely that you have a damaged and poorly functioning digestive tract.
Gastro-intestinal (GI) complaints are among the leading reasons for health practitioner visits and the most common reason for hospitalisation. GI symptoms can range from mild, to severely disruptive to daily life.
If you want to uncover what is causing your symptoms, then I encourage you to read on.
WHAT CAN DAMAGE THE GUT
Take a moment to consider if you have taken any of the following regularly:
- Antacids
- Antibiotics
- Anti-inflammatories
- Painkillers
- Anti-depressants
- The contraceptive pill
These prescription and non-prescription medications can disrupt the ecosystem of good bacteria that dwell in your gut. This disruption, or dysbiosis, can lead to inflammation and permeability of the gut lining (aka ‘leaky gut’).
Additionally, a diet that is rich in sugar, caffeine, alcohol, processed and starchy foods like rice, potatoes, pasta, pizza, donuts, biscuits, muffins, can wreak further havoc.
The other often overlooked cause is bacterial, fungal or parasitic overgrowth. That bout of food poisoning you had a few years ago, where you’ve never been quite right since then, could well be the cause.
Dysbiosis and leaky gut often manifests as heartburn, bloating, stomach cramps, excessive flatulence and an unpredictable bowel habit.
SEEMINGLY UNRELATED SYMPTOMS
The thing to remember about a damaged gut lining is that symptoms can extend beyond those of a digestive nature. Leaky gut often results in macromolecules that would usually be too large to be absorbed, crossing the intestinal barrier and entering blood circulation. These include bacteria and partially digested food particles, which activate the immune system and cause widespread inflammation, manifesting as:
- Allergic conditions such as hay fever and asthma
- Brain / Mental health issues like Anxiety, brain fog, irritability, low mood, or poor memory and sleep
- Autoimmune conditions like Hashimotos, Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Hormonal imbalances in the form of low libido, headaches, tender breasts, irregular or heavy periods
- Low immunity, frequent colds and flu, mouth ulcers and thrush
- Skin conditions, such as eczema, psoriasis, acne, or hives
HOW WE CAN HELP
Understanding how to evaluate and therapeutically support GI function, is a complex undertaking in a traditional western medicine, busy practice. Too often medication is prescribed to provide symptomatic relief, but it does little to address the underlying digestive damage.
At Well Works, we aim to treat the root cause of your symptoms. We focus on improving your digestive health, by firstly examining all areas of your life – Diet, Rest, Exercise, and Stress Management. Our Heal Your Gut Program uses specialised diagnostics to evaluate:
- Food allergies
- Genetics
- GI function
- Health and diversity of intestinal microflora
- Presence of bacterial, parasitic and fungal infections
The insight from these diagnostics helps us create an individualised Diet, Rest, Exercise, Stress Management and Selective Supplementation protocol, specifically with you in mind.
It may seem novel if you’ve been bouncing around from doctor to doctor on, what I refer to as the medical merry-go-round, and have been poked and prodded with little resolution. But we focus more on the why, as opposed to the what. And because we’ve been there ourselves, we’re best placed to help guide you from surviving to thriving.
