Alison knows first hand what it is like to live with gut issues, having experienced first hand IBS, SIBO and leaky gut (correctly known as Enhanced intestinal permeability) and living in daily discomfort is not living an enriched life.

Like you probably know, knowing how or what to do to heal can be confusing there are so many posts out there of how to heal your gut, but actually with out knowing what is truly going on and getting to the root cause, many methods and plans could be agrevating to you rather than healing. This is why having a functional medicine health coach, can support you in your healing journey on a one to one close proximity basis. This is why Alison offers one to one sessions and initial consultations, so that the correct tests and protocols can be created in order to support you.

You have probably heard of IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), even suffer with it yourself or know someone close to you that has these symptom.

Gut health, or poor gut health, actually may be a start of something else or a blanket diagnosis and could in fact be SIBO (small intestinal Bacteria overgrowth), SIFO (Small Intestinal Fungal overgrowth), IMO (Intestinal methanogen overgrowth), GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) the felt sensations are symptoms such as acid reflux from the esophagus yet it occurs when stomach acid repeatedly flows back into the tube connecting your mouth and stomach (esophagus), many asthmatics also experience GERD, IBD , Ulcerative colitis (UL-sur-uh-tiv koe-LIE-tis) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation and ulcers (sores) in your digestive tract which is exceptionally painful, whilst there is currently no known cure for it there are many lifestyle medicine interventions and ways to ease the symptoms to enhance quality of life.

Ceoliac develops where your body is unable to consume gluten, in any forms and the body’s immune system begins to attack tissue and blocks nutrient absorption this is a serious condition.

And finally Chrons disease, which is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the anus. It is characterised by inflammation, which can lead to symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss, and malnutrition. Crohn's disease is thought to result from a combination of genetic, environmental, stress, and immune system factors.

As a general rule, over many years of working with clients, I’ve noticed that people with Crohn’s and other gut issues (mentioned above) benefit from understanding their triggers more clearly, which means not all foods are able to be absorbed, digested or used efficiently to heal, for some healing gut health ~ soups, stews, and stir frys may be your new best friends in nutrition and raw foods may need to be minimized, however all of the above do require very different approaches for the healing and will require a variety of supplemental s

If you have Crohn’s disease, or any of the above mentioned, you should work closely with your doctor and follow their instructions on medication and treatment where possible and aligned to you, especially if you have been referred to a gastroenterologist, alongside a functional medicine and Integrative practitioner.

Crohn’s, ceoliac, GERD can have serious consequences and should not be ignored. That said, if your doctor does not seem open to dietary or lifestyle changes, or tells you they won’t make a difference, that is a red flag that you may want to find another physician to manage your care especially if and only offers pharmaceutical options and to return in 3 months!!! (and you leave feeling lost, frustrated and unheard)

Why do I share this? THIS WAS ME …years of endoscopies and pain and no solution focused therapy. And Because study after study has shown that lifestyle factors, nervous system regulation, nutrition, mindfulness and movement DO matter when it comes to all inflammatory bowel issues incl: finding ways to heal from unhealed wounds such as PTSD because the way your body protected you during those experiences may now be a rot cause of your symptoms. 

LEAKY GUT is a term that is no known by many, it is a name for Enhanced Intestinal permeability which means that the lining of the gut has become damaged, it is only one cell thick, equivelant to a tissue bin liner, when the gut lining is damaged it is likened to a wet tissue, or a water balloon that is then popped thousands of times with a pin (all the water pours out when you actually require it to stay inside the balloon). When the gut is disrupted the mucosal barrier is then unable to functional optimally and neither is the microvili, which protects the blood brain barrier, aka stops bacteria flowing into the blood stream and reaching the brain.

DATE: 25th February 2024. References:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6140167/ 2018

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/ulcerative-colitis/symptoms-causes/syc-20353326

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intestinal_epithelium