Up to 20% of adults experience IBS, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea—yet many are told nothing is wrong when standard tests come back clear. The truth? These symptoms involve real changes in gut motility, gut-brain communication, and your microbiome, even when there’s no visible damage.

You shouldn’t have to cancel plans, avoid restaurants, or live in constant fear of where the nearest bathroom is. These symptoms are real, and with the right approach, most people see significant improvement.

IBS and functional gut disorders aren’t “just stress” or “all in your head.” Research shows they involve:

• Altered gut motility (how fast or slow food moves through your system)
• Disrupted gut-brain axis communication (the connection between your nervous system and digestion)
• Microbiome imbalances that affect how your body processes food
• Post-infectious changes that can persist long after an illness

Common triggers include certain foods, stress responses, irregular eating patterns, and past infections—but identifying your specific triggers requires personalized investigation, not guesswork.

I help you uncover the patterns driving your symptoms through root-cause testing and personalized nutrition strategies. This isn’t about restricting your diet forever—it’s about understanding what’s happening, calming symptoms, and gradually expanding what you can eat with confidence.

My approach includes:

• Structured FODMAP modification (when appropriate) with guided reintroduction
• Personalized fiber strategies based on your gut’s needs
• Meal timing and nervous system support to improve gut-brain communication
• Microbiome-protective nutrition that reduces symptoms without long-term restriction

Common concerns I support:

• IBS (constipation-predominant, diarrhea-predominant, or mixed)
• Post-infectious IBS
• Chronic bloating or abdominal distension
• Constipation
• Unpredictable bowel habits
• Gut-brain axis disorders
• Stress-related digestive symptoms

Learn more: IBS and Weight: How Your Gut Health Affects the Scale | IBS vs. IBD: What’s the Difference | Travelling with IBS

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and intestinal methane overgrowth (IMO) occur when your small intestine harbors excessive microbes that disrupt normal digestion. The result? Persistent bloating, gas, abdominal distension, constipation, diarrhea, and nutrient deficiencies that can leave you feeling exhausted and frustrated.

You might have been told it’s “just IBS,” or watched your symptoms return weeks after finishing antibiotics. What’s often missing is understanding why this keeps happening—and what actually needs to change.

SIBO and IMO develop when microbes that normally live in your large intestine migrate to your small intestine, where they ferment carbohydrates—including those “healthy” fibers everyone recommends—before your body can absorb them. This produces excess gas (hydrogen, methane, hydrogen sulfide, or a combination of these) and disrupts nutrient absorption.

Methane overgrowth specifically:

• Slows intestinal transit, causing constipation-predominant symptoms
• Creates severe bloating and abdominal distension
• Can be harder to treat than hydrogen-dominant SIBO

Common underlying factors:

• Motility disorders that slow gut movement
• Prior abdominal surgery or structural changes
• Hypothyroidism affecting digestive speed
• Post-infectious changes following food poisoning or viral illness
• Prolonged use of acid-reducing medications

Learn more: Understanding the Difference Between SIBO, SIFO and IMO

Here’s what most people aren’t told: antibiotics or herbal antimicrobials may temporarily reduce bacterial overgrowth, but they don’t address why it developed in the first place. Without fixing underlying motility, supporting gut resilience, and restoring microbiome balance, relapse rates are high.

Research shows that long-term improvement requires a comprehensive approach that goes beyond just killing bacteria.

I work alongside your medical team, providing specialized nutrition support that goes beyond temporary symptom management. My focus is on understanding what’s driving your SIBO or IMO, properly nourishing your body during treatment, and preventing relapses—which occur in up to 43% of patients within 9 months of antibiotic treatment.

This isn’t about cutting out all carbohydrates forever. Research shows that while reducing fermentable carbohydrates can relieve symptoms, long-term restriction can harm your gut microbiome and cause nutritional deficiencies. 

My approach is strategic and personalized, designed to support healing while protecting your long-term gut health.

My approach includes:

• Personalized carbohydrate strategies – Tailored to your specific symptoms, breath test results, and gas type (hydrogen, methane, or hydrogen sulfide), using evidence-based approaches like low-FODMAP protocols with structured reintroduction
• Motility support – Meal timing and spacing strategies, fiber modifications based on your tolerance, and nervous system regulation to improve the “cleansing waves” that naturally clear bacteria from your small intestine
• Nutrient restoration – Identifying and correcting deficiencies caused by malabsorption, diarrhea, or dietary restriction—common issues that often go unaddressed
• Microbiome rebuilding – Protocols that restore beneficial bacteria and support long-term gut balance after treatment
• Root-cause investigation – Working collaboratively with your medical team to address underlying factors like thyroid dysfunction, motility disorders, or post-infectious changes that increase relapse risk

Common concerns I support:

• SIBO (hydrogen-dominant)
• Intestinal methanogen overgrowth (IMO/methane-dominant)
• Post-antibiotic gut disruption
• Post-infectious microbiome imbalance
• Chronic bloating patterns that don’t respond to typical IBS treatment

Food reactions can feel completely overwhelming—especially when symptoms seem random and you can’t figure out what’s triggering them. You might eat the same meal you had yesterday without issue, only to experience bloating, pain, or urgent bathroom trips today.

If you’ve been told to just “avoid trigger foods” without understanding why they’re bothering you or how to get them back, you’re not alone. Many people end up with a shrinking list of “safe foods” and no clear path forward.

Here’s what you need to know: most food intolerances aren’t true allergies. They’re digestion or absorption issues that can actually improve with the right approach.

Food intolerances happen when your digestive system has trouble breaking down certain foods. Unlike food allergies, intolerances don’t involve your immune system and aren’t life-threatening.

When you can’t properly digest a food, it moves through your gut partially undigested. This can cause:

• Fermentation – gut bacteria feed on undigested carbs, producing excess gas
• Osmotic effects – certain sugars pull water into your intestines, causing diarrhea
• Gut irritation – undigested food can irritate your intestinal lining

Food allergies are different: They trigger your entire immune system, treating food as a threat. This can cause serious, even life-threatening reactions like difficulty breathing, swelling, or anaphylaxis. Food intolerances cause uncomfortable digestive symptoms but aren’t life-threatening.

Common types of food intolerances

• FODMAP sensitivities – difficulty digesting certain fermentable carbohydrates
• Lactose intolerance – insufficient lactase enzyme to break down milk sugar
• Fructose malabsorption – poor absorption of fruit sugar in the small intestine
• Sucrase-isomaltase deficiency – inability to properly digest certain starches and sugars
• Non-celiac gluten sensitivity – digestive symptoms triggered by gluten without celiac disease

Symptoms typically include bloating, gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or constipation—usually appearing within 30 minutes to a few hours after eating trigger foods.

Yes, the low-FODMAP diet and other elimination approaches can dramatically improve symptoms—clinical trials show up to 75% of people with IBS see symptom relief. But here’s the catch: strict long-term restriction can reduce beneficial gut bacteria, limit nutrient intake, increase food fear, and negatively impact your quality of life.

Research shows that the elimination phase should be temporary (2-6 weeks), followed by a structured reintroduction process to identify your specific triggers and expand dietary variety. The goal is never to stay restricted forever.

I don’t just hand you a list of foods to avoid. I use evidence-based approaches to pinpoint exactly which foods are causing problems—then guide you through safe, gradual reintroduction so you can eat freely again without fear.

My approach includes:

• Structured FODMAP elimination and personalized reintroduction – Using proven protocols with clear timelines and systematic testing (check out my book on this!)

• Identification of specific carbohydrate malabsorption patterns – Determining if it’s lactose, fructose, or other sugars causing issues through symptom tracking and testing

• Gut healing protocols – Supporting your digestive system to improve long-term tolerance, not just mask symptoms

• Nutrient adequacy monitoring – Ensuring you’re not developing deficiencies while navigating food sensitivities

• Food fear reduction and relationship repair – Helping you move from restriction and anxiety to confidence and food freedom

The goal isn’t to create a longer “avoid” list—it’s to understand your unique digestive patterns, support gut healing, and maximize the variety of foods you can enjoy.

Common concerns I support:

• FODMAP sensitivities

• Lactose intolerance

• Fructose malabsorption

• Non-celiac gluten sensitivity

• Sucrase-isomaltase deficiency

• Multiple overlapping food intolerances

• Extreme dietary restriction and food fear

• Uncertain about what’s triggering symptoms

Wondering about specific triggers? Could Your Genes Be the Reason Your IBS Diet Isn’t Working?

Heartburn, chest pain, nausea, regurgitation, early fullness—these symptoms affect millions of people daily. Maybe you’ve been told it’s “just acid reflux” and handed a prescription for lifelong acid-blocking medication. Or perhaps you’ve tried cutting out tomatoes, coffee, and anything remotely acidic, only to find your symptoms still flare up unpredictably.

If you’re frustrated because the “standard advice” isn’t working—or because you’re told you’ll need medication forever—you’re in the right place.

Here’s what often gets missed: reflux and slow digestion aren’t always caused by excess stomach acid.

Acid reflux (GERD), silent reflux (LPR), and gastroparesis involve complex changes in how your digestive system moves and responds to food—not just how much acid you’re producing.

Key factors that contribute to symptoms:

• Altered gastric motility – Your stomach empties too slowly (gastroparesis) or the lower esophageal sphincter (the valve between your esophagus and stomach) doesn’t close properly
• Impaired esophageal clearance – Food and acid linger in your esophagus longer than they should, causing prolonged irritation
• Heightened nerve sensitivity – Your digestive nerves overreact to normal amounts of acid or stomach contents, making even small amounts feel unbearable
• Delayed stomach emptying – Food sits in your stomach too long, creating pressure, fullness, and discomfort

Gastroparesis specifically causes delayed stomach emptying, leading to severe nausea, vomiting, early fullness, and real difficulty meeting your nutritional needs. It often coexists with diabetes, neurological disorders, or post-viral syndromes—but sometimes appears without any clear cause, leaving you without answers.

You’ve probably been handed the same list: avoid tomatoes, citrus, coffee, chocolate, spicy foods, and anything acidic. While these can be triggers for some people, the research is actually mixed—and blanket avoidance can unnecessarily restrict your diet without fixing the underlying problem.

What research does show helps:

• Meal timing and portion control – When and how much you eat matters as much as what
• Food texture modification – Especially helpful for gastroparesis
• Macronutrient balance – The ratio of fat, protein, and carbs affects digestion speed
• Eating position and post-meal activity – How you position yourself matters
• Nervous system regulation – Stress and nervous system dysregulation directly affect digestion

Learn more: Low Stomach Acid and Acid Reflux: How Hypochlorhydria Can Trigger GERD | Functional Nutrition Strategies for Acid Reflux Relief | Sip Smart: What Your Gut Wishes You Knew About Coffee

I focus on nutrition and lifestyle strategies that support digestive comfort, proper stomach emptying, and esophageal health—without creating unnecessary food restrictions. .

My approach includes:

• Personalized meal timing and portion strategies – Based on your specific motility patterns and symptom triggers, not generic rules
• Texture and consistency modification – Especially important for gastroparesis, helping you meet nutrition needs when solid food feels impossible
• Strategic macronutrient balance – Adjusting fat, protein, and carb ratios to reduce symptoms while keeping meals satisfying
• Nutrient monitoring and repletion – Both reflux and gastroparesis can cause deficiencies that go unnoticed and unaddressed
• Collaborative care with your medical provider – I work alongside your doctor when medication is needed, helping optimize nutrition strategies that support—not replace—medical treatment

The goal is to reduce your symptoms while maintaining adequate nutrition, food enjoyment, and quality of life. Not every food needs to be off-limits forever.

Common concerns I support:

• Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
• Silent reflux (laryngopharyngeal reflux/LPR)
• Functional heartburn
• Gastroparesis (diabetic and idiopathic)
• Upper digestive discomfort and early satiety
• Nausea and vomiting related to slow stomach emptying
• Difficulty eating enough due to reflux or delayed emptying

Flushing out of nowhere. Brain fog that makes it hard to think. Bloating, nausea, diarrhea that seem totally random. You react to a food one day and tolerate it fine the next. Your symptoms don’t follow any logical pattern, and standard allergy tests come back normal.

Maybe you’ve been handed a low-histamine food list and told to “just avoid triggers.” But that list keeps getting longer, your symptoms still flare unpredictably, and nobody’s addressing what’s actually broken.

Histamine is a chemical your body produces naturally—and also gets from certain foods. When everything’s working properly, an enzyme called diamine oxidase (DAO) breaks histamine down efficiently. But when that system fails, histamine accumulates and triggers symptoms throughout your body.

Histamine intolerance happens when your body can’t break down histamine fast enough, leading to:

• Digestive chaos: bloating, diarrhea, nausea, reflux, abdominal pain
• Systemic symptoms: headaches, flushing, hives, fatigue, anxiety, brain fog
• Unpredictable food reactions that make it impossible to know what’s “safe”

MCAS is when your immune cells release excessive histamine and other inflammatory chemicals. Symptoms are similar to histamine intolerance but often more severe and widespread.

What’s driving this:

• Low DAO enzyme production (often from gut damage)
• Gut inflammation or leaky gut
• Microbiome imbalances—certain bacteria actually produce histamine
• Post-viral immune system dysregulation
• Often overlaps with IBS, SIBO, hormonal changes, or connective tissue disorders

The more inflammation and imbalance in your gut, the worse your histamine reactions become. Which is why just avoiding foods doesn’t fix the problem.

Learn more: Understanding the Skin Microbiome: Why It Matters and How to Support It

A low-histamine diet can calm symptoms quickly, and when you’re desperate, that feels like relief. But staying ultra-restricted long-term creates new problems: nutrient deficiencies, damaged gut microbiome, worsening food sensitivities, and genuine fear around eating.

The goal isn’t to avoid histamine forever. It’s to fix what’s broken so your body can handle histamine again.

I don’t just hand you a list of foods to avoid. We address why your body is overreacting in the first place, calm the inflammation, restore gut function, and systematically expand what you can eat.

My approach:

• Strategic histamine reduction (not total elimination) – Enough to settle symptoms without creating nutritional deficiencies or food fear

• Gut barrier repair – Healing intestinal permeability so DAO production improves and your gut stops overreacting

• Microbiome rebalancing – Reducing histamine-producing bacteria and supporting beneficial strains

• Mast cell stabilization – Nutrition, sleep, stress management, and lifestyle factors that calm immune reactivity beyond just food

• Structured food reintroduction – Testing foods systematically with symptom tracking so you know what actually triggers you vs what you’ve been avoiding unnecessarily

• Nutrient restoration – Correcting deficiencies that develop from months or years of restriction

I work with:

• Histamine intolerance
• Mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS)
• Post-viral gut dysfunction and immune dysregulation
• Unpredictable reactions that don’t fit any clear pattern
• Overlapping IBS, SIBO, reflux, or hormone-related gut symptoms
• People who’ve been restricting for months or years and still reacting to everything

Severe constipation. Bloating that won’t quit. New food sensitivities that seem to appear out of nowhere. Reflux that started during perimenopause and never left.

Your thyroid labs come back “within range,” so you’re told everything’s fine. And when you ask if your digestion could be connected to your thyroid or hormones, you’re met with dismissal—or worse, the suggestion that it’s stress or anxiety.

Here’s the reality: thyroid disorders and hormonal changes don’t just affect your energy and weight. They directly impact gut motility, stomach acid production, microbiome balance, and how your body responds to food.

Thyroid hormones and sex hormones (estrogen and progesterone) aren’t optional players in digestion—they’re essential. When they’re off, your entire digestive system struggles.

Hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s commonly cause:

• Slowed gut motility – Low thyroid function literally slows the movement of food through your intestines, causing constipation and bloating
• Reduced stomach acid – Making it harder to digest protein and absorb nutrients like iron and B12
• Increased SIBO risk – Slow motility gives bacteria time to overgrow in the small intestine
• Nutrient deficiencies – Iron, selenium, iodine, vitamin D, B12 (which then worsens thyroid function—a vicious cycle)
• Heightened inflammation and food sensitivities – Your immune system is already overactive with Hashimoto’s, making your gut more reactive

Perimenopause and menopause often trigger:

• Worsening reflux – Dropping estrogen affects the lower esophageal sphincter and bile acid metabolism
• Unpredictable bowel habits – Fluctuating progesterone speeds up or slows down transit time
• New food intolerances – Hormone shifts change your microbiome and gut immune response
• Microbiome changes – The gut bacterial composition actually shifts during perimenopause, increasing inflammation
• Increased bloating and visceral sensitivity – Your gut becomes more reactive to normal amounts of gas and food

These digestive issues often overlap with IBS, SIBO, histamine intolerance, and post-viral gut dysfunction—making it even harder to figure out what’s actually wrong.

Learn more: Living with Hashimoto’s: What I Wish I Knew from the Start (Part 1) | Living with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis: The Best Evidence-Based Diet (Part 2) | Gut Health in Hormonal Transitions

If your thyroid or hormones are driving the dysfunction, standard gut protocols will only get you so far. You can try all the probiotics, fiber adjustments, and low-FODMAP diets in the world—but if your motility is slowed because your thyroid is underactive, or your microbiome is shifting because of dropping estrogen, those symptoms will persist.

You need an approach that addresses both the hormonal root causes and the digestive consequences.

Nutrient deficiencies that worsen both thyroid and gut function:

• Iron – Low iron impairs thyroid hormone production and slows gut motility even further
• Selenium – Critical for converting T4 to active T3 and regulating immune function in Hashimoto’s
• Iodine – Essential for thyroid hormone synthesis (but tricky with Hashimoto’s—needs careful assessment)
• Vitamin D – Supports immune regulation and gut barrier integrity
• B vitamins – Especially B12, which is commonly deficient with low stomach acid and affects energy, nervous system, and methylation

Many people with thyroid disorders have multiple deficiencies that go undetected—and those deficiencies make both thyroid and gut symptoms worse.

I use a systems-based approach that connects the dots between your thyroid, hormones, and gut health. This isn’t about treating symptoms in isolation—it’s about understanding how everything influences everything else.

My approach:

• Root-cause investigation – Identifying whether thyroid dysfunction, hormonal shifts, or nutrient deficiencies are driving your digestive symptoms (often it’s a combination)
• Motility support – Meal timing, fiber strategies, prokinetic foods, and nervous system regulation to improve sluggish digestion from hypothyroidism
• Microbiome restoration – Addressing the hormone-gut connection and rebalancing bacteria affected by thyroid or estrogen/progesterone changes
• Strategic nutrient repletion – Testing for deficiencies and using targeted supplementation (not blanket protocols) to support both thyroid conversion and gut healing
• Food intolerance management – Addressing sensitivities that develop or worsen during hormonal transitions, including histamine issues common in perimenopause
• Collaborative care – Working alongside your endocrinologist, gynecologist, or functional medicine doctor to optimize thyroid medication and hormone support when needed

I specialize in:

• Digestive symptoms with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (I have Hashimoto’s too and got mine into remission—I know this journey personally)
• Hypothyroidism-related constipation and bloating
• Perimenopause and menopause gut changes
• Post-COVID digestive symptoms (often overlapping with thyroid/immune disruption)
• Stress-related gut-hormone dysfunction
• Nutrient deficiencies affecting both thyroid and digestive health