Frequently Asked Questions

Gut health refers to the health of your gastrointestinal tract, which includes the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine (colon or bowel).

Your gut plays a crucial role in many aspects of your health from nutrient absorption, immune function, energy production, your skin and even mental health. So as you can see, if your gut is not in a great place, it may be having a systemic effect on your health.

• Improved gut function

Getting your gut into a state of optimal health will significantly improve its function. You will see a huge reduction in gas, bloating, constipation, loose stools, intestinal inflammation, etc. 

• Improved tolerance to food 

Once we improve your gut function, your tolerance to foods may also start to improve. This includes onion, garlic, dairy, wheat, and a whole range of other foods. 

• Immune and energy health 

The gut is home to a large portion of your immune system. A balanced and diverse population of gut bacteria helps to support immune function and protect against infections, viruses, and harmful bacteria.

• Mental health 

A healthy gut and microbiome can support optimal brain function and mental health. Emerging research suggests that gut health can influence mood, stress levels, and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. 

• Skin health

Your gut health can also influence the health and appearance of your skin. By supporting gut health, we can address various sudden skin conditions. 

• Overall disease risk

Poor gut health has been linked to an increased risk of various health conditions, including gastrointestinal disorders (such as irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease), autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. 

Maintaining optimal gut health can help reduce your risk of developing these conditions and support overall health.

Signs of poor gut health may include:

• – Gas, Bloating, constipation, diarrhea, or alternating bowel habits.
• – Food intolerances or sensitivities
• – Persistent fatigue or low energy levels
• – weight changes
• – Skin conditions like acne, eczema, or rosacea 
• – Issues with the gut-brain axis like anxiety, depression, or irritability
• – Autoimmune condition
• – Chronic bad breath
• – Sugar cravings

We can not stress how important the relationship between your gut and your diet is! Your gut is the only thing in your body that comes in direct contact with the food you eat. Your gut will signal this food as safe and useful, or conversely an “invador” and create immune and inflammatory reactions against it. Identifying the foods that are supporting you and which are not, is essential to get any type of results with gut health.

It’s important to take a personalised approach to this. You will need to clarify what supports your gut health and leave out what is not.

Here is a list of the common things we will often steer people away from:

• – Ultra Processed foods (Anything that comes in a packet)
• – Processed sugars/carbs (Chips, lollies, soft drinks etc)
• – Deep-fried, fatty foods 
• – Most fast food/takeaway foods 
• – Avoid any food intolerance (Gluten, dairy, soy, nuts, eggs) for a period of time.
• – Alcohol in very minimal amounts (None if possible)

Each person’s health differs, leading to varying rates of improvement. 

We usually see acute changes within the first month, yet our focus remains on achieving lasting results, which can take 3 to 12 months. 

The process becomes much easier as acute symptoms start to diminish.

Our bodies have two primary stress responses: the well-known ‘fight or flight’ and its counterpart, ‘rest and digest’. 

Our digestive processes take a backseat when we’re in ‘fight or flight’ mode. This halts the movement of food, decreases digestive secretions, and diminishes nutrient absorption. Consequently, many complications may arise, including constipation, bloating, gas, diarrhea, and nutrient deficiencies.

Firstly, our goal is to stimulate bowel movement using a motility agent. We introduce a prokinetic agent to promote gut movement along with a fibre supplement.

Once these are well tolerated, we gradually reduce reliance on the motility agent.

The ultimate goal is establishing a consistent daily bowel routine without needing medication or supplements.

Yes, we work with a diverse range of complex gut disorders. This includes issues like gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), as well as more serious conditions such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis (UC), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) or gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), gastroparesis, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), and parasitic, bacterial, and yeast overgrowths.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common digestive disorder that includes a group of symptoms such as abdominal pain or discomfort, bloating, gas, and changes in bowel habits such as diarrhea, constipation, or both.

The management of IBS is multifactorial and includes a deep look into diet factors, nervous system support, investigating the root cause (usually through functional testing), and improving the health of the gut.

We need to investigate your stomach acid further and provide tailored support. There is also a range of diet and lifestyle factors we need to avoid during the length of treatment to allow the tissue in the esophagus to heal.

Limit things such as:

– Coffee
– Alcohol
– Chilli/Spice
– Eating fast
– Eating lying down
– Lying down within 2 hours of eating
– Exercising within 2 hours of eating a large meal
– Minimal snacking
– Stress

We first need to identify the root cause of the diarrhea. “Was it induced after food poisoning? Is it diet-related? Is it stress-related? What is your microbiome doing? Are there any overgrowths of unwanted pathogens? Do you have adequate levels of digestive enzymes?” Once we have further information, we can give tailored advice from there.

We must do a functional stool test to determine which pathogens are elevated and develop a targeted protocol from there. Treating parasites without testing done by a practising Doctor or a functional health practitioner is never recommended.

For optimal long-term gut health, we advise a diverse diet, aiming to include at least 30 different foods daily. Incorporating resistant starches, such as cooked and cooled potatoes, rice, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin, is also a great addition. While our bodies can’t fully digest resistant starches, they serve as a valuable source of nutrition for the beneficial bacteria in our gut, promoting many beneficial bacteria.

We’ll begin by having a comprehensive discussion about your health concerns and your aspirations for your gut health.

Following that, we will delve deep into your medical history, exploring your current symptoms, their timelines, the different body systems involved, and your present dietary habits.

As part of this process, there might be recommendations for functional testing, and we’ll also gather any relevant recent test results you may have undergone.

From there, I will craft a detailed protocol that will span over the course of 4-6 months, with the primary aim of addressing and mitigating your health concerns.
This protocol will encompass specific targets for supplementation, precise dietary modifications, and lifestyle modifications to support your gut health.

From there, we will design a detailed protocol that will span the course of 2-6 months.
This protocol will encompass precise dietary modifications, specific targets for supplementation, and lifestyle modifications to support your gut health.

We offer virtual consultations to accommodate remote clients. All aspects of our consultation, including testing and supplement dispensing, are done online. For your convenience, testing kits will be shipped directly to your home. For any specific questions, feel free to reach out.

Typically, the protocol we build together extends over a 4-6 month timeframe. Nonetheless, many patients discover that they enjoy our collaborative efforts to help improve their health and choose to either extend their journey or transition to different health goals.

Yes, we work a lot with functional testing, and we find it to be an extremely valuable tool in uncovering the root cause(s) of your gut health.

However, it’s important to note that functional testing is not a mandatory requirement for us to work together. If you prefer not to undergo testing, we can still make substantial progress in addressing your health issues through other approaches.

– Microbiome Mapping (Parasites, Bacteria and Fungal/Yeast overgrowth)
– Vaginal Microbiome Swab
– SIBO Breath Tests
– Food Inflammatory Tests
– Coeliac Testing
– Leaky Gut markers (Gut Permeability)
– 24-hour Blood Glucose Monitoring
– Functional Blood Test (Vitamin D, Iron studies, B12, folate, liver and thyroid function,…)

No, we work independently with the lab for your testing. This means all functional testing is sent to your home, and all collection and testing is done there.

Our laboratories are world-leading and fully accredited, and our practitioners have no competing interests.

– Low FODMAPS
– Ketogenic
– Low Carb
– Intermittent Fasting
– Autoimmune Protocol (AIP diet)
– Low Histamine
– Mediterranean diet
– Vegetarian/Vegan
– Paleo Diet
– Gluten or Dairy-Free Diet
– Elimination + reintroduction diet
– Anti-Inflammatory Diet
– DASH Diet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension)
– Low oxalate/salicylate
– Low Nightshade
– Exclusive Enteral Nutrition (EEN)

There are always cancellations and changes to appointments. Get in touch if you want to be placed on a calculation waitlist to get an earlier appointment.

At The Gut Biome Clinic, we appreciate and value our clients’ time. In return, we welcome your mutual respect for our practitioners. However, we understand that life can get busy, and things may need to change. Cancellations are welcome 24hrs before the appointment.

Cancellations made within 24 hours of the scheduled consultation will incur a 50% fee based on the consultation cost.

In the event of a failure to attend your consultation, the booking will be forfeited, and the full consultation fee will be charged.

Once you have made a booking, you will be sent a new patient health form to fill out. In this form, you will be able to upload any tests that have been done within the last 12 months. Please have this ready when you complete the form.

Yes, rebates depend on your health insurance provider, so we recommend checking with your provider to determine the specifics of your coverage.

At The Gut Biome Clinic, we believe that financial constraints should not be a limiting factor in accessing quality healthcare. We are more than happy to discuss this further; please feel free to email us directly.

Kindly ensure that you notify us with a minimum of 24 hours’ notice to prevent incurring a cancellation fee. Should you cancel within this 24-hour window, 50% of the consultation fee will be charged as a cancellation fee. The full consultation fee will be charged if you fail to attend your scheduled appointment without prior notice.

This policy is in place to honour the time of both other patients seeking appointments and our practitioners.