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A healthy digestive system impacts many other areas of the body and overall health, including mental health, sleep, and the immune system. While gut health has received more publicity in recent years, most people do not understand how to determine if their gut is healthy and how to improve its health.
That’s where a gut health dietitian comes in: a Registered Dietitian with advanced training in digestive health and/or integrative and functional nutrition. Keep reading to discover more about gut health and how working with a gut health dietitian can improve your quality of life.
A Registered Dietitian (RD) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) has received at least a master’s degree, completed a supervised practice internship, and passed a nationally recognized certification exam. RDNs are part of their client’s healthcare team and apply their nutrition knowledge to develop dietary strategies to meet the needs of individuals and populations.
In this article, the terms “nutritionist” and “dietitian” will be used interchangeably.
A gut health nutritionist is a dietitian who has received additional training in gut health and how diet and other lifestyle factors impact it. They use their expertise in nutrition counseling sessions to help clients understand and improve their gut health.
Many gut health dietitians use the principles of integrative and functional nutrition. This gives them a holistic view of the body and a person’s health as a whole system versus looking at each part individually. This is important as each system influences one another.
The gut is responsible for more than digestion (breaking down) and absorption of food. A healthy microbiome—the collection of beneficial microorganisms that live in the large intestine—is linked with mood, brain health, immunity, heart health, metabolic health, and more.
And gut health involves more than just eating. Lifestyle factors, including stress management, sleep exercise, and environmental factors also impact gut health.
Gut health dietitians work with their clients to develop a plan of small, manageable changes to improve diet and lifestyle choices that will enhance their client’s gut and overall health.
Partnering with a gut health dietitian means you’ve got a gut health expert on your team. Clients no longer have to sort through all of the noise on the internet or spend time and money trying different diets and supplements. They have access to a trusted source and can fast-track their gut health improvements.
A gut health nutritionist works with clients to create a personalized nutrition and lifestyle plan that includes foods that improve gut health and digestion, such as foods that contain natural probiotics that help balance the microbiome in the digestive tract.
A healthy digestive tract means that harmful bacteria in the microbiome are minimized. A gut health nutrition plan also includes foods that can help decrease any harmful bacteria, which aids in symptom relief and the improvement of gut health issues.
Gut health nutritionists also work with clients to create balanced meal plans that include fruits, vegetables, and high-quality fiber. Most focus on limiting the amount of processed foods eaten since those foods are usually detrimental to digestive tract health.
If someone experiences diarrhea, constipation, loose stools, gas, or bloating, working with a gut nutritionist can improve and potentially eliminate these symptoms.
Seventy to eighty percent of the immune system is located in the digestive tract. That means improving gut health can improve the immune system, and improving immune system health can positively impact gut health.
A dietitian can teach you what dietary changes can help to support your gut, your immune system, and more – as well as help you implement those changes into your life.
Proper hydration is also key to digestive tract health. A nutritionist will also focus on having their clients drink the appropriate amount of water. Sufficient water is critical when eating fiber-rich foods to avoid constipation or discomfort.
Improving digestive health improves overall health and many other areas of life. For example, improved digestion and a healthy microbiome can improve your sleep. While the research is developing, it shows links between a healthy microbiome and healthy sleep patterns.
Research has also shown a link between a healthy microbiome and anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders.
While heartburn and acid reflux are often seen as “normal,” they can be debilitating. They can also lead to damage to the esophagus. Often, dietary and lifestyle changes can help reduce or even eliminate symptoms.
A digestive health dietitian helps clients by identifying foods that exacerbate symptoms. For example, many people experience worsening symptoms when they eat fatty, spicy, or acidic foods. However, it’s important to identify personal triggers. Nutritionists work with clients to find alternative foods to include in the nutrition plan.
Those with irritable bowel syndrome often experience stomach pain, gas, bloating, diarrhea, constipation, or both diarrhea and constipation. IBS is usually diagnosed through a process of elimination. Many gastrointestinal doctors do not have the expertise or time to provide the nutrition counseling that leads to lasting improvement in IBS symptoms and better gut health.
A gut health dietitian can help with IBS management by focusing on improving overall gut health through diet and lifestyle, as well as identifying potential causes or triggers for digestive systems.
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) occurs when there is an abnormal increase of bacteria in the small intestine. This can happen for many reasons, including improperly digested food leading to bacterial overgrowth or bacteria relocating from the large intestine to the small intestine.
The symptoms of SIBO include frequent bloating, brain fog, joint pain, fatigue, constipation, or diarrhea.
Gut health dietitians have specific protocols to help clients overcome SIBO and its associated symptoms.
Symptoms of a leaky gut, also called increased intestinal permeability, include chronic digestive concerns and potentially other issues you may not think to associate with gut health, such as food sensitivities or allergies, joint pain, headaches, or brain fog. These symptoms develop because the intestinal barrier allows toxins and partially digested foods through the small intestine into the body, leading to inflammation and immune response.
While “leaky gut” is not always an officially recognized diagnosis in conventional medicine, gastrointestinal-focused dietitians and doctors, especially those with a background in integrative and functional nutrition, have experience identifying and treating leaky gut, resulting in improvements in their clients’ overall health.
The gastrointestinal system and the myriad of issues that can develop can be complex. Working with a trained expert, such as a gut health dietitian, is critical to overcoming GI issues.
When GI symptoms are non-specific, a gut health nutritionist helps patients understand if their symptoms are related to IBS, leaky gut, SIBO, or all three. Then, the nutritionist works with the patient to create a treatment plan to address their symptoms and strengthen their intestinal lining.
Working with a gut health dietitian provides clients with an expert to cut through the noise, help them understand the steps to take to improve their gut health, and provide accountability to make those steps happen. If someone experiences digestive symptoms, an RD specializing in digestive health helps determine and correct the underlying issues. Their plans are holistic, accounting for both food and lifestyle factors.
Our team of gut health dietitians has extensive experience working with patients who have:
IBS
IBD
SIBO
Celiac
Leaky Gut
Gastroparesis
Heartburn and acid reflux
Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)
Diverticulosis and diverticulitis
They can perform specific GI testing to help find the underlying cause of digestive issues and improve digestive health. This provides our clients with targeted treatments for their gastrointestinal issues. If you are ready to determine the cause of your digestive issues and overcome them, contact us today.
Offices currently located in Syracuse, Buffalo, Albany, and Rochester, NY, but we see patients all across the country.
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