How to find your FODMAP threshold?
How does a ‘top down’ approach to finding your FODMAP threshold compare with the usual low FODMAP approach? We know that cutting out FODMAPS when trying to keep the windy consequences of nasty gut bacteria under control can actually be risky in terms of wiping out helpful gut bacteria. So is there a way […]
Decreasing Gut Sensitivity in Children
How to address gut sensitivity with your child In an earlier blog, we covered off on the early life and sensory factors that could increase the likelihood of some children having sensory issues with foods that are related to gut sensitivity. In this post, we focus on some of the ways to address gut sensitivity […]
Children and Sensory Gut Issues
Trialling dietary changes with children who have digestive issues, abdominal pain or sensory issues This may well be as traumatic for parents as it is for the children themselves. Understandably, most have attempted dietary approaches such as the GAPS diet or cutting out food additives. My experience in supporting parents to implement a dietary trial […]
Should you take probiotics?
Should you take probiotics? Are dietitians ‘pro’ probiotics? We see it in magazines, on social media and hear it among our friends and family that certain food contains ‘prebiotics’ or ‘probiotics’, or 50 billion trillion CFUs ……..it all sounds very impressive, and very, very scientific…but what do all these terms mean for your gut and […]
Are my IBS symptoms related to Blastocystis?
In recent months, I have had several clients who have informed me that they have been diagnosed with the parasite blastocystis in their gut. Many people who carry blastocystis have no signs or symptoms, but it is also common amongst people who have diarrhoea or other irritable bowel type symptoms. Blastocystis often appears with other […]
FODMAPs in the festive season
Monitoring and managing FODMAPs in the festive season is not really fair! The majority of people who are modifying their diet for health reasons can afford to be a “bit naughty” at this time of year and feel no ill effects, other than on the waist line. Someone with IBS who is a “bit naughty” […]
Are our guts becoming too sterile?
Early exposure to germs According to the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ early life exposure to germs determines adulthood sensitivity to allergies such as hay fever and asthma and autoimmune diseases such as coeliac disease and inflammatory bowel disease. The ‘hygiene hypothesis’ has been proposed as an explanation for increase of allergic and autoimmune diseases in urban settings. […]
A Guide to Healthy Bowels
What does it mean to be ‘regular’ and what do healthy bowels look like? Many of us don’t really know what a normal bowel motion is. We may worry that perhaps our bowel motions are too runny, or too hard? Perhaps we are going too often, or maybe not at all. People often assume that […]