Gut Health: Getting to the Root of Digestive Trouble
Bloating, heartburn, irregularity, and food reactions are signs, not just nuisances. We look for what your gut is trying to tell you.
Why Your Gut Matters So Much
Your gut does far more than digest food. It absorbs the nutrients every cell depends on, plays a central role in immune function, and is home to beneficial bacteria that help make B vitamins and the fatty acids that nourish your colon.
When the gut is out of balance, the effects rarely stay in your belly. Gut problems may contribute to fatigue, brain fog, mood changes, skin problems, food sensitivities, and autoimmune disease.
Too often, gut symptoms are quieted with pills while the cause goes unaddressed. Acid blockers, laxatives, and pain relievers can bring short-term relief, but they don't answer the question of why. That question is where we begin.
Common Signs and Symptoms
Root Causes We Look For
How We Help Restore Your Gut
We start with a careful history and evaluation, which may include advanced stool testing through a lab that specializes in gastrointestinal function. These tests look far beyond the standard screen for blood and a few organisms.
Based on what we find, your plan may include clearing yeast or other unwanted organisms, repairing the gut lining, restoring healthy bacteria, supporting digestion, and adopting an anti-inflammatory diet. Gut repair options may include colostrum, repair peptides, and high-dose probiotics.
Want to learn more? Read Oh Crap! The Amazing Things You Can Learn From Your Stool and What Is Your Heartburn Telling You?
A Healthy Gut Is a Foundation for Everything Else
When digestion, absorption, and immune balance improve, many other symptoms can begin to ease.
Related Reading and Conditions
Article
Oh Crap! The Amazing Things You Can Learn From Your Stool
What advanced stool testing can reveal that a conventional stool test often misses.
Read the Article
Article
What Is Your Heartburn Telling You?
Why heartburn is often not about too much acid, and what may be causing it instead.
Read the Article
Condition
Autoimmune Disease
The gut and the immune system are closely linked. Learn how we approach autoimmune conditions.
Learn More
Gut Health FAQs
Conventional stool tests typically look for blood, white cells, and a few organisms, and they often come back normal even when you don't feel normal. Advanced stool testing can show the balance of beneficial and unfriendly bacteria, yeast, digestive enzyme output, inflammation, and signs of leaky gut.
Yes. Low stomach acid is a common trigger because it can cause the muscle between your stomach and esophagus to relax when it shouldn't. Eating too fast, aging, H. pylori, thyroid deficiency, and prolonged stress can all lower stomach acid.
Please don't stop or change any medication on your own. Talk with us or your provider first. Our goal is to find and address the reasons behind your heartburn so you have better options.
Leaky gut, or intestinal hyperpermeability, means the lining of your intestine has become more permeable than it should be. This can let particles through that trigger inflammation and immune reactions. Repairing the gut lining is a core part of our gut work.
Scopes have their place, and you should follow your doctor's advice on screening. But a camera shows what the gut looks like, not how well it is functioning. Specialized stool analysis adds that missing information.
Ready to Feel at Home in Your Body Again?
Tell us what is going on, and we will help you find the right next step. We see patients from all over Utah and across the United States at our offices in Springville and Moab.