Gut & Digestive Health
Dive into expert articles, insightful blogs, and patient stories to empower your health journey.
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Think Gut: Helping Kids Build Strong Minds from the Inside Out
Why the Gut–Brain Connection Matters Did you know your child’s gut health could be directly shaping their mood, focus, and ability to thrive in school? The gut and brain are deeply connected through what’s called the gut–brain axis — a two-way communication system where digestion, nutrient absorption, and the microbiome directly influence learning, behavior, and…
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A Functional Medicine Approach to Chronic Allergies & Digestive Health
Meet Ellen, a 64-year-old woman whose health challenges tell a story many of us can relate to. Over the past 15 years, she’s faced chronic stomach aches, diarrhea, persistent congestion, and allergic reactions, including unexplained anaphylaxis episodes several times a year. Add to this a demanding job, poor quality diet, little to no exercise, and…
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A Journey to Healing: Overcoming Ulcerative Colitis with Functional Nutrition
Introduction: I had the pleasure of working with Betsy, a 70-year-old woman who embarked on a remarkable journey of healing after being diagnosed with ulcerative colitis in July 2020. At The UltraWellness Center, we offer the option of working exclusively with a functional nutritionist which is what Betsy wanted to do. Her story is a…
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Gut Healing Apple Crisp
As we move through the transition of seasons, many people are excited to cook their favorite fall recipes. One of the most popular fall foods are APPLES! They are a great source of dietary fiber, antioxidants, and pectin (a prebiotic that may support the healing of intestinal permeability/leaky gut). Also, getting a variety of apples…
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Gut Healing Sweet Potato Soup
Fall is here and our team loves soup season! Sarah Canfield, a Nutritionist here at The UltraWellness Center, shares her recipe for Gut Healing Sweet Potato Soup. Sweet potatoes are rich in antioxidants and a great source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Ingredients 5 cups peeled and cubed sweet potatoes 1/2 tbsp grass fed ghee 1 tbsp minced garlic (optional for low-fodmap)…
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Are Parasites Driving Your Autoimmune Or Gut Issues?
You may be surprised to learn that having a parasite, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, our gut microbiome is made up of more than 500 different species of microbes, including various types of bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses. Some of them help us, but others are harmful. Parasitic…
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Gut-Healing Coconut Yogurt Parfaits
Many of the patients I see at The UltraWellness Center suffer from some degree of microbiome imbalance. Repopulating the gut flora while trying to keep inflammation low by removing food sensitivities such as dairy can be challenging. This recipe is a great addition if you are looking to add probiotic rich foods, prebiotic antioxidant rich…
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Is Lactose Intolerance Causing Your Gut Issues?
Most of us grew up hearing that dairy, and especially milk, is crucial for good health. In reality, dairy isn’t the vital source of calcium and strong bones that we were led to believe. Dairy can cause digestive problems for the majority of people with lactose intolerance, along with a range of other symptoms in…
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How To Treat And Prevent Colon Polyps Using Functional Medicine
Colon cancer is one of the most prevalent types of cancer in the United States. While traditionally a disease of older adults, we are sadly seeing an increase in colon cancer incidence and mortality in young people. Screening for colon polyps with regular colonoscopies is an important way to access your risk of developing colorectal…
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What Is Your Constipation Telling You About Your Overall Health And How To Fix It
Constipation is an often uncomfortable and extremely prevalent condition affecting close to 80 million people. And while constipation might be common, it is definitely not normal and it can have disastrous consequences. Having healthy digestion and eliminating waste every day (ideally twice or three times a day!) is critical to your overall health. Your liver…
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Polyphenols: What They Are and Why You Need Them!
What are Polyphenols? Polyphenols are chemicals found in plant foods, especially herbs and spices, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beverages such as tea and coffee. They are produced naturally to protect the plant against ultraviolet radiation and other threats such as pests. Therefore, it makes sense that the compounds designed to protect against damage and…
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Getting to the Root: Tackling SIBO with Functional Medicine
You may have heard the word “SIBO” thrown around, but you’re not quite sure what it means. At The UltraWellness Center, SIBO is something we see a lot of. It stands for small intestine bacterial overgrowth, which means the bacteria that are supposed to be lower in the gastrointestinal tract have crept up to…
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Your Brain and Immunity: The Fascinating Connection You Need to Nurture
People often ask me, “What kind of medicine do you practice?” And when I say Functional Medicine, some people don’t really understand. So, I say I’m a psycho-neuro-immuno-endo-gut-ologist, which is because all the systems in the body are interrelated. Sometimes when you specialize, whether you are an immunologist or an endocrinologist or a cardiologist, you…
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5 Ways to Get Probiotics
Scientists continue to uncover the far-reaching benefits of the microbes in our gut. As a result, people are turning to probiotics as a way to support the health of their gut, immune system, and much more. In fact, according to the National Institutes of Health, probiotics are the third most commonly used supplement among adults…
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Top Five Natural Remedies for Constipation
While most people will experience constipation at some point in their lifetime, it is estimated that about 20% of the U.S. population suffers from chronic constipation. This means over 63 million people are suffering from constipation on a regular basis. Prevalence is higher among the elderly, especially elderly women. Having daily bowel movements that are…
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The Wrong Gut Bugs Can Make You Fat and Sick (and How to Fix Them)
Stop a second and consider this: You share your body with about 100 trillion other organisms. These bacterial cells live in your skin, mouth, nose, yet most of them reside in your digestive system and especially your large intestine. Imagine that. 100 trillion organisms. In fact, these bacterial cells outweigh human cells by about 10…
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Lesson 4: Gut & Digestive Health
IS SOMETHING WRONG with your inner tube? The inner tube of life that is your digestive system? It is likely that you suffer from (or have suffered from) some type of digestive disorder–irritable bowel, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, reflux, gas, and things too gross to mention in print. And you are not alone. Over 100…