What is Gut Health?
Having a healthy gut is key to having good overall health. You might know that you have some sort of gut or digestive issues. Common ailments include things like heartburn, bloating, frequent burping, flatulence, constipation, diarrhea, stomach-aches, nausea and/or abdominal pain. But here’s the tricky part—you might have none of these symptoms, but still have poor gut health. Many people believe they have to have digestive symptoms to have poor gut health, but that’s not always the case.
Common conditions associated with poor gut health include but are not limited to:
Food sensitivities
Rosacea
Fibromyalgia
Allergies
Asthma
Eczema
Hypothyroidism
Fatigue
Obesity
Migraines
Poor memory and concentration
Autoimmune conditions like Celiac disease, Lupus, multiple sclerosis, Psoriasis, Type 1 diabetes, Grave’s, Hashimoto's, etc.
Neurological conditions like Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, stroke, ADHD, autism, etc.
Mental health conditions like depression and anxiety
Digestive disorders like heartburn or GERD, IBS, constipation, diarrhea, Crohn’s and colitis
There are two important aspects of gut health: leaky gut and dysbiosis. Gut health also has a critical and direct impact on neuro-inflammation, plasticity and overall brain health. My services are specially designed to address each of these areas. Learn more about leaky gut, dysbiosis and the gut-brain connection below.
Dysbiosis
Dysbiosis, an imbalance in the microbiome, can affect any part of your body and severely impact overall health.
Leaky Gut
When substances leak from the gut into the body, the result can contribute to any number of chronic and overall health conditions.
Brain Health
Learn more about the gut-brain connection and how diet impacts neurological conditions and overall brain health.
Gut Health Quiz
Take this quick quiz to check in on your gut health!
Histamine Haven
Looking for more resources? Want to learn more about the science behind Histamine Intolerance and Mast Cell Activation Syndrome and how, through diet, you can navigate these conditions with more ease? Check out Histamine Haven, a resource guide and cookbook created by Tracey Reed and Luka Symons.
Tracey’s Reading List
These books are some of my favourite reads. Many of these contain great nutritional information, but they all contain fascinating information to help you understand what is happening biochemically in your body. The last two books on the list provide an enlightening perspective on our relationship with microbes and other organisms — maybe not interesting to everyone, but I couldn’t put these books down.
Gut and Psychology Syndrome by Natasha Campbell-McBride MD
Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall MSc
Grain Brain by David Perlmutter MD
The Wahls Protocol by Terry Wahls MD
Healing the New Childhood Disorders by Kenneth Bock MD
Nourishing Hope for Autism by Julie Matthews CNC
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong
An Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Understanding Allergies and Autoimmune Diseases by Moises Velasquez-Manoff
“I can’t tell you how much you’ve helped me. When I first saw you, I felt hopeless about the autoimmune disorder that I have. Sarcoidosis. For years the specialists told me that they don’t know why people have this condition and that the only help for it is prednisone or similar type drugs which may or may not help manage the symptoms (and come with a long list of potential side effects). What I learned from you about gut health and our autoimmune system made complete sense. After just a couple of months of a revamped way of eating, my lungs, joints and eyes were all remarkably improved. My ophthalmologist couldn’t believe it! But I could. Along with these improvements, I also felt so much better in general. I had more energy and had lost a significant amount of weight. And not once have I felt deprived or felt like I was on a “diet”. It’s been 7 months now. I continue to tell everyone about you because of your knowledge and compassion and how much better I am. Thank you very much.”