Woman holding her abdomen with both hands

✦ Women's Health

Settlethegut.

Bloating, unpredictable bowels, reflux, food reactions — most gut symptoms have a pattern underneath, and most patterns are addressable.

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Vintage anatomical illustration of the digestive system

✦ The pattern

“The gut isn't just about digestion. It runs your immune system, produces neurotransmitters, and metabolizes your hormones. When it's off, everything feels off.”

Most people with chronic gut symptoms have been told their tests are normal, or have been handed a diagnosis like IBS without much explanation of what's causing it or what to do. I look for the upstream pattern: dysbiosis, SIBO, increased intestinal permeability, food sensitivities, or impaired motility, each of which points to a different protocol.

The gut-hormone connection is particularly relevant for women. The gut microbiome directly regulates estrogen recycling through an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase. Poor gut health is often a hidden driver of estrogen dominance, heavy periods, and mood instability.

✦ Worth knowing

Three things to hold onto.

The gut microbiome runs estrogen

A dysbiotic gut recirculates estrogens that should be cleared. This drives estrogen dominance, heavy periods, PMS and mood instability — even when hormone levels look normal on blood tests.

SIBO is under-diagnosed

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth causes bloating, gas, and irregular bowels in a large proportion of IBS cases. It has a specific breath test, and specific treatment protocols that work.

Food sensitivities are real but overblamed

IgG food reactions contribute to gut inflammation and systemic symptoms in some people. But treating the gut environment usually reduces sensitivities rather than the other way around.

✦ The work

How I think about digestion & the gut.

What I test for

Comprehensive stool analysis (microbiome diversity, pathogens, inflammation markers, short-chain fatty acids). SIBO breath testing where indicated. Food sensitivity panel (IgG) selectively. Intestinal permeability markers. Nutrient absorption markers including B12, iron, zinc, and fat-soluble vitamins. Thyroid, since hypothyroidism is one of the most common and overlooked causes of constipation.

Treatment approaches

Antimicrobial herbal protocols for SIBO and dysbiosis. Gut-repair nutrition: specific carbohydrate diet, low-FODMAP as a short-term tool, targeted probiotics by strain not just by brand. Digestive enzyme support where motility or enzyme output is the issue. IV therapy when malabsorption has created significant nutrient deficits.

The gut-hormone connection

For women with both hormonal and gut symptoms, I treat both simultaneously. Improving the microbiome changes how estrogen is metabolized, which often shifts cycle symptoms, mood, and energy in ways that hormonal treatment alone wouldn't achieve.

✦ How I'd work with you

Considered.
Tested.
Re-tested.

Most gut cases take three to six months of active work. Stool testing at baseline, protocol implementation, retest at three months. The goal is a gut that functions without you having to think about it.

Therapies I'd likely use

Functional lab testing IV & injection therapy Nutrition Herbal medicine

✦ Common questions

You're probably wondering.

I've had a colonoscopy and everything was normal. Does that help?

It rules out structural disease, which matters. But colonoscopies don't assess the microbiome, SIBO, intestinal permeability or enzyme function. Normal anatomy doesn't mean normal function.

I've been told I have IBS. Is there more to it than that?

IBS is a symptom description, not a diagnosis. It tells you what's happening, not why. Most cases have a treatable underlying pattern when you look with the right tools.

How does gut health affect my hormones?

The gut microbiome produces an enzyme called beta-glucuronidase that reactivates estrogens for reabsorption. High beta-glucuronidase means more estrogen recirculation, which drives estrogen dominance. Treating the gut is often the most direct way to shift a hormonal pattern.