Struggling With

Digestion Issues in Calgary?

Digestion and stomach wellness in Calgary is a problem that many people deal with. What's even more discouraging to us is that many people don't know they don't have to live with it. Many people have never tried naturopathic care. We are here to help you know what options you may have.

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If you are like many Canadians, you want to feel healthy. Wouldn't it be nice to feel good all the time? You don't have to live with your stomach or digestion issues anymore. The goal of this provider team in Calgary is to help you live the best life you can every day. We can help you get your Stomach Wellness and Digestion issues in Calgary under control.

Digestion Wellness IN Calgary

Many people come to us with general concerns about their health and wellness. It’s often the starting point of conversations about other symptoms and concerns. Once we do an assessment, we can start figuring out what might be the source of your issues. Digestive concerns are commonly seen in our practice.

Digestive Conditions we commonly treat:

IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome
IBD - Inflammatory Bowel Disease
- Ulcerative colitis
- Crohn’s disease
SIBO -Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth
Food sensitivities & intolerance
Increased Intestinal Permeability (leaky gut)
Gas & bloating
Indigestion & Heartburn
Diarrhea
Constipation

IBS - Symptoms

IBS is characterized by constipation, diarrhea or alternating between the two and abdominal pain or cramping. You may also experience bloating, gas and indigestion.

The difficulty when it comes to IBS, is that it is known as a “diagnosis of exclusion”, this means that there is no clear pathology causing the symptoms experienced. Instead, the diagnosis is made after testing is performed that rules out all other possible causes. This often leaves patients feeling confused and disappointed to hear a cause of their symptoms was not identified. In naturopathic medicine, we see and approach IBS differently.

IBS - How We Can Help

Our naturopathic doctors use an in-depth health history, physical exam and offer a variety of testing options for your specific situation. We will address your diet, the potential for food sensitivities or intolerances, poor digestive enzyme production, microbiome dysbiosis, history of GI infection or onset during foreign travel, stress management and the importance of the gut-brain connection, the role of estrogen and female sex hormones on the GI tract, and lastly, we may recommend testing to better understand your root cause of IBS symptoms.

IBS & SIBO

Recently, small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, or SIBO, has become recognized as a potential cause or contributor to the symptoms experienced in some patients diagnosed with IBS. When many diagnosed with SIBO feel a lack of control over their health, this emerging area of understanding can bring answers to some individuals living with IBS. (Read more about SIBO below…)

IBS Testing Options

Conventional medicine and naturopathic medicine differ in their approach, especially when it comes to IBS. There are symptoms and diagnoses that are not currently recognized or treated in conventional medicine, but understanding the pathology of your symptoms plays a crucial role in guiding treatment for naturopathic medicine. Your naturopathic doctor may recommend SIBO Breath Testing to assess for the presence of small intestine bacterial overgrowth (read more about SIBO below). Another possible recommendation is GI Map, which tests for pathogens (bacterial, viral and parasitic) causing GI inflammation and damage, dysbiosis of the microbiome to ensure there are adequate amounts of beneficial gut microbes and no overgrowth of opportunistic microbes (bacteria, yeast, fungi), markers of proper digestion and immune response markers that could be causing your IBS symptoms. Food sensitivity testing is an additional test that may be right for you to determine food sources of inflammation in the GI tract that could be contributing to your symptoms.

Symptoms of Digestive Issues

Disrupted digestion can be both the result of, and cause of, problematic symptoms throughout the body. This includes mental health concerns, hormonal dysfunction, skin conditions, pain, atopic conditions (asthma, eczema, allergies) and other inflammatory illnesses. We’ll help you identify which of your symptoms might be related to your gut health and work with you on a plan to relieve them.

Many people have benefits to help cover the cost of treatment in support of digestion, so don’t hesitate to reach out for an assessment and support.

Naturopathic Medicine Calgary AB Action Health Wellness Digestion Issues

IBD

Inflammatory bowel diseases include Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis. Common symptoms of IBD include blood in stools, rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, diarrhea, gas, fatigue and weight loss.

IBD Testing

A variety of tests contribute to the diagnosis of IBD, these may include blood tests, stool samples and a variety of imaging tests often including endoscopy, colonoscopy or a variety of others.

Testing may play an important role in your care if we are working to identify triggers and root causes of your flares. Your naturopathic doctor’s testing recommendations may include a microbial assay such as GI Map, which tests for pathogens (bacterial, viral and parasitic) causing GI inflammation and damage, dysbiosis of the microbiome to ensure there are adequate amounts of beneficial gut microbes and no overgrowth of opportunistic microbes (bacteria, yeast, fungi), markers of proper digestion and immune response markers that could be causing your IBS flares. Alternatively, an elimination diet or food sensitivity testing may be right for you to determine food sources of inflammation in the GI tract that could be contributing to your symptoms.

IBD - How We Can Help

Our naturopathic doctors will work with you and any conventional care you are using to create a personalized and evidence-informed integrative plan. Our goals of treatment will be to reduce inflammation, identify lifestyle or food-based triggers leading to flares, incorporate both a therapeutic diet and identify personalized dietary choices, assess for and treat increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut) if present, assess the microbiome and potential for continued infection, and address any lifestyle medicine factors that my be important for your care.

Naturopathic Medicine Women's Health in Calgary AB

SIBO Symptoms

Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, or SIBO, is exactly as the name describes. SIBO presents with excessive bloating, gas, abdominal pain, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, and nutrient deficiencies that can cause fatigue.

SIBO How We Can Help

In cases of SIBO, we prioritize elimination of the overgrowth, restoring proper balance to the gut microbiome, identifying the cause (ie. poor small intestine motility, medication use, chronic disease, history of GI infection), providing therapeutic diet options.

SIBO Testing

SIBO is diagnosed using a SIBO breath test. This involves drinking a lactulose or glucose based liquid, and collecting samples of your breath to test for hydrogen and methane gases. These gases are produced by gut bacteria as they ferment the carbohydrates and give us details into the population density of bacteria in your gut.