I really care about the gut health & digestive symptoms you’re experiencing, and I appreciate the fact that you want those gone… But I want you to want so much more than that! I want you to look at a bigger picture of gut health, and make sure you feel better now and for a long time into the future. By focusing on setting foundations for the future, we can make sure you’re not continually getting derailed by your gut symptoms over and over again. That way you’re free to fully show up and live your life like you want.

*This is a modified transcript of an episode from my podcast, The Nourished & Thriving show. This episode is titled “Is your gut healed for good? Here’s one way to tell!” (published February 2024), which you can find on your favorite listening platform here.

*This is not medical advice.

First things first, I’m a registered dietitian on a mission to help you increase your impact and legacy on the world while healing your gut and reducing your IBS and digestive symptoms. My goal is to inspire you to live vibrantly and provide valuable resources and information that empowers you to take bold action towards your health goals.

Are your digestive symptoms healed for good? Here’s one way to tell!

One of the questions that comes up in conversation with my clients and with the people I’m talking to on Instagram is, “What does feeling better mean to you?” A lot of the time, we aren’t clear on what our gut health goals are and what “feeling better” actually means to us. We don’t define those things, so we never really know when we’ve achieved our goals. That can end up being frustrating, because as you move along and take action after action after action, you never quite feel like you’re arriving at your destination. That’s because you didn’t know what your destination was to begin with.

I’m going to share one story about reaching that “destination” with you as an example. Please remember that “feeling better” means a lot of different things based on your digestive symptoms, personal experiences, and gut health goals, so this is an example to explain the question, “How long does it take to heal your gut for good?” This story I’m about to share is, to me, a sign of true long-term, lasting gut health and “feeling better.”

Understanding Gut Resilience

But first let me explain what some terms mean and why they’re important. Long-term gut health is something I have called “gut resilience” in the past. Resilience is a noun meaning the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties. A lot of the time, when we’re first seeking out gut healing, we don’t really think about the future or the long term. We just want to feel better now. I think that’s why so many of you are tempted by these jazzy, shiny programs or products from different supplement companies—you just want to feel better. You end up mixing and matching whatever quick and easy strategies that pop up in front of you… But instead of finding success in healing your gut, you end up spinning in circles from thing to thing.

The “I’ve tried everything” clients are most often the ones who don’t have a strategy or understanding behind their gut symptoms. If they had a strategy and a deeper understanding of what was happening in their body and why those gut symptoms were appearing, then they’d be on the road towards gut resilience. By moving past the focus of “here and now” and instead focusing on gut resilience, they are mitigating an onslaught of future digestive issues. I want to ask you: whenever you’re thinking about feeling better now, are you also thinking about next month, next year, and so on? While it might be difficult to break free from the “I want to feel better now” mindset, remember that when you shift your mindset like this and pursue this new goal of gut resilience, you might never have to deal with digestive symptoms of this caliber or intensity again! Plus, you’ll have “the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties“.

Here’s my story about gut resilience, which will help you understand how you can know if you have gut resilience or don’t have it…

Still feeling sick after a stomach bug or recovering quickly?

A couple of weeks ago, a tummy bug was going around my local school district. Now I have three children—two of them are elementary-aged and the other is preschool-toddler-aged. For those of you who are parents, whether your kids are old or young, you know any parent’s worst nightmare is a tummy bug. (Of course, a lot worse things could happen, but when you’re thinking about your kids, tummy bugs rank pretty high up there!) The sickness going around my kids’ school was at one point so bad that there were 14 teachers out, and they were having to combine classes because so many teachers were sick.

So as expected, my two girls came down with the tummy bug. The rest of my family and I magically avoided it for a while…. Then the next week, my little boy got it while he was sleeping… Like vomit all over his bed. So we cleaned it up as best as we could at 2am, we cleaned him up, we consoled him, and of course he was upset… So we end up bringing him to bed with us… where he promptly gets sick to his stomach again. So we clean that up—as best we can for 3am—and my Little Beau snuggled his mama (me) nose to nose… In that moment, I knew I was doomed. There was no way around it.

Sure enough, by 10:00 AM the next day I was not feeling fantastic. I was in tears because I felt so bad. (How many moms out there cry whenever you get sick?) So I laid in bed, and I rested. My kids were so sweet; each in their own way trying to help mommy feel better. My oldest, Charlotte, was doing her best to keep the two little ones from bothering me. Adelyn, my middle child, brought me ginger chews. My littlest, Beau, came and just patted my arm a few times. Through it all, I never got sick to my stomach, despite feeling very nauseated. By nine o’clock that night, I was feeling much better. I continued resting, and I slept a full 12 hours that night. I was definitely tired and worn out, but I woke up the next day feeling completely better.

Despite all of the fear and the way I had seen the sickness ravage so many others, for me it was a short-lived tummy bug. That is what I call gut resilience. The sickness wasn’t as intense as it could have been, and it didn’t last for as long as it could have. The next day I felt completely better and moved on with my merry life. Now if my gut had been in a much worse place, things probably would have looked a lot different.

Can stress cause gastrointestinal problems & digestive symptoms?

I’ve actually worked with people who claim that all of their digestive symptoms started with a tummy bug and they never fully recovered. That’s because they didn’t have gut resilience to begin with! And it’s not just tummy bugs that are the initiator… It can be antibiotics, or travel, or surgery! Oftentimes, it is a time of stress that seems to be the kickoff point for things to go south for you symptom-wise. If you’re nodding your head yes, chances are your microbiome and gut environment we’re not robust to begin with. So if you’re asking, “can stress cause gastrointestinal problems?”, the answer is YES. Both physical and mental stress can cause or exacerbate gastrointestinal problems and digestive symptoms.

I’ve was talking with someone earlier who said she’s been dealing with her digestive symptoms for five years!  She says she’s experienced symptoms since she was a child, but over the years she’s had H. pylori, candida, and now she has SIBO! She feels like it just doesn’t matter what she does, because she never fully heals and something always appears. While we haven’t officially worked together yet, I can say with confidence that they’re all connected. Something in her gut is creating a weak link that is allowing these bacterias to come in and make her feel really, really bad.

So this is what I mean about not solving the problems NOW but solving the future problems. Sure we could solve a stomach bug pretty easily with time and medicine. We can also solve a bacterial infection, like SIBO, with time and medication. But that’s not actually solving a root cause that will help you heal your gut for the long term! We need to find the root cause—or the weak link—so no more bacterial infections occur or so we can fight off stomach bugs quickly. Fixing that root cause is what will stop you from continuing to get sick over and over again. Then the next time you do go to Mexico and accidentally drink the water or get some food poisoning at a restaurant or get a tummy bag because your two year old decided to breathe on your face: It’s not going to completely take you out.

So you’ve realized your gut is NOT resilient… What now?

That’s why I believe gut resilience is a telltale marker and key for overall gut healing and something we should all be striving for and working toward when healing our guts. I want you to consider: Is your gut resilient? Do you bounce back from things quickly? If you’re not sure how to answer this, let’s examine your general health. Are you somebody who keeps getting cold after cold after cold and every bug that goes around? Your immune system may be compromised, and your gut health isn’t as good as you think it might be. (It’s all connected!) Or maybe you’re a person who has been having gut issues on and off for a while, and you feel like it’s one thing after the other? That is a good indication that you don’t have gut resilience.

In my Gut Rehab program, that’s what I’m working to help create for my clients. I really care about the gut health & digestive symptoms you’re experiencing, and I appreciate the fact that you want those gone… But I want you to want so much more than that! I want you to look at a bigger picture of gut health, and make sure you feel better now and for a long time into the future. By focusing on setting foundations for the future, we can make sure you’re not continually getting derailed by your gut symptoms over and over again. That way you’re free to fully show up and live your life like you want.

I hope you are feeling inspired and empowered to take bold action towards your health goals.