Ep.79 How to Improve Gut Health: Bloating, Constipation and SIBO Explained

If you are bloated or feel like your gut symptoms are holding you back from living life, this show is for you.  Our guest expert, Heather Finley, is an adventure-loving, book reading, constipation-overcoming dietician, who wants you to poop better.

Heather is your guide to make easy, sustainable changes so that you can find relief and feel healthy again.  She is the mastermind behind the gutTogether Program, host of the Love Your Gut podcast, a consultant, and speaker.

In this episode we discuss:

The gut/brain connection is really a thing!
SIBO - what it is and how it is diagnosed
Our poop has all the answers - using stool as a diagnostic tool
Mold and the impact on your gut
Are laxatives addicting
How restrictive diets can make gut issues worse
The 4-1-1 on fiber and fermented foods 

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https://www.drheatherfinley.co/about/

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Transcripts are created with AI and may not be perfectly accurate.

Disclaimer: This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your qualified healthcare provider with any questions regarding a medical condition.

Transcript

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Asking for a Friend Podcast

Get Your Gut Together: Banishing Bloat and Finding Relief From Digestive Issues
Host Michele Folan
Heather Finley, MS, RND, LD
gut, gi issues, sibo, probiotics, clients, fiber, eating, working, constipated, food, symptoms, diarrhea, issues, motility, histamine, diet, gut health, stool test, feel, gut brain,

Speaker 1  0:00  
I just love it when our listeners ask questions of our guest experts, and make suggestions as to topics they would like to have me cover on an episode. When someone came forward to suggest doing a show on gut health, I was thrilled because I hadn't touched on this subject before. That gut brain connection is fascinating. And it goes way beyond irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and diarrhea, anxiety and depressive disorders. noncardiac chest pain, chronic stress and fatigue are all considerations when it comes to gut health. At the end of the day, it may come down to something as simple as just wanting to poop every day. And for some that is a true struggle. We talked about this today, and so much more.

Speaker 1  0:59  
Health, Wellness, career, relationships, and everything in between. We're removing the taboo from what really matters in midlife. I'm your host, Michele Folan, and this is asking for a friend. If you are bloated or feel like your gut symptoms are holding you back from living life. Stay tuned right here. Our guest today is an adventure loving book reading, constipation, overcoming dietitian who wants you to poop better. Heather Finley is your guide to make easy sustainable changes, so you can find relief and feel healthy again. She is the mastermind behind the gut Together program, host of the love your gut podcast, a consultant and a speaker. Welcome to asking for a friend, Dr. Heather Finley,

Speaker 2  1:56  
thanks for having me. I'm really, really excited to be here today.

Speaker 1  2:00  
I had a request to do this topic specifically. And I think I was already following you on Instagram. So I'm like, Oh, I know the perfect person. So many of my guests own stories, got them started in their careers, or their mission. So I think the best place to start with you is your own personal story and how you got to where you are today?

Speaker 2  2:25  
Absolutely. Well, I'm always happy to share my story just to normalize GI issues and also show people what's possible. So as sad as it sounds, I was constipated my entire life. Ever since I can remember as a child, I struggled with constipation. And it wasn't something that I really ever realized was a problem until I had this lightbulb moment of probably when I was eight or nine years old and realized, oh, wow, nobody else feels the way that I do. People can eat food and their stomach doesn't hurt. And they're not straining to go to the bathroom. And so I realized, okay, maybe there is something wrong. And you know, at the time, there just wasn't as much information about gut health as there is now and so my parents took me to doctors, and really, the recommendations were Oh, you just need to drink more water, which I already Drink plenty of water. You just need to take MiraLAX or you just need to you know, relax, and really nothing that they told me was helpful. And so through my teenage years, and even through college, I really struggled with GI issues. I was a competitive athlete, I was a swimmer. And now looking back, I realized actually how I was severely overtrained. And so that was actually part of my story as well. But I went to college to study nutrition because I thought, okay, if nobody else can figure out my issues, then I'm going to figure it out for myself. And at the time, I just thought it's something I'm eating that's causing these problems. That's why I wanted to study nutrition. I was so interested in nutrition, and biochemistry and really, really excited to go to school and figure this out. And unfortunately, my GI issues only proceeded to get worse throughout college and I was swimming in division one which was highly intense the level of training that we had. And then the nutrition program that I was in was pretty intense as well. And I graduated school and I felt like a complete imposter. I thought, Okay, I just spent four years studying nutrition. My GI issues are worse than they've ever been in my entire life. And how am I supposed to help people if I can't even help myself? Through that time I was working my first clinical job as a dietitian, I actually thought you know what, maybe I made a terrible career choice. And so I thought I was just going to leave the field of dietetics altogether. And when I got my master's in kinesiology with an emphasis in sports psychology and thought, you know what I've always wanted to work with athletes, I was one of myself, I'll just take this path. Throughout that time in my master's program. Definitely one of the more stressful periods of my life, my dad got diagnosed with stage four colon cancer when I was a senior in college, and then unfortunately, a year later lost his battle to colon cancer. And that was right in the beginning of the master's program that I was in. And then my GI issues were even worse. And so at that moment, I thought, You know what, maybe there's more to gut health than just food. Because all these times in my life where I've had terrible GI issues, it's been really stressful circumstances. And so I started diving into the world of functional medicine, started seeing some other functionally minded providers, and so many lightbulb moments along the way, when I realized, wow, everything in the body is connected. And the reason that I'm bloated, constipated, you know, all the symptoms, is actually not just because of the food I'm eating, it's because of everything else in my gut, I had been on these really restrictive elimination diets for years, and my gut bacteria were just super starved and depleted. And so all that to say, when I got my doctorate in functional nutrition, and you know, decided, okay, I actually do want to be a dietitian, there is a better way I went and studied this. And really, along the way, I was like, there's no reason that anyone should have to get a doctorate to figure out their gut issues. So I made it my mission to not only fix my own issues, but then as a result, help other women heal their digestive issues, using a more functional approach and not using these strict elimination diets. And now, we've helped over 1000 women in our program, which is something I'm really, really proud of, and just excited about, because there is a better way, you know, you don't have to cut out all the foods, you love to have a healthy gut. And that's part of our mission. Well,

Speaker 1  6:59  
a couple things here. I just let you go because you are on a roll. First of all, I'm sorry about your dad passing. Because I know that's yeah, a huge part of our lives. As I sit here as listening to you go through this, I'm thinking of so many of my friends who have had a lot of these symptoms throughout their life, and never could figure it out. Do you think we're at a point now, where finally we're at the brink of being able to really truly help people with this? I'm because when you say you were uncomfortable, you were bloated? Were you in pain? Was there a lot of discomfort associated with this?

Speaker 2  7:44  
Yeah. And really, I had symptoms that stemmed way beyond what you would consider a gut symptom. And I think that's what people don't realize also is that a lot of the symptoms, you're having hormone issues, brain fog, fatigue, sleep disturbances, mood issues. They're all because of your gut. And so when I finally was able to fix my gut issues, it was not an overnight fix at all. It was definitely a lot of trial and error and experimentation. And I'd like to think I'm a lot more efficient with my clients. Now that I was kind of the experimental case, all those things got better. But yeah, I was miserable. I mean, in constant pain, a lot of bloating, a lot of just discomfort, gas, I mean, a lot of just embarrassing symptoms that I'm like, Okay, this is preventing me, not only from, you know, having just joy in my life, but also it's inhibiting friendships and relationships and my career and, you know, it stemmed way beyond just me, which I think a lot of people can relate to that as well.

Speaker 1  8:45  
So that gut brain connection is truly a thing. Yes,

Speaker 2  8:49  
it is a thing. Actually, this might have been before you started following me. But my instagram handle used to be gut brain dot nutrition. And I switched it to my name probably two years ago. But that's like, primarily what I talked about was just the gut brain connection. And it still is something that I obviously talk about a lot, but that's how I started out.

Speaker 1  9:09  
So there is the constipation and the bloating piece. But then there's also diarrhea or loose stool. Are they interconnected? Are there some of the same issues? Like when you think of the gut brain issues?

Speaker 2  9:27  
Yeah, they can be so with constipation. What we often see is, when someone's been constipated for a really long time, their body is more on like a burnout scale. They're very depleted, they're very stressed and everything's just locked up from like, chronic stress. Diarrhea is more common in an acute stress. So you're nervous about a meeting, or you got an angry email from your boss or whatever it is. We've all had a moment like that where we're about to give a big speech and we're like, oh, yeah, I got Gotta go to the restroom. That is a perfect example of the gut brain connection. So not to say that if you have diarrhea, it's because you're just acutely stressed all the time. But that is probably a common thing that many people can relate to. But some of the underlying issues can be the same, everybody's body will just present differently. When we look at the gut, in our clients that are both constipated and have diarrhea. We see disturbances in their gut bacteria, we see disturbances in their digestive enzymes, their stomach acid or bile flow, they might actually have some of the same underlying issues, but their body's just presenting it differently. Does

Speaker 1  10:38  
our poop really have all the answers? I did read that you can use poop as a diagnostic source,

Speaker 2  10:47  
you can. So we actually do use stool testing with our clients. I love using stool testing, because we're gonna get a lot more information from a stool test than most people will get from going and getting a colonoscopy. Unless you have tons of mucus in your stool, you're bleeding, you have black Tari stool, you need a colonoscopy, right? Because there's obviously something going on that we need to evaluate. But in most people that have GI issues, but without some of the really concerning symptoms that I just named, a stool test is going to help look at how you're digesting your food, the levels of bacteria in your gut good and bad parasites, worms, H. Pylori, your gut immune system, which is determining like your food sensitivity reaction, your histamine response, you're just gonna get a lot more valuable information from something like that. But of course, there is a time and a place for more advanced testing, like colonoscopies and endoscopy is, of course,

Speaker 1  11:45  
what what the histamine level tell you the histamine

Speaker 2  11:49  
level, specifically on the tests that we run is looking at your histamine response. And so sometimes people we call it a histamine bucket. So we're exposed to histamines all the time from allergens in the air. Also, from our foods, there are certain foods that are higher in histamine think like aged foods, like aged cheese's, fermented foods, wine, beer, etc. And some people have a lot of trouble breaking down histamine. And one reason that we do is because the enzyme that breaks down histamine is actually produced in our gut lining. People may be familiar with the term leaky gut, that's the kind of the Instagram term for it. The actual medical term for it is intestinal permeability. If your intestines are permeable, and you have inflammation in your gut, and your gut lining is weak, and you're not producing as much of the DAO enzyme, which is what breaks down histamine, your histamine bucket will be more full, and it can overflow and you know, especially if you're exposed to mold, or yeast or something that can definitely exacerbate that. So it's looking at okay, is your body actually breaking down histamine? And is there a stressor here, which can be really insightful for a lot of people?

Speaker 1  13:05  
So when you say exposure to mold, are you talking mold in food? Are you talking mold in the environment,

Speaker 2  13:11  
both both mostly the environment is what is going to trigger severe histamine issues. We see clients with this all the time, you know, they're living in a moldy apartment or moldy, they work in a moldy building, they have mold in their car, they're breathing it in all the time. And you know, it's hard for their body to remove it and excrete it. And there's, you know, even certain genetic markers that can determine that, but mostly mold in your environment, it's going to be a lot more of a heavy hitter when it comes to actually getting it out of your body. But of course, there can be mold in foods as well. And so if you are sensitive to mold, then sometimes those foods can cause problems for you.

Speaker 1  13:50  
So this is a great segue into my next question, because one of the listeners to the podcast asked me specifically about fermented foods. Yeah, like Kimchi and sauerkraut and pickles. So if you have leaky gut, can you eat fermented foods? You

Speaker 2  14:10  
should, if you can tolerate them. Fermented foods are great for the gut because they help with digestion. They help introduce bacteria into the gut. They help with giving prebiotics, a lot of fermented foods are high in prebiotic fiber, which is the fuel source for probiotics. So they're very beneficial. That being said, if you have a lot of histamine issues, eating fermented foods might just be really challenging for you. You might break out in a rash, you might get flushing, your ears might feel itchy. And so if it's something that you can't tolerate, you have two options. One is donate them, the better option would be let's figure out why you can't tolerate them and fix that so that you can because they are such a beneficial food and I think for a while fermented foods weren't even really a thing people were talking about. But they're definitely having a moment now where so many people are adding them in and sauerkraut is kind of becoming a thing now, which I love because it's one of my favorites. But me too. It was one of those things for I think so long that people were like, Why would you eat sauerkraut? That is so gross, but it actually is very beneficial for your gut. I

Speaker 1  15:21  
grew up in a town where it's a lot of German immigrants. And so we grew up eating, you know, sausage and sauerkraut. So, I'm a big fan.

Speaker 2  15:29  
My dad was German, and so therefore I am as well and every year on his birthday, my mom would make like a proper German meal. And it was something that like I just grew up eating, and so I'm sure some of it's nostalgia, but like I genuinely actually like it. But yeah, it's so good. Yeah,

Speaker 1  15:48  
I'm with you there, sister. All right, my next question, there is slow motility so slow gut motility. And then there's actual gastroparesis, would you mind defining the two. So

Speaker 2  16:02  
there's a spectrum, gut motility and gastroparesis can go together. Just because you have slow gut motility doesn't mean that you have gastroparesis. But when we think of motility motility is the movement and contraction of our gut muscles. Just like any other muscle in your body, your gut is a muscle it can tracks and when it can tracks it moves stool and waste through your intestines to help you have a bowel movement. And just also like any other muscle in your body, it can get out of shape. If you're chronically constipated, if you've been under eating for a long period of time. If you've had food poisoning that can actually damage nerves that affect gut motility. So there's a lot of mechanisms there. But when you have slow motility, you will more than likely be more constipated, more bloated. the far end of that spectrum is gastroparesis. So that means that you know the gut muscles are very weak. So for some people very paralyzed and not working efficiently to actually contract and move waste through the gut. That being said, we have actually had many clients with gastro precess, or what they have been diagnosed with gastroparesis, and we have been able to get them to have regular bowel movements. So for some people, that diagnosis is something that you're going to have forever and have to manage forever. But I will say I've definitely seen the other side of the coin, where clients have had that diagnosis. And they've definitely been able to, without medications, get their gut back on board turn motility back on, it's not a fast process, but it's definitely possible.

Speaker 1  17:41  
That's a real feather in your cap. If you can get those people because that's a lifelong type of thing that they have to deal with. Yes. You talked about stress, obviously making things worse. How does travel? Yeah, always mess people up. Because I know you hear this all the time. Travel

Speaker 2  18:01  
is one of the probably the most common complaints, questions, whatever you want to whatever you want to call it that we get, especially from clients is like, I feel so great when I'm in my routine, and I'm doing all the things but the second my routine changes, then everything goes nuts. Why is that? And some of it can just be environment, you know, when you are traveling, you are in a different environment. So there's not these like neural pathways connected to oh, this is my routine in the morning, this is the toilet, I go to the bathroom in etcetera, our body remembers things. And so that's part of why we encourage our clients to have routines because it can be really helpful. That being said, it's hard when you travel. Some of it can also be that you're more dehydrated when you travel. If you've spent time on an airplane or in a car, it's easier to get dehydrated, which can affect your bowels. More than likely your fiber intake is lower if you're eating out more or sometimes people actually aren't eating enough because they're traveling. They're skipping meals, they're rushing through the airport, whatever it is, they're at a work conference, the food is gross. There can be a lot of factors. But it all comes down to the body feeling safe. If you feel unsafe, even if you don't feel that just like in your conscious mind. If your subconscious is thinking like, oh, I don't want to have to go to the bathroom right now it's in the middle of the conference, then it totally shuts down that system and so trying to stick to routines as much as possible. Even if it's like taking a short walk, bringing you know the tea that you normally drink before you go to bed. Those little cues can actually help you to stay on track when you're traveling.

Speaker 1  19:40  
Yeah, I have a trip next week. So we'll see how that goes. Yeah, I did have another question poor sleep quality. Does that also affect our ability to have good poop?

Speaker 2  19:53  
Totally. When you sleep your quote unquote resting and digest Staying. And if you aren't resting and digesting, then it's harder to have a bowel movement. And so especially if you have really disrupted sleep, it's going to affect your gut health because your body needs that time to rest, repair, turnover cells, etc. And so if you're not getting seven, hopefully eight hours of sleep a night that can definitely disrupt your symptoms, and vice versa. We've seen a lot of clients that have really dysregulated sleep, and after they improve their gut health, their sleep improves tremendously. Take my husband, for example, he would tell you, he does not have gut issues. And I don't really think he has like the typical constipation, diarrhea, he doesn't have what we would classify as gut issues, but he was having a lot of trouble sleeping, he was waking up a lot throughout the night, trouble falling asleep, just not restful sleep. And I was insistent, like, let's just do a stool test, see what comes back? He was like, begrudgingly, you know, okay, fine, I'll do it. And after working on his gut health, his sleep improved tremendously. And even now he's like, Yeah, you're right. Exhibit A, but it we've seen it so many times with clients,

Speaker 1  21:20  
I saw in your Instagram and a lot of your literature that there is a condition called is it SIBO? Or Si, Bo? SIBO? Yeah. SIBO? How common is it? What is it? And how do you test

Speaker 2  21:38  
for it? SIBO is small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. In case this whole topic is new to anyone that's listening, you have two to five pounds of bacteria that live in and on your body primarily in your gut. And these bacteria do so much for you. We there are beneficial bacteria, but you can also grow unwanted bacteria or what we call pathogenic bacteria. Those bacteria are primarily in your large intestine. When you struggle with slow motility, stress, poor digestion, whatever it might be, those bacteria can translocate to the small intestine, where they're not supposed to be and you can get what's called small intestinal bacterial overgrowth. your small intestines aren't necessarily sterile, but most of your bacteria should not be there. And so when people get SIBO, and they have bacteria, unwanted bacteria where it shouldn't be, they experience potentially lots of gas, potentially diarrhea, constipation, bloating, etc. There's three different types of SIBO, the best way to test for it is a breath test. That being said, there is a really high level of false tests, because the prep for it is really hard, you have to follow a really specific diet, your intestines have to be completely clear it out you drink a solution. Even if you swallow toothpaste, it could affect the results. The false negative positive side of the test is pretty high. So a lot of doctors won't even run SIBO tests, some will, we don't very often, we would rather do a stool test and look at what's going on in the large intestine, because that's going to be more of a root cause approach, knowing you have SIBO can be helpful. But the more helpful thing is knowing why you have the SIBO in the first place. And so that's where some of the other testing can be a bit more beneficial.

Speaker 1  23:37  
Is there something we can do with our diet to help with SIBO.

Speaker 2  23:42  
So there's lots of conflicting opinions online about this, there's some people that will say you shouldn't eat any fermentable fibers don't eat anything that's going to quote unquote, feed the SIBO. I am of the other mindset have, the more restricted your diet, the more you are just limiting your beneficial bacteria. And there are studies that show this, that when you have a robust amount of beneficial bacteria in your gut, it will be easier to get rid of the SIBO. In the long run, you want to be able to eat the widest variety of foods with the least amount of symptoms, knowing that sometimes things can get worse before they get better, unfortunately, but really, if there's kind of a baseline thing that you want to do, balancing your blood sugar, when clients are really dysregulated blood sugar wise and not even talking about diabetes, necessarily a lot of Americans just have really dysregulated blood sugar because of the foods that we eat. But anytime your blood sugar is dysregulated that's a stress on your body. So that's the first thing that we always work with our clients on is how do we actually balance your blood sugar at these meals so we can prevent these huge spikes and drops in blood sugar to keep your body out of stress to keep your body feeling safe and then we can work on the kind of the nuances there care. But really the widest variety of foods with the least amount of symptoms is what we're going for.

Speaker 1  25:05  
If someone is truly constipated, like really constipated, at what point do you say, okay? It's okay to do an enema or laxatives or some kind of a stool softener.

Speaker 2  25:19  
The goal is to go to the bathroom once a day, if someone is truly constipated, then we might have to use some of those things to empty the bowels, we definitely don't want people going longer than like, five, seven days without having a bowel movement, because that's when pain discomfort and lots of just other issues can accumulate if the bowels can't empty. So there's things that we can try prior to doing enemas, and stronger laxatives. But we definitely have clients that come to us taking those and we have to slowly wean them off. You don't ever want to stop stuff like that cold turkey because it can be really painful and hard on your gut. But there is a time and a place, especially if you can't empty your bowels, you might need some assistance. But we want to try some other non habit forming things first, and then go to those. So

Speaker 1  26:11  
Heather, can people actually get addicted to laxatives then?

Speaker 2  26:16  
Definitely, and we've seen this a lot. And there can be a lot of situations and circumstances for this. Sometimes it's from disordered eating or an eating disorder. We've definitely worked with clients that have become addicted to laxatives because of that. But then we also have the other side of the coin where we've had clients that are addicted to them, because it's the only way that they can go to the bathroom and they weren't really getting help from their GI doctor. Either way, we want to do our best to try to get someone off of laxatives, especially the habit forming ones so that they can restore function to their bowels. Because going back to I think one of the first questions, your gut is a muscle. And so if it's not having to work very hard to contract and move food and waste through your intestines, then it's getting out of shape, we can use stuff that's going to help with motility, but isn't necessarily going to contract your gut muscles for it. And so it's going to help build back that strength, which is what we really want. Okay.

Speaker 1  27:19  
And then my next question was about probiotics? Should we all be on probiotics or No,

Speaker 2  27:27  
I would say it depends probiotics definitely have their time and place, they can be really helpful. We do use them a lot. But not everybody needs one. And especially it depends on what GI symptoms they are currently experiencing. When we're working with someone that severely constipated or has diarrhea, oftentimes, we're not bringing in probiotics for a couple months, just depending on the situation, because they can make symptoms worse, they're not necessarily making the gut environment worse, but they can be pretty hard for people to tolerate when they have underlying gut issues. And then the other thing is, I don't really want to waste somebody's money, because probiotics, most of them, like the ones that you're gonna get, you know, in the refrigerated section at Whole Foods. Those are what we call live and active culture probiotics, they need a fuel source just like we need food to survive. So do they, if someone's diet is not high enough and prebiotic fiber, the fuel source for those probiotics, then it's kind of a waste of money to be taking one because they're not going to survive in the gut very long. So we like to get the diet up to a point where those probiotics are actually going to be utilized and fed versus just supplementing with them. That being said, obviously, every situation is different and unique. And so sometimes we will bring in probiotics, especially if we have test results showing Okay, look, your gut is really low and beneficial bacteria, that's part of the reason you're constipated, will typically use something called a spore based probiotic. These are a bit different than the live and active culture ones. They are going to kind of colonize in the gut. They're going to help with repopulation. So I would say that if we're using probiotics sooner, then we're typically using a spore based probiotic.

Speaker 1  29:20  
If you are using a probiotic, that wouldn't be contraindicated in SIBO. And it some

Speaker 2  29:27  
can be. So there are specific probiotics that are targeted for SIBO. There's different brands and different companies that have specific SIBO probiotics, but yeah, you definitely if you have SIBO, you wouldn't want to just go to Whole Foods, buy a probiotic and hope for the best because it definitely can make your symptoms worse.

Speaker 1  29:48  
You talked about fiber being a great prebiotic, and this was another question by one of the listeners is what kinds of fiber do you recommend? And is it from food sources or can Metamucil or those types of powdered mixes work?

Speaker 2  30:08  
There's lots of different types of fiber. The specific type of fiber that feeds gut bacteria is called prebiotic fiber. prebiotic fiber is a fiber. But not all fiber is prebiotic, just to kind of clear that up, but that doesn't mean that you only should eat prebiotic fiber. Fiber in general does really good things for the gut, it also does really good things for your overall health, it can help lower blood sugar levels, it can help lower cholesterol, it can help with gut motility, it can help with bulking stool. So fiber in general is really great. And we're looking at, you know, trying to get about 30 grams a day, most Americans get about a third of that, which is pretty crazy. No surprise, there can be a time and a place for a fiber supplement. But you are going to get fiber from a lot of food sources, we typically tell our clients to aim for 30 plants a week, because naturally, they're just going to get a good amount of fiber that way. But plants aren't just fruits and vegetables, we're talking about nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, herbs, spices, all of those things count as fiber or even whole grains. You know, if you're trying to get 30 a week, you're gonna be in pretty good shape. But if you need to use a fiber supplement, I think a lot of times when people hear fiber, that's what they think of they think their grandma, you know, stirring, Metamucil in their orange juice, like that's kind of the visual that people have. That can be a great thing. If you're working on increasing variety in your diet, you don't tolerate fiber very well. There are a prebiotic fibers that are a bit more tolerated by people with SIBO. Like Sun fiber typically is a really good option. You can kind of stair step your way towards tolerating some of the harder to digest fibers. I

Speaker 1  31:47  
was thinking about some of these more restrictive diets out there like keto, carnivore, even intermittent fasting, I guess you could throw in there. Are those affecting people's gut health? Do you see that in your own clients?

Speaker 2  32:02  
Yes, we do. Especially Well, all of those, but keto and carnivore are kind of being not the exact same thing. But a higher fat diet, higher meat diet pretty low and plants, your gut needs fiber for survival. And so although a lot of people that are keto will say I eat plenty of vegetables, typically, you're not getting the volume that you need. And especially in a carnivore diet, where you're just eating meats, initially, you might feel really good. And a lot of reason that people feel really good is because if they have underlying gut issues, and they're restricting all fiber from their diet, or they're eating minimal fibers, they're not having any of that fermentation, or any of that bloating that happens when we eat fermentable fibers, which is why it's really easy for people to be like, Wow, I feel amazing on this. I want to keep doing it. But what you don't see is down the road, you know, three 612 months is other issues start to happen. Your gut bacteria becomes really starved, it can start to affect your skin health, your brain, you know, your overall gut health, of course, although temporarily, you might feel better, the long term impact on the gut is not very good. So

Speaker 1  33:17  
I am curious. So you've got this booming practice, you're doing really well. You have other dieticians on your staff? You have this podcast, which is doing really well. We talked about that before we started recording. And I hope everybody checks out Heather's podcast. Is there anything else you're working on right now?

Speaker 2  33:37  
Anything else I'm working on. So one big project that I have in the works is actually doing a bit more corporate wellness. So I think just as a nation, really, no one knows how to sustainably improve their health and a lot of our health issues stem from the gut. So when we're looking at corporate wellness in America, a lot of companies will do a walking challenge, do a weight loss challenge do, we're all going to do counting points or whatever it is for 30 days. And it's not helping anybody because it's not teaching anyone, how do you feel good long term? What are the sustainable things that we need to do to improve our gut health? And when we improve our gut health, we improve our productivity, our mood, our brain fog, our hormones, our cardiovascular health. And so for just like bottom line health of employees, I think there's a huge missing piece. And so that's what I'm working on in 2024 is bringing that together, which is my signature program to corporate America, which I'm really excited about.

Speaker 1  34:48  
Oh, yeah, I think it's great. I hope you get traction there because I'm even kind of changing my own way of eating and looking at food and trying to create more balance in my on diet, I am seeing a direct correlation in my ability to focus during the day. Some of that is cutting out alcohol, I admit. But it's also getting more fiber and being more diligent around getting just overall balance, right. Anyway, I think that's an awesome mission that you have. I do want to ask you this, because I've started asking all my guests this question, what is one of your main pillars of self care? How does Heather Finley best take care of herself?

Speaker 2  35:35  
I love this question. And I think the answer would probably vary depending on the day. But for me, it's simple, sustainable habits, I have two small kids. And so the margin of like, free time that I have is pretty small. So I know that if I stick to my basic routines, I will feel my best. And that includes going to bed earlier than I usually want to, you know, making sure that I stay hydrated, drinking my minerals, which I talk a lot about on Instagram, and just doing like little things throughout the day to keep my energy up and help me to feel better. Because I don't have hours a day to meditate and do all these, you know, things that you might see online that like you, quote unquote, have to do to be healthy. But I want to feel good long term. And I want to model that to my kids. So just some of these really foundational but boring, you know, habits, but that actually make it. So you think

Speaker 1  36:36  
they're boring, but they're so important. Yes. Any last words of advice for women who are struggling with their gut and have tolerated this for way too long.

Speaker 2  36:48  
What I would tell you is just there's a better way, you know, if you've been struggling with GI issues for a long time, and you've tried all the restrictive diets, and you've seen all the doctors and you've done all the things, those are typically the clients that we see as well. And they think that there's no hope left for them. That's how I felt as well. But when you actually can understand what's going on in your gut and how that's affecting your symptoms, you will not only feel a lot less stressed about them, because you know exactly how to improve them. But you'll have a plan long term to prevent your symptoms from coming back, which makes it a lot more enjoyable. Because you know, you can look forward to that dinner out or the trip or whatever it is that you might just actually dread right now. So it is possible to get support from somebody that you trust. And you know, we're here to help, of course, if needed.

Speaker 1  37:40  
And speaking of which, how can people find you and your podcast? The

Speaker 2  37:45  
best way to find me would be on Instagram. It's just Dr. Heather Finley, I also have a really fun free quiz. So if you struggle with GI issues, and you want to know, just first line, what could be causing them. The quiz is called Why am I uploaded? So it's just Dr. Heather finley.co backslash quiz. Once you take the quiz, you'll get your results and some action steps on actually how to address those things. So that might be a good place for people to start. And then my podcast is called love your gut so you can find it on all the podcast platforms. And

Speaker 1  38:16  
I will put all that in the show notes. Dr. Heather Finley, thank you so much for being here today.

Unknown Speaker  38:22  
Yeah, thanks for having me. This was fun.

Speaker 1  38:31  
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