Hi everyone! I hope your week is going well so far. Happy you are here! 🙂

How great has the sunshine / warmer weather been for those of you who live in Michigan?? Such an instant upgrade to the week!

I wanted to do a post today sharing some of my general thoughts on gut health AND share about a tool that I’ve been excited to be incorporating more in my practice over the past few months.

First things first! Some random gut health and candid dietetics processing:

Diving right in with some RD real talk!

I generally feel out of place in the dietetics world, like it is hard for me to find RD “kindred spirits” who think about nutrition and the factors driving one’s relationships w/ food in a similar way. Not to say they don’t exist, but I have yet to really find them!

On the one hand, there are a lot of dietitians and other nutrition professionals who seem to focus exclusively on gut health and the nitty gritty of nutrition without considering one’s relationship with food, the enjoyment with food, and the psychological & emotional dynamics surrounding food. I think these professionals can be great for some people and certain issues, but oftentimes I think nutrition counsel like this tends to contribute to people being more disordered and obsessive when it comes to food. And therefore less healthy!

In contrast, there are a lot of dietitians (primarily in the eating disorder world) who market themselves as “anti-diet” and seem to minimize the effect that food and nutrition DO have on our health. I find that many of these dietitians seem to minimize the very real effect of food on our gut health, including our microbiome and digestion, and therefore also its effect on any disordered eating patterns (read on for more of what I mean by this!). 

I am also “anti-diet” in the sense that I don’t promote restrictive dieting for the purpose of unhealthy/obsessive weight loss, but I don’t label myself that way because I think it carries with it the meaning that I would be against any and all types of nutrition therapy “diets” for the purpose of improving health (which isn’t the case when I feel it is being done in a truly healthy way that doesn’t contribute to disordered eating).

The interaction between gut health and disordered eating:

What I focus on in sessions with clients depends on their PRIMARY problem and their values when it comes to food/nutrition/health.

Many of my clients are wrestling with an eating disorder or significant (sub-diagnostic) disordered eating patterns. THAT is the major thing affecting their health/life right now and the primary thing that needs healing. Talking about increasing fruit/veggie intake for microbial health and/or investigating possible food sensitivities would likely increase the primary problem of disordered eating and therefore worsen overall health. (Unless there is a clear/obvious problem that needs more immediate addressing from a gut health standpoint.).

There is a time and place for working on that AFTER we have a solid foundation of a good relationship with food in place.

Some clients may be interested in working on gut health / optimizing overall health as we journey on. Some clients just want to be free from their eating disorder and move on with life. We can all value and engage in health in different ways depending on what is important to each of us!

ALL THAT TO SAY, as a dietitian in the eating disorder world, I am very much interested in the nuances of gut health and offering exploring this as an option of something to work on with clients as they are interested and as the timing is right. These issues go hand in hand in my opinion.

TODAY’S TAKE HOME POINTS –>

• Pre-existing gut imbalances, hormonal imbalances, and micronutrient deficiencies are almost always part of the root cause of an eating disorder.
• Disordered eating ALSO worsens and contributes to poor gut health, hormonal imbalances, and micronutrient deficiencies.
• Not addressing gut dysfunction and other hormonal/micronutrient imbalances therefore makes lingering disordered eating issues and/or future eating disorder relapse more likely. 

Focusing (per client interest) on gut health and other imbalances is therefore crucial to long-term healing. (Healing not only from the disordered eating long-term, but also from a physical health standpoint in general. If you have been through something like the trauma of anorexia or regular purging or binge eating, CLEARLY it would make sense that long-term gut health would need addressing at some point! These things don’t just go on without gut health consequences.)

While this could be a whole other post, our gut health is the GATEWAY to our overall health. Our “gut status” affects our ability to absorb nutrients, our neurotransmitter production, our mental/emotional health (*anxiety, obsessive thinking, depression, etc –> all likely relevant to your disordered eating!), our hormonal health, our susceptibility to autoimmune disease and chronic illness, and more.

If you don’t have the NUTRIENTS for a HEALTHY BRAIN and MIND because your gut can’t properly digest/absorb the food you are eating, you won’t be able to improve (to the degree that you may be wanting to) any obsessive thinking, anxiety, and other mental/emotional dynamics that may be affecting your relationship with food. (This is what is referred to as “nutritional deficiency syndrome” and is one root cause of an eating disorder and/or eating disorder relapse).

Using the GI-MAP to get an in-depth look of gut health: 

Enough of me standing on my soapbox for now.

Let’s talk about the GI-MAP! (Which actually is just another soapbox for me. Oops.)

I consider the GI-MAP to be the most comprehensive gut health test on the market.

It provides an in-depth look at:

• Possible pathogens hanging out in your gut / making your life miserable
• An overview of levels of key species making up your beneficial/good bacteria
• Levels of possible bad/”opportunistic” bacterial overgrowth
• Any fungi or yeast, including candida
• Any viruses or parasites
• How your digestion is doing
• Levels of inflammation
• Markers for leaky gut

Who might find this useful??

Well, to be honest, EVERYONE! Given how CRUCIAL PROPER GUT HEALTH is to good health.

BUT, especially if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms/problems:

• History of an eating disorder / disordered eating (because of how gut health / disordered eating go hand in hand)
• Bloating
• Constipation
• Diarrhea
• Micronutrient deficiencies
• Gas or foul-smelling stool
• Acne, eczema, other skin issues
• Anxiety, obsessive thinking, depression
• Hormonal imbalances
• Joint pain
• Thyroid conditions
• Abdominal pain
• Frequent nausea
• Migraines
• Insomnia
• Seasonal allergies
• Increasing food intolerances
• Heartburn
• Blanket “IBS diagnosis”
• Blanket “chronic fatigue” diagnosis
• You HAVE symptoms but your doctor’s testing “comes back normal”

I could go on! These are some *key/top-of-my-mind* gut-related issues, but the gut truly does affect pretty much everything as far as health goes. So… if you have symptoms of any kind… (which you probably do if you are a human)…it could be worth looking at your gut.

A couple of real-life examples of how the GI-MAP could be essential to your healing: 

–> Maybe, like many of my clients, you are experiencing EXTREME bloating. Even a sip of water or bite of any sort of food at all is causing extremely uncomfortable bloating. We know that not eating enough and having disordered eating patterns in general tends to slow the GI tract and slow digestion, thus increasing bloating. We know that disordered eating leads to gut microbiome imbalances, also increasing bloating. How helpful might it be to run a GI-MAP test so we can discover what specific imbalances are going on, so that we can used targeted supplementation to support your digestion and microbial balance (and therefore improve bloating)? What’s more, what if you have some sort of pathogen that is driving a large percentage of the bloating?? That would be key information to know!

–> Maybe, like many of my clients, you are recovering from anorexia nervosa. Maybe you are making good headway in recovery, are eating more regularly, and are at or near your targeted healthy recovery weight. But, despite all of this improved nutrition you are still dealing with micronutrient imbalances, such as iron, vitamin D, and zinc. (This is hugely important to address, especially with how zinc deficiency perpetuates anorexia symptoms!) What if you are dealing with a gut pathogen, extremely low stomach acid (which is essential for proper digestion / nutrient absorption), low digestive enzyme production, or an imbalanced microbiome that is going to make it much harder to absorb these key vitamins and minerals? How helpful might it be to run a GI-MAP test to restore your gut health and thus allow you to receive a LOT more benefit from all the work you are doing on a food/nutrition front?

These are just two examples that I’ve seen both in my own life AND in those of many of my clients!

I hope this post is helpful in bringing some understanding to HOW ESSENTIAL to your long-term recovery it may be to resolve any underlying gut health issues (whether these were existing prior to the eating disorder, or exacerbated by the eating disorder — likely both).

One tool I love for diving deeper into YOUR specific gut health profile is the GI-MAP.

Then we can use targeted supplementation and other key nutritional/lifestyle interventions to bring balance and healing to your gut, thereby improving your nutrient status and overall health.

We want the food you are eating to ACTUALLY be properly digested and absorbed so that you can feel well physically, mentally, and emotionally!

Would love to connect on any questions or comments you may have. Feel free to leave any thoughts/questions here, or message me via my contact page.

Cheers to the pursuit of good gut health and long-term eating disorder recovery!