Clinical Focus: Gut & Digestive Health

Persistent digestive symptoms can affect far more than digestion. They can shape what you eat, where you go, how you sleep, how you feel, and how much mental energy you spend managing your body. 

Digestive symptoms are rarely as simple as “eat more fibre” or “avoid trigger foods”. Gut health is influenced by motility, the microbiome, digestive function, immune activity, inflammation, nervous system regulation, hormones, medications, nutrition and lifestyle. The aim is to understand which factors are most relevant for you, then build a practical plan that improves symptoms without creating unnecessary restriction or fear around food. 

Conditions I Work With

I commonly work with people experiencing 

• IBS
• IBD alongside appropriate specialist care
• reflux
• constipation
• diarrhoea
• bloating
• abdominal pain
• SIBO- small intestinal bacterial overgrowth
• MO- intestinal methanogen overgrowth
• food intolerances
• digestive symptoms after infection
• microbiome disruption 
• and any other persistent digestive symptoms that have not responded to standard approaches.

My General Approach

I generally start by understanding the full pattern: symptoms, bowel function, food responses, medications, previous infections, stress, sleep, hormones, metabolic health and relevant medical history. Testing is used selectively where it is likely to add meaningful information. Treatment may include nutrition, lifestyle medicine, targeted supplements, herbal preparations, medications, microbiome support, motility strategies, nervous system work and mind-body approaches. 

A woman in her 50s came to see me after decades of digestive problems. She experienced severe bloating, frequent burping after meals, constipation and significant fatigue. Over the years, more and more foods seemed to trigger symptoms, and her diet had become increasingly restricted.

She had already seen multiple health professionals, including medical specialists and naturopaths, had many investigations, including a gastroscopy, colonoscopy and CT, and had tried numerous approaches. Some had helped temporarily, but the underlying pattern persisted.

I organised breath testing, which confirmed intestinal methanogen overgrowth, or IMO, which fitted particularly well with her severe constipation. However, I did not think IMO was the whole story. Histamine sensitivity also appeared to be contributing, alongside impaired gut motility and a digestive system that had become increasingly reactive over many years.

We took a staged approach rather than trying to treat everything at once. Supporting motility was an early priority, using a combination of pharmaceutical and herbal strategies. We also addressed the histamine component with targeted pharmaceutical and herbal support, while gradually working to expand her diet rather than allowing restriction to continue.

Because mechanical factors also appeared relevant, I referred her to a trusted local osteopath with advanced training in visceral manipulation. This became an important part of the wider plan.

We also used gut-directed medical hypnotherapy to address the longstanding gut-brain component of her symptoms. This is not about suggesting that digestive symptoms are "all in the mind". The gut and brain communicate constantly, and after years of pain, bloating and food reactions, the digestive system can become increasingly sensitised and reactive- known as “hypersensitivity”. Gut-directed hypnotherapy has a strong evidence base in IBS and other disorders of gut-brain interaction, helping to reduce visceral hypersensitivity, calm symptom amplification and improve the way the nervous system and digestive tract communicate.

Progress was slow and gradual. After decades of symptoms, there was no overnight fix, and treatment took several months. Over time, however, the bloating and post-meal burping settled, bowel movements became regular, fatigue improved substantially, and she was able to reintroduce many foods she had previously avoided.

She is now asymptomatic, eating a much broader diet and opening her bowels regularly. Her symptoms do occasionally return in a much milder form when life gets too busy, almost as if her body is reminding her to slow down and take care of herself.

What made the difference was not one test, one supplement or one treatment. It was recognising the different factors contributing to her symptoms and addressing them in a deliberate sequence.

Case details are adapted and anonymised to protect privacy.

Medical Council standards do not permit doctors in New Zealand to use patient testimonials in advertising. This de-identified case study is shared instead to illustrate how I approach complex health problems and what can sometimes become possible with thoughtful, individualised care.  

A 38-year-old man and keen tramper came to see me after several years of progressively worsening digestive and systemic symptoms. He was experiencing reflux, recurrent abdominal pain, alternating bowel movements, fatigue and brain fog, alongside increasingly troublesome skin reactions, including welts triggered by certain foods and environmental exposures.

Detailed digestive and microbiome testing identified a specific intestinal parasite, one commonly acquired through drinking untreated water, as well as significant disruption of the gut microbiome. Given his history of tramping and outdoor exposure, the finding provided an important piece of the puzzle.

Treatment involved targeted pharmaceutical antimicrobial therapy followed by intensive work to restore digestive function and rebuild the microbiome. However, the infection was not the whole story. After years of gut dysfunction, histamine sensitivity and mast cell dysregulation had also become important parts of the clinical picture and needed to be addressed alongside the underlying digestive issues.

We worked intensively for approximately six months, adjusting treatment as his symptoms and tolerance changed. As his digestive system stabilised, the focus gradually shifted towards rebuilding resilience, broadening tolerance and consolidating the gains we had made.

He then moved into less intensive ongoing support, with the aim of maintaining progress and creating the strongest possible foundation for long-term health. His digestive symptoms, energy, cognitive function and reactivity all improved substantially, allowing him to return to a much more stable and active life.

Case details are adapted and anonymised to protect privacy.

Medical Council standards do not permit doctors in New Zealand to use patient testimonials in advertising. This de-identified case study is shared instead to illustrate how I approach complex health problems and what can sometimes become possible with thoughtful, individualised care.  

A 10-year-old boy came to see me with recurrent abdominal pain that had become severe enough to interfere with school attendance. He had also developed several new food reactions, including explosive diarrhoea and violent vomiting after dairy, despite having previously tolerated dairy without difficulty.

Food antibody testing identified strong reactivity to several food groups, including dairy, while detailed microbiome analysis revealed an unusual intestinal helminth that is not routinely tested for by local laboratories.

The foods most strongly associated with his symptoms were temporarily removed to reduce the burden on an already inflamed and reactive gut. The parasite was treated with a prescription antiparasitic medication, followed by intensive work to support digestive recovery, restore the microbiome and gradually reintroduce foods in a careful, structured way.

In hindsight, the timeline provided an important clue. His symptoms had begun shortly after a family holiday in Thailand, where he may have acquired the parasite.

Over time, his abdominal pain and acute food reactions resolved. He is now symptom-free, attending school normally and able to tolerate a full and varied diet, including the foods that had previously triggered severe reactions (including icecream :).

Case details are adapted and anonymised to protect privacy.

Medical Council standards do not permit doctors in New Zealand to use patient testimonials in advertising. This de-identified case study is shared instead to illustrate how I approach complex health problems and what can sometimes become possible with thoughtful, individualised care.  

A woman in her 30s had lived with IBS for several years, experiencing bloating, abdominal pain and unpredictable bowel movements that alternated between constipation and urgency. Extensive medical investigations had not identified inflammatory bowel disease, coeliac disease or another clear structural cause, and she had been told she had IBS.

She had already tried multiple diets, supplements and online protocols. Each new approach brought hope, and some helped temporarily, but over time her list of “safe” foods became smaller. She increasingly planned her life around access to toilets, avoided eating before travel or social events, and became anxious whenever symptoms flared.

Rather than adding another increasingly restrictive diet, we stepped back and looked at the broader picture together. This included exploring why the gut can become hypersensitive and unpredictable even when routine investigations are normal, and how motility, food patterns, the microbiome, stress physiology and gut-brain communication can interact to shape symptoms.

We focused on rebuilding that understanding and developing practical tools to reduce reactivity rather than fear it. She learned how to interpret symptoms more accurately, identify her own patterns, support bowel function, work with food more flexibly, and use evidence-based strategies to influence the gut-brain axis and nervous system.

Over time, her symptoms became less dominant and less frightening. Her diet expanded, her confidence grew, and she became better able to manage occasional flares without immediately assuming that something new had gone wrong.

Case details are adapted and anonymised to protect privacy.

Medical Council standards do not permit doctors in New Zealand to use patient testimonials in advertising. This de-identified case study is shared instead to illustrate how I approach complex health problems and what can sometimes become possible with thoughtful, individualised care.  

Standard investigations are important for excluding serious disease, but they do not assess every aspect of digestive function. Symptoms may still relate to altered motility, visceral hypersensitivity, microbiome disruption, fermentation patterns, food responses, stress physiology or gut-brain signalling. These are all explored in my Meet Your Gut Masterclass and Befriend Your Gut Programmes.

No. Stress can significantly influence gut function, but IBS is a genuine disorder of gut-brain interaction involving changes in motility, sensitivity, immune signalling and nervous system regulation. For many people, both biological and psychological factors matter. These are all explored in my Meet Your Gut Masterclass and Befriend Your Gut Programmes.

Not necessarily. Testing is only useful when it is likely to change management. Sometimes the clinical history provides enough information to begin. In other situations, stool testing, breath testing or conventional investigations may help clarify the picture. I decide jointly with the client, case-by-case. 

Ideally, not long-term. Short-term dietary changes can sometimes be useful, but the goal is usually to expand tolerance and flexibility rather than create an increasingly narrow list of “safe” foods.

Research shows that a low FODMAP diet can reduce symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain and altered bowel habits in many people with IBS. However, it was designed as a short-term elimination and reintroduction strategy, not a permanently restrictive diet.

Current evidence supports gradually reintroducing FODMAP-containing foods to identify individual triggers and achieve the broadest diet possible. Staying unnecessarily restrictive long term can reduce dietary variety and alter the gut microbiome. The goal is the least restriction necessary, for the shortest time necessary - and that applies to most restrictive diets for gut symptoms. 

Gut-directed hypnotherapy (GDH) uses hypnosis to influence communication between the brain and the gut, helping to reduce gut sensitivity and improve the way the nervous system regulates digestive function.

It is not suggesting that IBS is “all in your head”. GDH is an evidence-based treatment for IBS, with robust reseach to back it up from several major universities. It can improve symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating and altered bowel habits. I may incorporate it into your care when it fits your particular symptom pattern and underlying drivers. It  is also included in my programmes.