Mandy is a 38 year old lady who came to see me for help with abdominal bloating, a constantly blocked nose and sinusitis. Mandy is a slim person with a big bloated abdomen that bothered her. She knew some foods like bread definitely made the bloating far worse, so she avoided it. Unfortunately, even when Mandy was sticking to a healthy diet she had days when the bloating was really bad and uncomfortable.

Mandy’s bowel habits were inconsistent. Some days she had 3 bowel motions per day and other times she didn’t go to the bathroom at all. The bloating was far worse on constipated days. She had a lot of gas on those days too. Mandy was extremely uncomfortable by the end of the day because her trousers were cutting into her bloated abdomen. She lived for the weekends and 2 days a week she worked from home, when she could live in track pants.

The other problem Mandy wanted help with was a chronically blocked nose and regularly infected sinuses. Mandy said she used up a tissue box each week. First thing each morning she spent a whole five minutes blowing her nose. It got very blocked during the night and interfered with her breathing. She needed to sleep with an open mouth and woke several times a night because her mouth felt uncomfortably dry. The poor sleep was starting to wear her down.

Gut problems and sinus problems often go hand in hand; it is very common to see those two conditions in patients. This is not surprising once you realise that the majority of the immune cells in our body are found in the intestines. If the health of the bowel is poor and there is too much bad bacteria, yeast or parasites growing there, the immune system will suffer. Mucus is a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, thus encouraging repeated sinus infections.

My recommendations for my patient

Mandy ate a lot of crackers because she is a busy person who often didn’t take the time to prepare healthy meals. She typically snacked on something every 2 hours rather than having sit down meals. Most of her food is gluten free but the grains were still aggravating her gut, leading to bloating and dysbiosis. I asked Mandy to base her diet on vegetables, salads, protein and healthy fats instead.

Avoiding grains and dairy products would help to reduce the abdominal bloating and nasal congestion, but in order to help Mandy feel better sooner, I asked her to take 2 BactoClear capsules twice daily with meals. This would help get rid of the bugs that produced the gases that made Mandy bloated. BactoClear capsules contain thyme, oregano and clove essential oils. They have an amazing natural antimicrobial effect in the body. They help to kill bad gut bugs and also the bacteria creating recurrent sinus infections.

I asked Mandy to use Gut Health powder because it is a combination of ingredients that heal and soothe the lining of the gut. When too many bad gut bugs are living in the intestines, they cause a leaky gut. Repairing leaky gut is necessary for reducing inflammation in the body.

I gave Mandy Digestive Enzymes capsules to assist with better digestion. If you don’t break down and digest foods thoroughly, you will leave wastes behind for bad gut bugs to feed off. This can lead to fermentation in the gut, which causes gas production. Digestive enzymes promote more thorough digestion and absorption of nutrients.

I gave Mandy a blood test and discovered her vitamin D level was far too low. This did not surprise me, since she had an office job and lived an entirely indoor life. Low vitamin D can cause fatigue and it weakens the immune system, predisposing a person to sinus infections. I asked Mandy to take one vitamin D capsule with breakfast each day.

5 weeks later

Mandy was extremely happy with how she was feeling. She was thrilled with how her abdomen had deflated and was no longer bothering her. Apart from no longer being bloated, Mandy thinks she may have lost a few pounds because all of her clothes feel looser. She didn’t initially notice the improvement in her blocked nose until her husband mentioned that she was no longer blowing it for so long and stopped needing to buy tissue boxes.

Mandy was also happy not to have had a sinus infection for more than 2 months. She was happy to continue taking all of the supplements because they produced such noticeable improvements for her.

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.