Atlas Functional Wellness

Client Case Study

The Step-by-Step Gut Healing Process We Used to Eliminate Her Extreme Bloating, Acne & Hormonal Imbalances

Background

Client History

The full picture of what she was dealing with when we started working together.

Client had tested positive for Hydrogen SIBO, so opted to not run a stool test initially.

However we did have her complete our own Root Cause Symptom Assessment to get a better idea of what imbalances she had going on in her gut.

Digestive sensitivity and bowel pattern summary

For reference

What We Usually See on Stool Tests

Example labs showing the kind of dysfunction we were targeting, low keystone species, high proteolytic fermentation, and excess inflammatory metabolites.

Glutathione, histamine, indole production

Gut Healing Order of Operations

And why simply taking more antimicrobials rarely works long term.

IBS or SIBO is not just a “too much bad bacteria” problem. In the vast majority of cases, it involves a damaged & dysfunctional ecosystem: impaired gut motility, poor digestion, lower microbial diversity, a weakened gut barrier, and altered fermentation patterns.

Your gut bacteria prefer to feed on carbs/fiber, and when they do, they produce specific compounds like Butyrate that are extremely nourishing and healing for your gut.

However if you don’t consume enough of these foods (or if you have poor digestion & motility), your gut bacteria will begin fermenting excess proteins instead. While protein is extremely beneficial for us, we do NOT want our gut bacteria fermenting it. When this happens in excess, it leads to extremely inflammatory/toxic compounds that damage the gut and create an environment that favors pathogens vs. good bacteria. 🦠

If you’re experiencing chronic digestive symptoms, you can already assume this is happening at some level. This is also a big reason why people will go on round after round of antimicrobials, and their symptoms never fully resolve.

This is why the process outlined below is one of the MOST IMPORTANT factors in healing your gut. You can take all the best supplements in the world, but without this piece, lasting progress is nearly impossible.

In short:

Proteolytic Fermentation (Protein Breakdown) = BAD
Saccharolytic Fermentation (Fiber Breakdown) = GOOD

Proteolytic vs Saccharolytic fermentation comparison

The Protocol

The 3-Phase Healing Process

The exact roadmap we walked her through, in order.

Phase One

Inflammation Reset Protocol

Example daily meals from Phase One protocol

Phase Two

Pathogen Purge

Phase Three

Gut Reseeding

Goal of this phase

Rebuild the ecosystem. This is where we transition from “killing” to actively growing the good bacteria she was missing, the step most protocols skip.

Leaky Gut Supplements

Serum-Bovine Immunoglobulins
Tributyrin
Zinc Carnosine
Spore-based Probiotics
Prebiotic Fibers

Result

Periods regulated, anxiety calmed, energy stabilized, and the bloating + acne stayed gone, without needing to stay on a restrictive protocol forever.