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As many as one in five Americans suffer from IBS. Small intestine bacterial overgrowth or “SIBO” is one of the most common causes. Yet, so often this common condition goes untreated and leads to food fears which just makes things worse. Today’s guest, Amy Hollenkamp, RD, is a registered dietitian who works with people with SIBO to help them overcome these very real obstacles to healing.
LISTEN TO EPISODE 65 OF THE FED AND FEARLESS PODCAST
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About Amy Hollenkamp, MS, RD
Amy Hollenkamp is a Registered Dietitian on a mission to help her clients with SIBO and IBS overcome their symptoms so they return to their true purpose. Amy focuses on digging into the root causes of her clients’ symptoms so that they can find lasting relief without restrictive diets. Amy writes about her own battle with SIBO and her latest SIBO insights in her blog, the SIBO Diaries.
Food Fears, IBS, and Getting the Nutrients You Need
From both personal experience and her work, Amy is familiar with the link between IBS and food fears. When eating causes pain and discomfort, it’s only natural that negative associations with food will arise. This leads to a whole host of other problems such as disordered eating and malnutrition.
That’s why it’s crucial to focus on finding nourishing foods while treating SIBO. With all the focus on cutting out foods, supplements, and labs, the nourishment aspect often gets forgotten. Amy describes what a balanced diet looks like for those with SIBO and why it’s much better than the commonly prescribed restrictions.
Nurturing a Healing Mindset
Because it’s impossible to meet nutritional needs when you’re afraid to eat, Amy works to help her clients move past their fears. Since there is both a mental as well as a physical element to this, Amy takes a careful and measured approach. This means not trying to accomplish too much at once but realizing that true and lasting progress takes time and commitment.
Going slowly and thoughtfully helps us get adjusted to new food both physically and mentally. This builds new positive beliefs around food so that you can get the nutrition you need to heal and recover.
Have you been diagnosed with IBS or SIBO? What has helped and what hasn’t? Leave a comment below!
Got a question you’d love to hear me answer on the show? Leave me a voice message here!
IN THIS EPISODE
- How Amy’s history with IBS led her to help others with SIBO [6:00]
- The link between SIBO and malnutrition [13:00]
- Common dietary mistakes that exacerbate SIBO [21:40]
- Tips for moving past food-centered fears [30:15]
QUOTES
“A lot of people are stuck in that vicious cycle of just clearing or restricting diet-wise and they never look deeper. They’re not working with anyone who is looking deeper and it’s a very frustrating track to be on. Unless you figure what the SIBO is rooted in, it’s hard to move forward.” [11:32]
“Usually the people who are more balanced when they come to see me tend to make better progress faster because they’re getting better nutrition, even if it isn’t perfect by SIBO standards. It’s just one of those things where this idea that you have to be on this restrictive diet to get better is not accurate from what I’ve seen.” [29:48]
“Food isn’t the problem. It’s the environment that’s causing you to potentially react to foods. And by not eating foods, you could be creating a worse environment.” [39:30]
LINKS
Follow Amy on Facebook | Instagram
Use code FEARLESS for 20% off Amy’s online program
Review Fed and Fearless on Apple Podcasts! Send a screenshot of your review to hello@lauraschoenfeldrd.com or send me a DM on Instagram and I’ll send you my Overcoming Undereating eBook. If you post your favorite episode in your Insta stories and tag me @LauraShoenfeldRD, I’ll also send you my 14-Day Calorie Challenge Recipe Guide!
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