Functional Medicine | Women's Health
By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND Histamine intolerance and many health conditions associated with histamine appear to be on the rise in the past couple of years. In this brief article, I wanted to link some symptoms, conditions and underlying causes which I hope may help you to get to the root of your health, and perhaps be a missing piece for …
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By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND I’m writing this article, because I have noticed a pattern in quite a number of patients lately and hope that this short article may help you put the pieces together for your own health if you are experiencing symptoms of histamine intolerance. Common symptoms associated with histamine intolerance include: nausea …
By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND In naturopathic and also in functional medicine, we have a saying “when in doubt, start with the gut.” The reason is that gut health has a profound effect on the rest of your body, by impacting your absorption of nutrients and initiating inflammation. This inflammation may be an autoimmune process like Hashimoto’s or …
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By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND These issues may appear to be unrelated, but what anxiety, hair loss and poor protein breakdown have in common is a lack of sufficient stomach acid. For most of us, this is not the first thing that comes to mind for a list of complaints that seem unrelated. Here’s how it works: Your stomach produces an acid called …
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By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND Bloating is one of the most frequent complaints that I hear, and the good news is that it is almost always treatable once we have determined the underlying cause. Frequent bloating can certainly be uncomfortable. It's important to know that abdominal bloating is a sign of underlying dysfunction. Here are some of the most …
By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND SIBO is short for “Small Intestinal Bacteria Overgrowth,” and what this means is that bacteria growth in the small intestine has gotten out of balance. The bacteria in your gut is extremely important, and forms part of your microbiome. Gut bacteria however are meant to be located in the large intestine and colon, and when …
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By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND I’ve been really digging into nutrition lately, and looking at an integrative approach to customized nutrition plans. As I’m sure you know, there is no one-size-fits-all food plan and we need to look at many variables such as health issues (autoimmune / cardiovascular / blood sugar), blood type, food sensitivity, …
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By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND One surprising fact that you may not know is that your hormones and your menstrual cycle are influenced by your gut, specifically the balance of bacteria called the microbiome. In this article we will be speaking specifically about estrogen, although the gut microbiome also impacts thyroid hormones, testosterone, …
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By Dr. Shawna Darou, ND Intestinal permeability, commonly known as "leaky gut syndrome" refers to an abnormal increase in the permeability of the lining of the small intestine. The small intestine is the largest organ in your body, and contains two thirds of your immune system! With leaky gut syndrome, the boundary of the intestine is …
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