Beyond the Thyroid

Chicken or the Egg? Gut Health and Thyroid Balance with Hannah Aylward

• Dana Gibbs • Season 1 • Episode 35

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Beyond the Thyroid – Episode 35: Chicken or the Egg? Gut Health and Thyroid Balance with Hannah Aylward

In this episode of Beyond the Thyroid, Dr. Dana Gibbs sits down with gut health specialist Hannah Aylward to explore the powerful connection between digestive health and thyroid balance. Many patients wonder: does a sluggish thyroid cause gut problems, or do gut problems trigger thyroid dysfunction? The answer, as you’ll hear, is both.

Hannah shares her personal journey of overcoming debilitating gut issues, the lessons she’s learned about root-cause healing, and how individualized nutrition and testing can transform health. Together, she and Dr. Gibbs unpack common digestive complaints—bloating, IBS, nutrient deficiencies, bile flow, and more—and how they intersect with thyroid conditions like Hashimoto’s. You’ll also learn practical tips for supporting gut function, including diet, probiotics, glucose monitoring, and even how to stay healthy while traveling.

Whether you’ve struggled with stubborn thyroid symptoms or chronic digestive issues, this conversation offers actionable insights to help you take charge of your health.

📑 Join the The Thyroid Clarity Checkup Priority List! 

📲 Follow Dr. Dana Gibbs on the Goodself App!

🩺 Interested in a Discovery Call with Dr. Dana? Click here!

📺 Watch on YouTube


Episode Highlights:

00:00 Introduction and Episode Overview
02:37 Guest Introduction: Hannah Aylward
04:33 Hannah's Personal Journey with Digestive Issues
07:26 Approach to Gut Health and Nutrition
11:16 Nutritional Deficiencies and Their Impact
15:29 Gallbladder Removal and Bile Support
18:44 Stomach Acid and Digestive Health
22:12 The Role of Diet in Managing Health
23:39 Balancing Blood Sugar: The Basics
24:12 The Role of Glucose Monitors
26:15 Overcoming Sugar Cravings
30:48 Addressing Over-Exercising and Caloric Restriction
35:17 Probiotics vs. Prebiotics
38:30 Healthy Travel Tips
41:53 Podcast and Contact Information
43:18 Conclusion and Final Thoughts


Connect with Hannah Aylward:
🌐 Website: hannahaylward.com
📸 Instagram: @hannahaylwardhhc
📘 Facebook: Hannah Aylward Nutrition
🎙️ Podcast: The Nutrient Dense Podcast


Gut or thyroid—which comes first? Tune in to uncover the truth and learn how to reclaim balance. 

Let's connect! 🔔
Facebook - Consultants In Metabolism
Instagram - @danagibbsms
LinkedIn - Dana Gibbs MD
Tiktok - @dana.gibbs.md

✉️ Email Dr. Gibbs at drgibbs@DanaGibbsMD.com or visit https://www.danagibbsmd.com/ for more information.


Thank you so much for listening! Tune in on the next episode.


The medical information provided in this episode is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical questions or concerns.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_08-23-2025_085859:

Hi everyone. I'm Dr. Dana Gibbs. Welcome back to episode 35 of Beyond the Thyroid. So today we are gonna dive into one of the biggest chicken or the egg questions I hear from my patient, and that is, does gut health that's not optimized lead to thyroid problems or does thyroid problem trigger gut issues? The truth is that it can really go both ways. So if you've ever struggled with IBS symptoms, bloating, nutrient deficiencies, or just that fluctuating, frustrating cycle of constipation, diarrhea, or just not feeling well, despite normal thyroid labs, this episode, it's for you because I am going to be joined on the podcast today by Gut health specialist and nutritionist Hannah Aylward, A-Y-L-W-A-R-D, who has an incredible personal story of overcoming her own digestive struggles and then becoming certified in nutrition. And together we are gonna unpack how the gut and thyroid are connected, and share some practical strategies you can use starting now to support both. So whether you're dealing with stubborn thyroid problems or ongoing gut challenges without thyroid, stay tuned.'cause this conversation is gonna give you insights and tools to help you take charge of your health.

You're listening to the Beyond the Thyroid podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Dana Gibbs. I'm an ENT surgeon and hormone specialist. For years, I struggled with my own unrecognized thyroid problems before and even after I was regularly performing thyroid surgeries. Then, one day, I learned something that turned my health around and opened my eyes to the limits of mainstream medicine in treating more subtle thyroid abnormalities. I spent the next 20 years fine tuning my hormone expertise in disorders like Hashimoto's disease, perimenopause, and stress related illness. Come join me as I share this new approach to hormones that empowers you to take control of your own thyroid and hormone imbalances. Let's dive in.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

All right. Welcome. Welcome everybody back to Beyond the Thyroid.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Thyroid.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

welcome friends, and if you're new here,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

new

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

happy to have you

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

to

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

today. I have a wonderful special guest. This is Hannah Elbert,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Aylward,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

is a

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

a

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

and complex GI problem specialist. I'm gonna let her tell me how she describes herself, but,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

herself, but,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Anyway. Welcome Hannah. It's good. Good. Great to have you here.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Great

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Thanks so much for having me. I'm excited to dive in. Alright, first of all, how do you describe.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

describe

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

What you do and who you own.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

and

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yes. So we really help women overcome chronic digestive issues by taking a root cause approach to repairing the gut, gut function, digestive capacity, all of that good stuff. So we see a lot of women that are dealing with chronic bloating. Looking kind of like six months pregnant with belly bloat. At the end of the day, maybe they have constipation or diarrhea, or maybe they're alternating between the two. Sometimes they've been told they have IBS by their doctor. Sometimes they, they may know that they have a condition like SIBO or like bacterial overgrowth, but not always. Sometimes it'll appear with like reflux or just a lot of sensitivity, lots of food sensitivities and reactions and food intolerances. So feeling like they're having to kind of peel away a lot of these foods. They can't quite tolerate many things due to chronic digestive issues. And that usually also comes with. Low energy. Maybe we've got some skin stuff too, like acne or rashes. Maybe we've got some thyroid, sluggish thyroid function too, or painful periods, right? Because as you know, these systems in the body all influence one another. So it's typically, not just digestion. We'll get like a nice other long list of painful symptoms with that too. A great list of common

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

of

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

symptoms that all go together.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

that all

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Thyroid is exactly the same.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

the

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

So how did you.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

how did you

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

get to where you are.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Where you are

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Today. Yeah, so I, you know, I think like many in this field, I struggled with my own chronic digestive issues for a long, a long, long time. I ate very healthy. I ate very clean. I am young. I was young when I was really struggling. I was active, like I've always been an athlete. I've always exercised and moved a lot and. I was, you know, eating gluten-free and eating dairy free, and I barely drank alcohol and I was minimizing sugar and I was still dealing with this like really chronic bloating and I was kind of being told like, you're just stressed. Maybe it's just like in your head, you're too worried about this. But I would look, I mean, I would look six months pregnant after eating an apple. And I was. Quote, unquote, doing all of the right things and still really struggling. And I just knew that there had to be something else going on because I was like, A) I didn't always feel this way, and B)

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Mm-hmm.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I am like, I'm doing all the right things, you know, I'm eating super healthy, I'm eating really clean, I'm exercising. And so something else has got to be kind of going on. So that's when I really dove into the gut microbiome research and kind of like digestive function and realized, oh, it's not really a food problem. It's more so a gut issue, a gut microbiome or what I call kinda like the gut environment.'Cause when we have imbalances there, we'll have lots of fun digestive issues. So yeah, I really got into it with my, because I was struggling with my own stuff and no one could, no one could really help me or give me any answers. And I was health coaching women and I was. Realizing that we all had the same story. It was like I go into the doctor and I tell them that I am really struggling and I have this bloating and all of that. And they're like, oh, you're distressed. Like, just relax and you know, that should help everything. Yeah. It's easy to do.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Yeah, it's easy to do, right?

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yep. So I just started hearing the same thing over and over. Women being dismissed and being told it's in their head and being told they're distressed. And I was like, okay, someone's gotta do something about this. So here, here I am now. Yeah. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Yeah.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

did you

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

So

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

to college and get a degree?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

and get a degree

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I studied something very different in college, and then I went and became a certified holistic health coach with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. And I did a lot of kind of like self-study. And then on my team today I have 3, 4 women with masters in nutrition or clinical nutrition and all of that. So we kind of bring, bring skills from many different backgrounds kind of to the table. So the conditions that you see, you kind of already went over that,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

that. So

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

to me about, I mean, I know

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

I mean, I

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

last time we spoke we were talking about the overlap of what you do with

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

what

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

hypothyroidism.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

And.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

you know, it seems like that list of diagnoses, the X amount, all that stuff.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

and

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

It's so similar, it's just like, oh my gosh, how do you,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

oh my gosh, how do you tell that apart? So, so where do you start with somebody who comes in comes

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

with,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

with. problems like what you're

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah, kind of depends on what they've tried in the past and where, what their base, where their baseline is. So we can do a lot of, like, like first line of defense should, in my opinion, be nutrition shifts and nutrition intervention. A lot of our clients are a bit more advanced, so they've already done a lot of that. Like our, the average client that we see is not, you know, eating McDonald's and fried food all the time. They're. So, yeah, right. They are, maybe they've done paleo, maybe they've done whole 30, they're gluten free, they're dairy free, they're eating organic, and they're still really struggling. So if that's you, then I would say then the line of intervention is a little more elevated versus your kind of like. For lack of better phrasing, average person who's eating still a lot of processed foods, maybe fried foods, foods high in sugar, or that like standard, that standard American diet. So if you're there, let's adjust the nutrition and see what we can do there, like emphasizing more whole foods, nutrient dense foods. And I can go into detail there if you, if you'd like. And then if you've already, you're already doing that, then we'll take it a step further and with all of our clients we always run functional stool testing'cause we can find a lot of information out about their gut microbiome, whether that's infections or microbial imbalances, digestive capacity, inflammation levels, and the large intestine, through these labs. And this, the functional stool testing really, it really changed my life and that's why I really wanted to bring it in and use it with our clients'cause we'll learn a lot about them there. So that's kind of gonna be one of the first things that we'll do to then be able to understand you have, you know, maybe you have a parasitic infection or maybe you have overgrowth of fungi in the gut microbiome, or maybe you don't have enough of your good gut bacteria. We can work to repopulate those, you know, or you, you have fat mal digestion. All of these things can influence how you digest your food. And then like levels of bloating and constipation, diarrhea, et cetera. So we kind of go digging for these like where's the kink in the hose? Like where's the little, little part of the chain that's, that's busted so we can fix that and then your body can start to work how it knows how to best. Sure.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Sure. you mentioned a couple of times doing everything right. So right. So

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

your world,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

world,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Doing everything right?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

is doing everything

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah. I was eating a primarily whole foods based diet. I was eating gluten-free. I don't think I touched gluten or dairy for a decade. That's not an exaggeration.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Oh my

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I, I basically lived on an elimination diet, so anything that I read could quote unquote be inflammatory. I took out, and it did help me a little bit. It would, it helped me get like a, like probably 20% better, but I was still dealing with this bloating that would just like, not budge, but I was eating super clean, like single ingredient foods, which is still a great thing to do, right? There was just more to my story. I was exercising a few times a week. Honestly, I was over exercising at the time thinking I was doing it right, but I was really like burning myself into the ground. Yeah, I see that all the time.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

see that all the

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Oh yeah, all the time.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

see that

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I was taking like probably four HIIT classes a week without understanding that that was way too much for me. I didn't really drink alcohol. I've been living a life that was that like had fewer toxins for a long time. I mean, I don't burn scented candles. I'm not using tons of products that have lots of like endocrine disruptors in them. And I've been that way for a long time. So that's what I mean when I say I was kind of like doing all of these right things, drinking filtered water, you know, I was really doing it all.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Right, right.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I wasn't, you know, eating, eating McDonald's and staying out late, drinking drinks and

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Soda pop and

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

No, no, not at all. So, yeah, definitely not. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

definitely not.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

So, so how

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

so, so

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

many people when they come in, do you see

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

see

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

have

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

that actually have

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

deficiencies in their nutrition that.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

that are contributing to

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

So many. I mean, arguably everyone. So I, I think we've had when I speak, I actually spoke to my team about this recently. I'm like, have we ever seen a woman come in actually eating enough? And I believe it was Eli on my team, she's a registered dietician. She was like, I think it was one person.'cause she was a bodybuilder or something. So she was like really on top of her macros.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

she

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Over, over macro

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

over

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

you know? Yeah. So she was like, not, not very many.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

not very many.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Not very, not very many at all. Most women lean under eating, whether that's purely just not enough calories for their needs and or usually we're seeing women, you know, we like women to be eating around and of course, we can get a lot more specific when we know your case and all of that. But on average, like a hundred grams of protein a day, most women come in eating like 50 grams of protein per day, so whoa.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Oh,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah. Half

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Half as

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

as much, half as much under eating protein, carbs. I mean, we had one client come in and she always comes to mind'cause her functional medicine doctor had told her to don't eat carbs, don't eat carbs. She was eating 45 grams of carbs a day and I'm like, that's pretty low.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

That's

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

You, you probably need about 150, 160 grams of carbs a day. So we can see like, it could be not enough calories, could be low protein, could be low carb, typically, it's just, yeah. Not, not fueling for your body's needs which of course will impact thyroid function too. Oh, absolutely. That's one of the biggest things I

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

biggest

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I think triggers people to go into thyroid as much

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

thyroid dysfunction

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

is calorie restriction. And, and then, you know.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

then, you

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Not, not that I'm mis nutrition expert, but

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

expert,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

specific nutritions not enough,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

not

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

you know, minerals not enough. Yep. Whatever.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

whatever.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

So, yeah. So what, what other ones do you see besides just the back? Chris,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

just the

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

yeah. Anytime we add in a lot of restriction with the diet, so what tends to happen is with gut issues specifically, like women will start reacting to foods, so then they'll start taking them out, right? They're like, oh, I think it's the gluten, or it's the dairy, or it's the, it's the fruit, or it's the this or that. And as soon as we start to remove all of these different food groups from the diet, we're just like setting the breeding ground for deficiency. How are we gonna get in all these nutrients? And you know, when it comes to, as, you know, we need certain nutrients for thyroid function. You know, we need certain nutrients for thyroid hormone conversion. We need certain nutrients to support a healthy gut lining. We need certain nutrients and minerals

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Mm-hmm.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

and chloride and zinc, and B vitamins to produce stomach acid. So there's, you know, like. Once, once we start to peel away loads and loads of foods, whether that's just like decreasing calories and or what typically happens is eliminating these food groups, we can run into trouble, you know, pretty, pretty quickly. Like, for example, vitamin A is so important for thyroid function and gut function. And a lot of the time we get that bioavailable vitamin A in the form of retinol from dairy. But, oh, so many women will read. People realize that, oh yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

that'cause they're dairy

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

They'll, they'll read online that dairy is inflammatory or whatever, and then they cut it out. And then it's like, where are we getting in this vitamin A? And yes, we can get it in through things like carrots and sweet potatoes, but that's not in the form of retinol. That's betacarotene. So which we can convert to use as retinol, the more bioavailable form, but not everyone can at the same capacity. So it's just really like a slippery slope. Once we get into taking out loads and loads of foods it can lead to so, so much deficiency in kind of different arenas. And what I also like to emphasize is liver detoxification is a nutrient dependent process. If the body doesn't have what it needs, the liver can't do its job efficiently. And the liver, you know, is where we convert most thyroid hormone from inactive to active. It's also where we produce bile that will help us break down fats and absorb fat soluble nutrients. It plays so many key roles in gut function, so all systems will start to kind of, you know, not, not break down because your body's still operating, but they'll be working kind of subpar once we start to, you know, take out a lot of these foods. Right. So

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

So

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

so that brings up a specific question that I wanted to ask you,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

to ask

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Which is I see a lot of patients who have already had their gallbladder taken out. Yeah. Because

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

because

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

somebody told them that it

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

told'em

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

was gonna fix their gut problems. And so

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

and

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

then they don't,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

they don't. Oh,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

they don't store bile so that they can release it during a meal. They dribble it out all day long. So

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

long.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

there

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

there

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

that you tell people? Able to do, have had better gallbladder.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

their gallbladder out?

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Absolutely. Yeah. You're going to need bile support forever going forward. Be for exactly that reason. So the liver is what produces it. The gallbladder stores it and pushes it out at meal times without that gallbladder. Just as you mentioned, we're gonna have kind of this like slow drip, but so you won't quite have enough when you need it, when you're eating those, those meals that do contain fat or that are higher, higher fat. So, something like an OX bio can be really helpful long term. Some like a com.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Yeah. I

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah, a combination with like an oxil and a lipase, like a, or a full spectrum enzyme that has, you know, not just lipase, that's the enzyme to break down fat, but you can find some of these combinations on the market, like through good brands. One, one comes to mind we like digestion gb, I believe it's pure encapsulations. It has kind of a combination of a few of these things, but overall, you will need this bile support going forward. The other thing that I like people to think about is. You know, there's a reason why we needed to have your gallbladder removed, and that didn't happen overnight, chances are that didn't happen overnight. It was very likely,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Sure.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

kind of brewing for a period of time. That was then creating the sludge and the stones and whatever reason we needed that kind of prompted that removal. So the liver's gonna need some support. You don't just remove the organ and then everything gets better. The liver was probably struggling for a good bit of time before the gallbladder had to be removed. So bringing in some of these nutrients to support liver function, detoxification can be really, really helpful too. After you get that gallbladder removal and then, you know, if you really wanna dive deep, like say you, you're someone who got that removal and you're still having all these gut issues and you take the ox bile and you're like, it helped a little, but it didn't quite help fully. The thing that is really important to understand is. Like, your body's incredible. It's doing all of this without you even thinking about it. It's amazing. And one of the other jobs that bile has is it acts as an antimicrobial. So it's pushed into that small intestine at at mealtime to help to break down and emulsify these fats, but it also helps to kind of keep that small intestine more sterile. It's not entirely sterile, but it should have a lot less bacteria than the large intestine. That's where like the large portion of our gut microbes are. So without adequate bile, we can get SIBO or small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Right,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

talk about it.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

never thought about it that way.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Oh my gosh. Interesting.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

really

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah, so it's like if someone has had that removal and then that will influence thyroid function. Thyroid function can influence sibo, right? So it's like these systems are all impacting one another, but we'll see people with removals have dysbiosis, whether that's in the small intestine or the large intestine, that can then be really contributing to the bowel movement, like irregular bowel movements and bloating and things like that.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Mm-hmm.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

What about,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

hydrochloric

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

a lot of people who are deficient in hydrochloric acid, stomach acid, basically? Yeah. What that is. Yeah, absolutely. And it's, it's a bit hard to test, you know, like to test are you producing enough or not? So we kind of look at just like what, what you're presenting with. We don't wanna go adding in more acid to anyone that has like gastritis or tons of reflux or anything like that because we wanna, you know, check out the upper GI tissue first, make sure there's no damage and all of that. But a lot of people tend to run lower stomach acid due to chronic stress and nutrient deficiencies. Th same thing again.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Same thing

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Thyroid, right? All of that plays a role. And then sometimes we can see infections too, like a helicobacter pylori infection that will essentially like,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Mm-hmm.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

how can I phrase this? You'll just produce less stomach acid'cause it damages the parietal cells that produce stomach acid. So absolutely, we're working on stomach acid with people, with essentially everyone. We can do that with something like a hydrochloric acid supplement, but that's usually not our first go-to. I like to use something a bit more gentle, like a digestive bitters or honestly, making sure that you're really chewing your food, that you're smelling your food, you're tasting your food, you're present with your food. You mean not inhaling your food.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

inhaling your food weight?

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I'm saying not, you know, shoving, shoving something into your mouth while answering emails and not taking your lunch break. Yeah. You know, it's funny that that.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

funny that you That because,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

traditional medicine's, answer to h pylori is to give you Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

you,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Prilosec. Yep. Which, what does it do? It stops you from making stomach acid. Yep. It's just like, okay.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

like,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

doesn't sound like that's really the right answer.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

right

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

No, and if you, and if you think about it like this, and I learned this from a functional registered dietician a few years ago. She was kind of like, if reflux was due to having too much stomach acid, then we would see children on PPIs. What we see is the, as we age, I see that all the time.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

all

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

You, you, do you see children? I see,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

I see

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

see. Well, I don't, I don't treat them, but I.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

don't

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

but

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I have seen that in my fireplace. Oh. I just saw this other like 11-year-old boy on the, on, I think Prilosec. And I was like, no, someone, someone give him my phone number. So hard to get people off that darn stuff once they're on it too.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

they're

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yes, it is. Yeah. You have to, you have to wean on to trade.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

off gradually. It's

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah. And, and like I identify why they needed it in the first place, you know, because a child usually shouldn't need that. But tons of kids get age pylori infections as well. But you know, we know as you age and you get older, you start to naturally produce less stomach acid. So we tend to see younger people not on PPIs and older people on more PPIs. So if you, if you think about it, if acid reflux was due to too much stomach acid, then we would see that flipped, right? We'd see older people not on them if they're producing less acid and we'd see a lot of younger people on them. Just kind of like thinking through that. I,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

I don't,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I agree with you. I dunno that reflux is

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

is

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

from too much stomach acid. I really feel like it's

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

it's,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

geo secretions that

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

secretions

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

into,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

getting

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

right. Yeah.'cause of Parsis, because of low thyroid or because of whatever else is going on.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

else is going on.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Agree. The time.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

that all the time.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

the time.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

it all

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I really do feel like in the US we have this epidemic of

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

epidemic

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

disease and so much of it is related to food.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

to food.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Me first step

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

first

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

that everybody.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

everybody ought to do to clean

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

what they're needing?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

what they're eating.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yes. Wow. This could be a long one. That's okay.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Oh, that's okay.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Time. This could be a long one. There's so much that goes into this conversation, right. Including, budget accessibility to things, what you have in your environment, what you grew up eating, all of this. This is a it's a, it's a much bigger like, kind of socioeconomic like conversation. With that being said, you know, if you're just getting started, we wanna focus on single ingredient foods. So we're looking for food that doesn't contain tons of different ingredients. It is an ingredient. So something like an apple doesn't have an ingredient label on it, it's just an apple, something like, you know a steak even, it doesn't come with this long list of ingredients. It's just beef, right? So focusing more, if you can add more of those kinds of foods into your diet, and then you can, you can add things to them, right? You can add salt and pepper, you can add olive oil, you can add a sauce or whatever. But as long as we're sticking to mostly those like actual foods, not simple, simple things that don't have long lists of ingredients, then. You're going to be better off simply starting there. You know, of course most of us know, decrease alcohol, decrease sugar, decrease fried foods. We kind of understand that. And then if we wanna take it to that next step, what I think is one of the like most powerful things that you can do when it comes to nutrition and the food that you're eating is just learning how to balance your blood sugar through the food that you're eating. That is, it's like nutrition 101. Anyone that studied nutrition should know how to teach you that and be talking to you about it.'cause it impacts so much in the body and it's quite simple when you understand how to do it. So if you want me to break that down, I'm happy to, but I think that's a really good place to start. Yeah. So do you, do you

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

So do you,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

advise people to try.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

people Try,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

glucose monitors, like the CGMs at this point?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

At this point,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Kind of depends. We've had a couple clients get them, and sometimes they're just kind of curious too, if there's an issue and if we're seeing like their hemoglobin A1C is elevated and they're eating like a super healthy kind of diet and they're balancing their blood sugar or they're trying to, they're thinking they're too, then I think A CGM is helpful. We've never really seen a CGM give us information that we didn't really already know, like with the foundations of balancing blood sugar. I think if you lean towards over controlling and like having a lot of stress around food, it would not be my recommendation. You can

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

you

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

out more'cause of it. Yeah, because also, like a healthy body should be able to tolerate like some, some spikes, right? It's, it's not that you never want to eat a piece of bread or something like that. It's more so you know, a healthy body knows what to do with that and can kind of reregulate. So seeing that surge in the blood glucose can like trigger some fear that's unnecessary, I think. But if someone just wants to learn more and it's also gonna really help prompt them to change, make change, healthy change, then it can be useful. But I think it's never quite shown us something we didn't already know that like, you know, starchy carbs are, or processed carbohydrates are gonna raise your blood sugar. Like we kind of, we knew that, you know?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Sure.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Yeah.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

And

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Yeah. And,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I, I seen

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

I,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

be more valuable as realtime feedback. Yep. To the patient. It's just like, you know what?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

like, you know what?

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I know you think you're getting away with something by doing X, Y, Z, but

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Y,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

here's what's actually happen

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

actually

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

where this part two weeks and just see. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

see.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

So that's really helpful.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

that's

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah. I think the two week intervention can be, yeah, really insightful. I wouldn't, you know, I don't think people need to wear them all the time. Of course, unless you have like a more serious condition. Yeah,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

either.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

yeah. Yeah. Okay.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Yeah.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Couple coaching questions. So

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

so

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

people that,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

get

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

oh, well I'm just

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

well

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

to sugar. Mm.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

to sugar.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Okay. So

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Okay. So

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

how do you help that person? Yeah. Says

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

who

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

can't say.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

I

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Sure.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

stop eating sugar?

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Making sure. Yeah. Well if you are have already made up your mind there, then you're not gonna, so if you, if you're gonna run with the story that you can't give it up, then you can't give it up. And you won't give it up. So, you know, you have to be open to change. I, I can, I can feel into that. It's just a story.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

a story. It

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Of course, of course. You know, most, most things that we tell ourselves are and we see people like decrease their sugar cravings left and right all the time. So, it's absolutely possible. I actually used to be someone who needed something sweet after, like, I ate every meal and I was just thinking literally last night like, wow, I don't really feel that way anymore, which is so funny. That's nice.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

No, it's

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

and I think it's because I, my, once you stabilize those blood sugar levels. I mean the cravings decrease and the food noise decreases so much in a way that you honestly never thought was possible. Like it's, you can kind of move from one meal to the next with ease. I used to eat a meal and I'd be dreaming about my next meal already, and I was also kind of using food to soothe and like give me joy where I was like lacking it in other areas of my life. So this conversation can kind of really go in many directions. There's, there's the more physiological, like it's stemming from a physiological imbalance like blood sugar dysregulation. That's kind of one, one area. Then it could be someone who is using sweets to feel cozy and, and safe and, and soothed because their life is super stressful and that is a normal response to that. So it's like, how can we take a look at our lives and see like where can we source joy, not solely from food. Not that it's not okay to like love a nice meal and going out to dinner with friends and all of that, but it's more so, you know, for me, I was really using food to like fill this void that I had in my life in other areas and kind of like. Bring me joy, like in short term, right?'cause it only lasts a little bit.'Cause I wasn't quite living my life in a way that I, that I liked. So there's, there's so much that can be said here, but I would say first you have to be willing to give up that story. And then learn how to balance your blood sugar levels and then be patient with yourself and know that it won't happen overnight. Of course not. And they'll, you'll have a day where you're like, oops, I ate five cookies and the key there is to not beat yourself up for it. And I like to always

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Yeah.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

say it's really not about like never falling off the horse, it's just about how quickly you can get back on.'cause everyone's gonna fall off the horse. Everyone's gonna, yeah. That is so true.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Oh, yeah. No,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah. Everyone's gonna make a mistake. Everyone's gonna stay up too late, everyone's gonna have one too many drinks or one too many cookies or whatever it is. Like we're all just human. So it's really not about aiming for perfection and never doing those things. And then when you do shaming yourself, it's more so being like, oh wow, I went, I took that one a little too far, and now I'm just gonna, how can I take care of myself today? And that's it. And leave the shame behind.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Yeah.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

So how long

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

So how

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

do you generally see.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

generally

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

The cravings.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

the

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Calm down initially. If somebody says, okay, I'm gonna go

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

I'm gonna

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

without sweeteners. Mm-hmm. 10 days start the month. What are we talking about? Yeah. I would say a good few weeks. I mean, if they're cutting out all sweeteners, like even like Stevia and all of that probably within about 10 days, if you're adding in some of those sweeteners still, which I think are fine in small doses, honestly. Or like a little bit of honey. Like I, to me and our clients, I'm like, that's fine. A tablespoon of honey is gonna be fine. You know, but your brain's still kind of like getting that signal of sweetness. It could take a little bit longer, but I'd say if you, if you can commit to a good three weeks or so and taking out a lot of this processed sugar, you'll feel the difference. And you'll, you'll notice that you don't crave it as much, but we have to make sure that you're eating enough protein and, and good healthy fats and fibers kind of as you're swapping that out and you'll realize that that food noise goes away, which a lot of people are talking about with like these GLP ones, and we don't, we don't really have to open it up to that conversation if we don't want to, but people are saying the GLP ones are really helping with the food noise, right? They're kind of quieting that food noise. And we can work with our body's own secretions of GLP one, of course in much, much smaller doses than a medication. But through eating things like protein and fiber, you know, it's giving us that feeling of satiety and fullness and kind of quieting that food noise. So, yeah, I think when you have the right strategy, you can move through it with a lot more ease. Okay. So next coaching question is how do you deal

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

you

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

with the patient

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

with the

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

who is very, very invested

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

invested

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

1500 calorie diet and their

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

and their

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

workouts a

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

seven workouts a week

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah, but doesn't,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

doesn't.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I mean, it's just like they just, they wanna feel better.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

wanna

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

really, they

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

better, but they

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

think they're doing the right thing and they don't wanna give that up.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

want to

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

They're invested in it. Yeah. There's probably a deeper fear. So they probably have a deep seated fear that if they ease up on it, then they'll gain weight, I'm assuming, right. And there's probably a big fear around gaining weight for them. However, if that, if doing those things is impacting their thyroid function and slowing it down, then that's what's really gonna have them gain weight. Yeah. So it's kind, you know, I think sometimes just explaining that can be helpful. And then really slow and steady. So if someone's been undereating for a while or they're undereating carbs for a while, you know, we can't just have them jump into 200 grams of carbs overnight. They, they will gain weight with that. So if they're eating, you know, 80 grams of carbs, it's like, cool, next week let's focus on a hundred grams, and then we're gonna slowly build up from there. And you can do the same with calories too. So if someone's eating 1500 calories. Then, you know, next week let's aim for 1600 and we'll do that for a week or two,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Mm-hmm.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

then we'll bump it up to 1700. We'll do that for a week or two. And just like bringing that in more slowly can really help them and the body'cause if, of course, if you jump from 1500 to 3000, I mean, you will gain weight with that. So just really slow and steady and maybe it's like instead of the seven intense workouts a week, they're doing, I wouldn't take all of them away from that. All of those, all of those workouts away from them. At first I would say, cool, can we do five and can we bring in a long walk? You can go for an hour long walk. You know, that's fine with me'cause it's not gonna raise cortisol in the same way and it's not gonna like put, you put your body under that much stress and you can still feel like you got in that movement and you kind of got those good, you know, feeling hormones like that we get when we exercise and stuff like that. So.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Mm-hmm.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

swapping it. If they're open to swapping one of those bootcamp classes for a yoga class or even Pilates, where they'll still really get like a good workout and feel that burn and all of that.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Sure.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

but it's way easier on the body, you know, kind of so decreasing, slowly swapping, and then really just explaining and trying to identify that deeper fear with them. You know, they're, they're holding onto something. They're trying to over control things, and they wanna stay the same, even though, it's not working, which is what the nervous system and brain, it's so true. Likes to do. And, and we all feel that. I mean, I feel that in my own way, in my own life. You know,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Mm-hmm.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

that's human nature. Human nature is and the nervous system is like, keep doing what you've always been doing because that's safer, because that's what we know. And even if it's not actually getting us to where we wanna go, it's harder to make that change. So when I'm first opening up my programs with clients, I always say to them, we're gonna ask you to make changes and you're gonna feel resistance to these changes. Just prepare yourself for that. Now you know, we're probably gonna ask you to eat a little more. We're probably gonna ask you to stress a little less. You know, do honestly do less, work out less. We're gonna ask you to take new supplements and all, all of this kind of stuff, and your brain will go, eh, is this worth it? Well, it wasn't that bad, right? Like, you'll start to make excuses and that that's gonna play out in all different areas of your life, not just with like a health program. So I think just kind of knowing that and really reaffirming to yourself that like. I am stronger than these, than these thoughts that are just like not really serving me. And these patterns that I know deep down aren't serving me, but I really wanna keep them. And they're hard to budge. Like I have autonomy and I can make a new decision. And that may feel a little harder at first, but eventually that is just gonna become the new habit. So it's like a little discomfort for, you know, much better change on the other side. So I think just kind of knowing that you'll meet some of that resistance is helpful for some people.'Cause you're like, oh here it is. She told me this was gonna happen. That's, that's great. Yeah. Tell'em in advance that, that to expected. Then when it comes, then they're not

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

then they're

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

thrown the loop.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

thrown a loop, thrown a

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

You know?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

it, you know?

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Very cool.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Very

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I have two more questions. Sure. And the first one is about probiotics because, you know, you can go to

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

to

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

and you can buy

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

and you can buy.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

your, you know,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

you

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

of the mill probiotic and stuff like that. And I really, I encourage people not to do that. Mm-hmm.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

to

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

cause I really do think there's probiotics. And there's probiotics and there's also, like you said, you do the,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

the,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

the functional stool testing.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

testing

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

you tips on what they're actually deficient on. Mm-hmm. So

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

on.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

you decide

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

decide

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

somebody needs a probiotic and if so. What?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

if so, what?

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah, the, I will say the functional stool testing can inform this a lot, which is very helpful because there are so many different probiotics and, you know, the, the research and like the clinical data that we have around probiotics it's a little variable, right? So some, there's, yeah, it's not.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

There's,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

for sure. It's, it's not complete. So I honestly like people to focus on prebiotics a lot more because the, that's what really feed our good gut microbes. So probiotics are just those live strains of bacteria, but they're, they're transient in nature. So, they'll like impact the host AKA you as you're taking them, and then usually you'll just poop them out. But prebiotics are what really start to like feed those gut bacteria and build those healthy gut microbial colonies. So I like to really focus on prebiotic rich foods, fruits and veggies and, and different things like that. More so than probiotics, but I will say working with like a, a, a well-versed practitioner can be really helpful here because for example, if you have SIBO or you have fungal overgrowth or like candida a probiotic that works great for your best friend may really like trigger you and you may feel super bloated and gassy or nauseous'cause you have all this overgrowth present. So, we honestly don't pr bring in probiotics very typically until the very end with clients, and that's like a couple months into work. So, if you don't have a lot of digestive issues, you're like, just good quality, kind of broad spectrum one could be fine for you. But if you're dealing with a lot of chronic digestive issues, which you probably have, if you have sluggish thyroid function, then some customization there can be really, really helpful. Yeah.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

be helpful.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah. And prebiotics in, in order for a food to have,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

to

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Good prebiotic, does it have to be raw?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

it have to be raw?

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Something I get all the time too. It's like,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

time

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

oh, I don't wanna eat raw butter

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

to eat

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

vegetables.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

vegetables. And I'm like,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

No, that's a very interesting question. I'm like, I'm like, oh my gosh, to my knowledge, no. Okay. I, there's a possibility that you're, you're cooking the soil bacteria. When you're, when you're cooking a piece of broccoli or whatever. So I just wonder. Yeah. Yeah. And then it come, when it comes to things like prebiotic rich, you know, other foods or even resistant starch rich foods, those are great for feeding the gut microbiome too. Like that can be cooked in cooled potatoes, that can be oats, cooked oats. It could be overnight oats, you know, so it doesn't necessarily have to be like a raw, a raw vegetable, but no, to my knowledge, like saute dandelion greens and sunchoke. I mean, those things are really rich in prebiotics and we can cook them just fine and still get those good prebiotics. Good.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Got it.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Awesome. Okay, last question.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

question.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

for, for my travelers.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

travelers.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

So airports to me, and you know, I haven't been to every airport in the US but airports really feel like healthy food

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

healthy food

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Mm-hmm.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

deserts

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

small towns on

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

small towns on highways

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Same thing. So if you're traveling, what do you give,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

do you

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

what advice do you give to somebody who has to travel often?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

to travel

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah, go prepared. Always bring something something with you. So I actually have a whole podcast episode on tips, tips for healthy travel, for anyone that's interested. I would talk about everything that I do, supplements that I bring, snacks that I pack, and all of that. So that's a good, a good resource. I just got back from traveling, so let me think about what I did. I went with a couple supplements. I always bring things like magnesium and a few others. Electrolytes and then with food, I typically bring, I just pack snacks, so I'll bring things like chomps, which are these, like grass fed beef sticks. I'll bring, oh gosh, on the way there, I was really just, you know, you're trying to like, it's like a mad dash to get all the stuff out of your fridge so it doesn't go bad.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Right? Yeah.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

So I, he's like, oh, oh, that's, my husband said that yesterday. He's like, oh, we gotta eat the fridge. Yep. We gotta eat the fridge. Exactly.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

I'm

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Or you're like trying to put whatever you can in the freezer. So I went with like two bell peppers sliced up, and I had, I literally had a half an avocado, just like a, like in, in a bag. And I just dipped the bell peppers into that. I like to have a, something crunchy'cause I love a, I love a cracker, like a chip. So I had some gluten-free crackers with me. I'll get those like individual serving size nut butter packets. So like almond butter or cashew butter or something like that'cause you'll get. Some fat, which is quite satiating and a little bit of protein.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Mm-hmm.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I really, I'm loving Aloha Bars right now. I have zero affiliation with this company whatsoever, but they have a good like protein bar that has 14 grams of protein and I think it's like eight grams of fiber or something, which is pretty nice. That's pretty great. So, and they taste great. So I'll buy those,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Good. Okay.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

at like Whole Foods or on Amazon or whatever. I'll buy a box of them and I just brought like 10 of them with me on my trip,'cause it feels, it feels so awful to be stuck somewhere and you're starving and there's like literally nothing and you're like, oh no. It's like I can't eat another pack of almonds. Right,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

of almonds,

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

right. So I, although I love almonds.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

I love almonds, but

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

totally. So I try to bring like. I try to bring something like a, like a beef stick or like something like that where it feels like, it feels more like food than a protein bar'cause I get kind of, I hit my max with protein bars very quick. Like I can't eat like two, I eat one and I'm like, ugh, I want food. So then I have the avocado and the bell pepper, and that feels more like food to me. Hard, hard-boiled eggs are great, you know, those are great to travel with. Let me think of anything else. Sometimes I'll pack a salad, but I have to be really on top of it. If I'm pre packing a salad before I travel, they don't, they don't actually last all that long before they get cooked in

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

long

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

No in Apple, like I'll cut up apple slices or like a sumo orange. I, I love sumo oranges when they're in season because you can peel them and they don't, they're not a mess. Like you can peel the whole thing and it no juice goes anywhere and they're so delicious. So things like that, or like Kiwis, you know, any, any cutup fruit, any cutup veggies like carrots and bell peppers and cucumbers are kind of my go-to.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Mm-hmm.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

things to just toss in the, in the purse are like beef sticks and nut butter packets and, yeah. Nice. Very nice.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Very

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

well that brings up, since you have an episode that we need to. Listen to

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

that

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

tell us what your podcast is.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

your podcast

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah, so it's new to this year. We're very excited. It's called the Nutrient-Dense podcast, and I really cover all things like root cause approach to gut health, so whether it's nutrition or lab testing or SIBO or histamine overload or any, any of that. And I'll bring my team on. We'll do some q and as as well. So for anyone that's interested in learning more about digestion. And if you're struggling with chronic digestive issues, it's been very well received and it's been so fun for me, for me to do. That's fantastic. We're gonna be binging that for sure.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

that for sure.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yes. Yeah. And we had you on for an episode, so we're excited about that. That's wonderful.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

That

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah. Yeah. So come on over. So, so.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

so, if.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

People who are listening need to find you. How do they find you?

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

How

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Yeah, so you can listen to the Nutrient Dense podcast. You can come on over and say hi on Instagram. So I'm on Instagram@hannahaylward hhc, but we'll make sure to get you that'cause my last name is a little bit of a doozy. And then my website's just hannahaylward.com. So yeah, don't hesitate to reach out. Send me a message. And I'm quite active on Instagram. I do like weekly q and as for the audience. And,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

Mm-hmm.

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

And I post content all the time. Always new tips. So would love to connect you through there. Wonderful. Thank you so much.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

so

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

has been great. I'm so happy that you were able to come on

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

come

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

and I know my people are gonna want to come and learn more from you.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

from

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

But anyway, I think we're about out of time. So thank you everybody for listening to Beyond the Thyroid. And don't forget,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

don't

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

I have my new thyroid Clarity checkup. And

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

checkup

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

if you are not sure that your symptoms are related to thyroid, if you want a quick and easy way to find out,

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

way to

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

come to my website and sign up for the wait list, and we'll be launching that very, very soon and it's gonna be great.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

It's gonna be

hannah_1_06-27-2025_133653:

Alright, until next week, I'll talk to you then. Bye bye.

dana-gibbs-md--she-_1_06-27-2025_123654:

to you then. Bye-bye.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Beyond the Thyroid. If you found this information valuable, it would mean so much to me to take a few seconds and give the podcast a five star review. It helps other people who need this information find the show and it's really easy. Just search and click on the name of the show, Beyond the Thyroid, and scroll to the bottom to ratings and reviews. I truly do read and appreciate. Remember, when it comes to hormones, there will always be more to discover, so follow the show so you get the next episode as soon as it's released. And if you or someone you care about needs a caring doctor to help figure out how to heal hormone problems that other doctors have dismissed, check out my website at www. danagibbsmd. com. And if you're not a physician, please keep in mind, while I'm a doctor, I'm not your doctor. The content of this podcast is my opinion and it's for educational and entertainment purposes only. This is not meant to be individual medical advice and you should consult your own physician for any medical issues or diagnoses that you may have. I look forward to continuing this journey with you beyond the thyroid.