Case Study 1

Chronic Bloating and Constipation:  A Naturopath’s Personalised Approach to Restoring Gut Health

When Long-Standing Gut Problems Became Worse After Food Poisoning

Chronic bloating and constipation don’t always have a single cause. While food poisoning can trigger digestive symptoms, it can also aggravate underlying gut dysfunction that has been present for years.1

This case demonstrates how a comprehensive naturopathic assessment and gut microbiome testing helped identify the underlying factors contributing to one woman’s long-standing digestive symptoms.

Patient details have been modified to protect privacy.

Case Presentation

# Female Mid-50s
# Occupation: Homemaker
#Chronic bloating and excessive gas
#Long-standing constipation
#Lower abdominal fullness
#Low energy and brain fog
#Chronic headaches
#High stress and anxiety

The Challenge

The patient had experienced constipation, bloating and excessive gas for many years. However, after developing food poisoning while travelling in Italy, her digestive symptoms became significantly worse and never returned to their previous baseline.

Without laxative support she opened her bowels only once every three days. She also experienced persistent lower abdominal fullness, fatigue, brain fog and chronic headaches.

Rather than simply treating the bloating, the consultation aimed to identify why her digestive system was struggling.

Early Progress

Initial treatment focused on improving digestion, bowel function and supporting the gut-brain connection.

Within the first few weeks she reported:

• Approximately 60% improvement in abdominal fullness
• Better sleep
• Reduced stress and anxiety
• More frequent bowel movements

Although these improvements were encouraging, bloating and excessive gas improved by only around 10%.

This suggested additional underlying factors were contributing to her symptoms.

A comprehensive gut microbiome assessment was recommended.

Key Findings from Gut Microbiome Testing

Finding	Clinical Significance
Severely reduced pancreatic enzyme function	Poor digestion contributing to bloating, gas and nutrient malabsorption
Methanobrevibacter smithii	Associated with constipation and slower bowel transit
Blastocystis hominis	Contributing to gut microbial imbalance
Streptococcus mutans & Streptococcus salivarius	Overgrowth contributing to microbiome disruption
Low Bifidobacterium & Lactobacillus	Reduced beneficial bacteria needed for healthy gut function
Normal inflammatory markers	No evidence of active bowel inflammation

The results confirmed that several underlying factors were contributing to her persistent digestive symptoms rather than a single diagnosis.

Personalised Naturopathic Treatment

Treatment was individualised according to the patient’s clinical presentation and microbiome findings.

The treatment strategy focused on:

• Supporting digestive enzyme production.
• Targeted herbal antimicrobial therapy directed at Blastocystis hominis, Methanobrevibacter smithii and Streptococcus overgrowth.
• Evidence-informed probiotic strains selected to restore beneficial bacteria following antimicrobial therapy.
• A temporary Low FODMAP dietary approach, gradually reintroducing foods as symptoms improved.
• Improving bowel motility and digestive function.
• Lifestyle and stress-management strategies to support the gut-brain connection.

Treatment was reviewed and refined throughout care according to her progress.

Outcome

Following the revised treatment plan, the patient reported approximately 80–90% overall improvement.

Key Improvements

✔ Bowel function improved from once every three days to daily

✔ Significant reduction in bloating and abdominal fullness

✔ Excessive gas markedly improved

✔ Better energy and mental clarity

✔ Improved sleep

✔ Reduced stress and anxiety

The patient reported feeling significantly better than when she first presented and was able to manage her digestive health with much greater confidence.

Clinical Perspective

This case highlights that chronic bloating and constipation are often the result of multiple interacting factors rather than a single condition.

Although food poisoning significantly worsened this patient’s symptoms, it was not the original cause. Comprehensive assessment and gut microbiome testing identified impaired digestive enzyme function, microbial imbalance and depletion of beneficial bacteria that were contributing to her ongoing digestive dysfunction.

By identifying these underlying factors and tailoring treatment to the patient’s individual needs—including targeted herbal antimicrobial therapy, carefully selected probiotic strains, digestive support and dietary modification—she experienced substantial improvements in digestive function and overall wellbeing.

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