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In this episode I chat with Beccy Escobedo, holistic wellness coach and gut wellness practitioner. Her mission is to help people improve their digestion and gut health through diet, supplements and lifestyle changes so they can reduce inflammation, increase their energy, feel and function better, and live their best lives.
Table of Contents
We’ll chat about:
- How her own gut health journey helped her discover the holistic approach to better overall health
- The different and not-so-obvious ways poor digestion can show up in your day-to-day life
- How to jumpstart your own gut health makeover at your next meal
FREE GIFT FROM COACH BECCY!
CLICK HERE TO GET COACH BECCY’S Gut Friendly Fridge and Pantry Swaps!
Meet Beccy Escobedo
Beccy Escobedo is a holistic health coach, gut wellness practitioner, and a busy mom of 2. She helps people with mild to moderate digestive problems to optimize their gut health through food, supplements and lifestyle changes so they can reduce inflammation, increase their energy, function better, feel great and live their best life!
Connect With Beccy
FAQ: How to Improve Your Digestion with Beccy Escobedo
What is gut health and why is it important?
Gut health refers to the balance and function of bacteria and other microorganisms in your digestive tract. A healthy gut supports digestion, nutrient absorption, immune function, energy levels, and even mood regulation through the gut–brain connection.
What are signs of poor gut health?
Common signs include bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, stomach cramps, food sensitivities, fatigue, brain fog, sugar cravings, and frequent illness. Some people also notice mood changes like anxiety or low mood.
Can gut health affect mental health?
Yes. The gut and brain are closely connected through what is called the gut–brain axis. The gut produces neurotransmitters like serotonin, and imbalances in gut bacteria may be linked to stress, anxiety, and mood changes.
What causes poor gut health?
Poor gut health can be influenced by several factors, including chronic stress, processed foods, low fiber intake, antibiotic use, lack of sleep, environmental toxins, and underlying medical conditions. In many cases, it’s a combination of lifestyle and dietary factors.
Can diet really improve gut health?
Yes, diet plays a major role in gut health. Fiber-rich foods, fruits, vegetables, fermented foods, and adequate hydration support beneficial gut bacteria. Reducing ultra-processed foods and added sugars can also help rebalance the microbiome.
What is the difference between leaky gut and dysbiosis?
Leaky gut refers to increased intestinal permeability, where the gut lining becomes more “open” than it should be. Dysbiosis refers to an imbalance in gut bacteria (too many harmful bacteria, not enough beneficial ones, or low diversity). Both can contribute to inflammation and digestive symptoms.
Do I need supplements to improve gut health?
Not always. Some people benefit from probiotics or targeted supplements, but lifestyle and diet changes are usually the foundation. The right approach depends on the individual, since gut health is highly bio-individual.
How long does it take to improve gut health?
It varies depending on the person and the underlying issues. Some people notice improvements in a few weeks with dietary and lifestyle changes, while deeper gut healing can take several months.
When should I see a gut health specialist?
If you experience ongoing digestive issues (like persistent bloating, pain, irregular bowel movements, or food reactions), or if symptoms are affecting your daily life, it may be helpful to work with a qualified gut health or digestive wellness practitioner.
Episode Transcript – Give Your Gut a Makeover: How to Improve Your Gut Health Naturally
(Transcribed by TurboScribe. Go Unlimited to remove this message.)
I’m Lori Mallon, and this is the Results Without Restriction podcast, the show where results have nothing to do with weight and everything to do with setting and reaching health and fitness goals that focus on what we’re achieving and not what we’re losing. We’ll talk about deprogramming from diet culture and get expert advice on reclaiming your relationship with food and movement. Join me on this journey to get results without restriction.
Welcome, everyone. I am here with Becky Escobedo, who is a holistic health coach and a gut wellness practitioner. She helps her clients to improve their digestion and gut health through diet, supplements, and lifestyle choices so that they can reduce inflammation, increase their energy, function better, feel great, and live their best life.
Welcome, Becky. Hi, I’m happy to be here. I’m excited because I feel like gut health is one of these things that it’s always been important, but I think more people are learning about it, and there’s just so much more research being done recently, and we’re learning so much more about how important it is.
So I’m really excited for this episode so that we can really dive in and learn more about how to improve our gut health and the impact that it has on our overall health. So I’m pretty pumped. Me too.
So I like to always just start with my guests, having them tell us about their backstory and what brought them to where they are now and helping people and why they’re in the specialty area that they’re in.
So why don’t you tell us how you got into gut health? Yeah, so I was inspired to become a health coach and a gut wellness practitioner through my own gut wellness journey. So several years ago, you know, I was going through a whole ton of chronic stress and my diet was less than ideal, even though I loved vegetables and fruit.
I wasn’t getting enough and I was eating a lot of high carb food and having tons of teaspoons of sugar in my coffee every day. And, you know, also, I’m Australian and I moved to America and there was a sudden increase in toxins that I had was exposed to through my food, my water and the environment.
And then on top of all that, you know, went through pregnancy, which was affecting my microbiome as my gut microbiome, as well as taking antibiotics, which basically wiped out all my good gut bacteria, leaving me prone to an overgrowth of bad bacteria.
So all of those things, as well as some other factors, were really a perfect recipe for my declining gut health. And I didn’t realize this, you know, I just thought it was not to have bloating and all of those sort of, quote unquote, minor digestive issues.
But, you know, the first signs of my unhealthy gut began as bloating, stomach cramps, constipation and then things like fatigue, mood changes and I was having really bad sugar cravings, especially at night time.
You know, so then things ended up getting worse and worse and worse. You know, I ended up having stomach cramps every day, several times a day. And they ended up being really painful sometimes where I’d be in the middle of work and I’d have to stop for a minute.
But also I ended up having some such bad digestive issues that I could barely leave the house, I could barely function day to day. So I was scared to get into a car and drive and get on the freeway. And, you know, for fear of not having access to a bathroom immediately.
I couldn’t take my kids to the playground if there wasn’t a bathroom. Grocery shopping with two little tiny kids was a nightmare. And then my social life went downhill.
I was avoiding events and having people over. I knew that I really seriously needed to to visit a doctor about this. And so I went to the GI doctor and he diagnosed me with an inflammatory bowel disease called ulcerative colitis.
He said, my whole entire colon was really inflamed. And he said that mine was the worst case that he had ever seen. And then he proceeds to tell me that if if it doesn’t improve, I’d likely need surgery within a year.
And so I asked him, you know, what else could I do to support myself so that I could improve? And he said food had nothing to do with it. And I know I’ve talked to a whole bunch of people who’ve heard the same exact thing from their doctors years. And he said, don’t even worry about changing your diet.
And then he gave me a book called Ulcerative Colitis for Dummies. I’m not even kidding you. And he said, that’s all that you need to know.
Whatever’s in that book. Don’t even bother researching anything. Don’t look on the Google.
And then he sent me off with a prescription drug. You know, and for me, I was actually excited about the medication. Because I thought that it was going to be the quick fix that I was looking for, because I just so desperately wanted to improve my symptoms.
I wanted to function in life and get back to enjoying my life with my family and my friends. And, you know, in the end, they they helped a bit. They did reduce the inflammation a bit, but they weren’t targeting the root cause.
And they came with short and long term side effects that I really was not happy about at all. So I thought, you know what? There has to be some other ways. If this is not working and apparently this is my only option.
I need to find out, like, what else is there out there that, you know, what’s the science really? You know, what’s the science when it comes to gut health? And I really wanted to understand the gut and the digestive system and how it all works and what I need.
And maybe find out, like, am I doing anything that’s damaging the gut? Is there anything that I can do to improve my gut health? So I made it my mission to learn as much as I could do to transform my own. And I’m telling you, I couldn’t believe the wealth of knowledge that I found out.
There’s so much science out there right now. And it’s just growing and growing like all the time. They’re updating, you know.
And so I found out so much that I just wanted to, like, like scream it from the rooftops and and I started implementing some changes based on these what I was learning. And, you know, I was I was improving my what I was eating and how I was eating. I was reducing my stress.
I started implementing certain healthy habits and lifestyle changes. And and I’m telling you, like, it was amazing to experience that gradual transformation of my health, where, you know, gradually I was able to, I mean, function more in life and, you know, various symptoms improved. I was not having any more pain or urgency.
I was not having to go to the bathroom like 20 times a day. I had more energy. I was happier.
Like, I didn’t realize like I must have had like the blues before because suddenly like this veil lifted and oh, this is the real Becky. Happy Becky. This is me.
I didn’t know that that would be one of the perks of of these changes. And so suddenly I was able to go and, you know, function, like go to the stores and take my kids places and enjoy hanging out with friends without without those limit limiting symptoms. And I’m not telling you my health is perfect today.
I’m still on a journey. But, you know, what’s my priority is just being as healthy as I can be so I can live my best life. And so that’s what’s inspired me to help others with their journeys, to educate them, to help them learn how to prioritize what is more important to help them learn what works for them, because every single person is different with with their own journey.
They’re all bio individual. So then, you know, it’s confusing. I know like which diet, which supplement, which protocol.
And there really needs to be an holistic approach, a step by step approach. It needs to be a gradual transition into these changes so that they can be sustainable. And so that’s that’s what inspired me to become a health coach and a gutwamless practitioner.
Becky, I have to say I related to so much of your story. I wasn’t diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, but I did have IBS in my I want to say most of my like through high school, through high school in my 20s, I would have stomach issues like my stomach was just and all the things you described, I didn’t have small kids, but, you know, going places, where was the bathroom?
Like just the anxiety around you did not know when it was going to happen or what you were going to be doing, or if you’d be able to enjoy yourself. And because of that, you could like never relax.
It’s like, well, it’s common right now to where, you know, people think it’s normal to have these issues, even if it’s just a bit of bloating and maybe some gas or maybe a little stomach cramp from time to time.
And maybe they don’t feel great in what they’re wearing and they want to hang out with friends or they’re embarrassed. But, you know, this this is not normal.
It’s just because it’s common. It’s not normal to highlight the contrast when, you know, so that we know like how the gut should be and how we should feel when our gut is good. You know, when when our gut is healthy, we feel our best.
Our overall health and well-being is optimal. We have a strong immune system. We’re less susceptible to disease.
We function better. We have mental clarity. We’re happier.
We don’t have as many mood swings and things, and we have more energy. And, you know, so, you know, the gut is really complex. It’s it starts at the mouth and it doesn’t.
You know, a lot of people think that the gut is just the stomach or the gut is just the intestines, but it actually starts at the mouth. And if you stretched it out all the way out, it would be as long as a telegraph pole, which is like 20 feet long. And there’s a lot of digestive processes that happen all through there that if they go wrong, compose risks to our health in a whole and in all kinds of things can happen.
So, you know, it houses our gut microbiome, which is like, you know, if you were able to weigh the good and bad bacteria, which is our gut microbiome, that’s like five pounds of microbe, like five pounds. And so they are really and they’re really critical. We can’t live without them.
We have this symbiotic relationship with them. Let’s talk a little bit about like you said, it needs to be a holistic approach. And let’s talk about the ways that your gut health can impact other areas of your wellness.
What other areas does it does it touch? One of its roles is to keep out toxins and bad bacteria and parasites and even food particles that we ingest out of our bloodstream. And, you know, 70 percent of the immune system is like right there behind that lining. It influences our mood and well-being.
Serotonin is actually produced in the gut. We’re in this gut brain connection. Our microbes actually communicate with our brain.
And so when we are stressed out or anxious, you know, that sends a message to our gut. And that’s why we end up having stomach issues when we are stressed out. And, you know, so stress can impact the gut.
Poor gut health can also promote stress and depression and anxiety. So, you know, there are many reasons to to ensure that the gut is healthy. So two of the biggest ways that the gut can become unhealthy, which contributes to all sorts of inflammation and disease, is one leaky gut and two dysbiosis.
And so if you know the the gut is actually the protective barrier between us and the outside world. And so especially the small intestine, if you flatten that out, that would be as big as a tennis court. So that’s a lot of surface area.
And if you imagine that tennis court, so to speak, as actually being made of like a mesh fabric that has the power to tighten right up and stuff all the wrong things from getting into the bloodstream or it can loosen up and allow all the good things in like nutrients. Right. But, you know, considering 70 percent of our immune system is located behind that gut layer.
And that’s only one cell thick, by the way. If that gut barrier malfunctions, meaning that it it can allow toxins and bad bacteria and food particles and more into the bloodstream. And and there can be, you know, nutrient absorption issues, too.
And this can lead to all sorts of health problems, especially autoimmune disease. And, you know, it’s actually, believe it or not, not uncommon for this to happen. And it can kind of be something that brews below the surface without people realizing because the symptoms aren’t always obvious.
And usually by the time the symptoms are bad enough, it’s been happening for a while. And dysbiosis is the other issue, big issue that can happen. And that’s when I’ve got microbiome, which is like the good and the bad bacteria and microbes.
Are out of balance in some way. So you can have an overgrowth of bad bacteria. You can lack good bacteria.
And you can also have poor bacterial diversity, meaning that you don’t have enough of a variety of good bacteria. So you might have plenty of certain strains, but not enough of the ones that might be really important. And good bacteria plays a major role in our overall health.
They, you know, influence our immune system. They protect our gut lining. They communicate like breaking down our undigested food, like fiber.
But, you know, if we if we don’t deal with it and if we don’t optimize our gut health, we can end up with inflammation that just gets worse and it can be anywhere in the body and we can become susceptible to disease. So we know gut health is important, but not just for digestion. It sounds like it really does impact all these different systems in our bodies, like your immune system and your energy and just overall health, mental health as well.
So when people come to you, when when potential clients come to you and they have questions about gut health or maybe they don’t even know that that’s what they need help with. What are some misconceptions that you have been faced with that people have brought to you about gut health?
Unfortunately, there are just too many misconceptions out there. One of the things that, you know, I just see all too often, unfortunately, out there in the community is that people think that there’s a perfect protocol that everyone should adopt, that that’s like a combination of, you know, diet, supplements and lifestyle.
Right. And the truth is the same thing will not work for everyone. So something I always say, I always tell every one of my clients, actually, is that one man’s food is another man’s poison.
We are all by our individual. And so that means that our bodies are unique. And what works for one person may not work for another.
So what, you know, two people, even with the same exact condition, like two people with what I have may have two different approaches to healing their gut that work for them. So, you know, another another misconception is that, you know, one particular change is enough to heal the gut. So I think that there is so many shiny objects out there, especially in the, you know, gut health arena that it’s a big hot topic right now.
So, you know, probiotic companies and and like digestive enzyme companies, supplement companies and, you know, people with who’ve like put together a certain diet. It’s all a bunch of gimmicks. And they want to like hold the shiny object out there and attract a lot of people to them and say, hey, this one product or this one change is all that you need to like deal with all of your issues with your gut.
And that’s just not the truth. It takes an holistic approach, meaning it takes multiple holistic approaches. You know, when you approach it from the whole body perspective where it’s not just about nutrition and food.
It’s also about strips and movement and improving your mental wellness and having a social life and having fun and that kind of thing. So it does take an holistic approach. What you’re saying is not only is it just not one thing that’s going to fix, it’s going to it’s going to be a variety of things.
And that variety of things is not going to be the same for every single person, even with the same condition. So is there going to be some trial and error as you kind of fiddle with different areas and you try to like figure out what works for that individual? Exactly, exactly. I mean, the GI tract is complex and it does take trial and error.
That is the truth. You know, and people don’t want to hear that, but there is, you know, I’m sorry, my friend, but there’s just not a quick fix and we can’t put all our eggs in one basket with one particular diet or one particular supplement and think everything’s going to be better. Because if you think about, you know, if you were able to go inside your GI tract and literally know exactly what dysfunction is happening, where is that dysfunction? How is that impacting you? What kind of imbalances are stemming from that? Then you would you would think, OK, what what all needs to be done? And it’s going to take more than just one thing.
So let’s kind of dive in a little bit to your the process that you use with your clients. So when a client comes to you and so how do you know that what they’re coming to you for the symptoms that they’re experiencing are related to gut health? And then what does that process look like to move forward and to to find the solution or to find that that combination of strategies that’s going to help them improve their condition?
We have a call where we we really I basically just learn as much as I can about that individual and what led to their issues, what sort of issues they have, what are their needs, what what sort of results are they looking for? So prior to the call, I always have people fill out a survey where it just gives me a really good in depth idea of what issues they have and, you know, what may what connections there may be to the from those issues to to, you know, maybe certain factors that may have contributed to the development of those issues.
And so it’s important to kind of get an idea of not just what the person is going through, because symptoms are really just messages from our body telling us something’s wrong, but also to learn what sort of factors may have contributed to that.
And in that way, we have more of a sense of, OK, this this may actually be gut health related. And, you know, the truth is that pretty much anybody who anybody could do with optimizing their gut health, you know, and so they don’t really need to be having a whole lot of digestive issues to be able to benefit from some kind of program that because that for that health, because, you know, really optimizing your gut health optimizes your overall health. And so somebody might even come to me with sort of they they might just have low energy and maybe sometimes they’re depressed.
Maybe they already have a little bit of bloating. So their digestive issues aren’t really standing out a lot, but they could definitely benefit from, you know, working on improving their gut health. So part two is what does it look like when somebody is working with you? How what’s the process that you go through to identify what tweaks and changes need to be made to their lifestyle in general, like their nutrition or their habits and things like that.
Like, how do you know where to start with them in terms of giving them a protocol? I have three different programs depending on the client’s needs and what they’re looking for. And they don’t all get a protocol with each of the programs. The protocol is more for the six month one big into deep dive, if they’ve kind of got moderate digestive issues.
But for the three month one, it’s called a gut makeover and they they can co-create their personalized wellness plan with me. But there’s definitely sort of a structure to where they learn about certain foundations of gut healing, if that makes sense. And so, yeah, we’ve got a structure, we’ve got those foundations in how they go about it is up to them.
Like, it’s not going to be the same diet. They need to be in tune with their body and, you know, that kind of thing. So, so when somebody comes to you, how do you know what path to take with them? Like, if I come to you, how do you know if I need the six month, three month, or just kind of like a light, you know, gut health light, like just an optimization and a little bit of like a tweak.
So I offer a few different programs depending on what the client’s needs are and what they’re ready to do, really, because they really need to be ready and they need to be invested, you know, so some people just want to kind of dip their toes in a little bit and just kind of see, you know, before they invest in something more long term, like a three month or six month program, they might simply just want to see if they can even handle a few of the lifestyle style changes and, and, you know, do a little thing.
So I offer a 30 day gut health reboot. It’s basically just a jumpstart for people to get going and get some momentum on their gut wellness journey.
And people can do it, you know, as an individual, like one on one with me if they want to, or they, they can do it as a group, like they could invite their friend, you know, along. It’s up to them.
But, you know, that, that could really benefit people if they are sort of, you know, experiencing things like they, they bloated, they’re tired, they have brain fog, they have a little sensitive tummy or some food sensitivities, and they just kind of generally want to kickstart their health and, you know, just gain more energy and reduce some of those symptoms.
So, you know, we work on things like being able to plan and prepare nutritious, gut friendly recipes. We work on reducing stress to promote gut health because that’s so key. You, you could eat like the perfect, perfect diet for your body for gut health.
And if you’re stressed, you are not going to, you are not going to heal your gut and you’re only going to kind of have a negative impact on your microbiome. We incorporate probiotic and gut healing foods. We work on optimizing digestion and it’s sort of like a gentle detox that’s just very natural.
And so, you know, people get 30 days worth of support from me and they get some meal plans for inspiration if they need a little more structure and grocery lists and things like that. But they can tweak it in a way that works for them as well.
There’s also a three month gut makeover for those who, you know, really know that they need to make some good lifestyle changes and they really, they really want to optimize their digestive health.
They’re serious now, right? So then I have a six month gut transformation. This is really similar to the three month, but for the first part of the program, it includes an elimination diet so that they can really get to know their food sensitivities and intolerances and, you know, deep dive into gut healing.
The six month program is really for people who need to pay more attention to gut healing specifically for whatever reason they have.
Maybe they have a digestive disorder or maybe they need to work on gut health because they’re trying to improve their health, you know, due to like an autoimmune disease of some kind.
They know that they need to improve their gut health if they have an autoimmune disease. So with this program, there is optional gut microbiome testing that I offer.
There’s also food sensitivity testing and once again, supplementation. And, you know, so I really find this one is best for those who are absolutely ready. They’re ready to heal their gut, like having and really take time to focus on all of the things that it takes to heal the gut.
So your programs don’t just vary in length, they vary in depth as well. So as much as they’re willing to commit in time and in putting the effort into making actual lifestyle changes and really just change how they how they live in order to see these these gut health effects. Exactly.
So can you share with us any stories or case studies where they started and then where they were after they worked with you to give us an idea of like the transformation that’s that’s possible?
I have had some success with one girl who was, she worked on improving her microbiome and she had like this eczema she had on her finger for like a whole entire year and she was about to become a and she couldn’t like wash her hands like obsessively with that eczema irritation like it was cracked and burning and everything and it cleared up it all cleared up
