Gut Health

Gut Health & Digestive Issues

Bloating after almost every meal. Reflux that medication manages but never fixes. IBS that responds to some diets but not others. Food intolerances that seem to change. Weight that will not shift no matter what you eat.

Digestive problems are among the most common presentations in Mark Webster's clinic, and among the most successfully treated. The gut affects immunity, mental health, skin, hormones, energy, and weight. Fixing it can change almost everything else.

Why gut health is central to whole-body health

The gut is where you absorb nutrients, produce neurotransmitters (including about 90% of the body's serotonin), regulate the immune system, and manage the body's inflammatory response. When the gut is disrupted, the effects are felt far beyond digestion.

Chronic gut issues are associated with skin conditions, mood disorders, autoimmune conditions, hormonal imbalances, fatigue, and difficulty managing weight. Treating the gut is often the starting point for resolving conditions that appear to have nothing to do with digestion.

Conditions Mark works with:

• Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

• Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) — Crohn's and ulcerative colitis, supported alongside gastroenterology

• Reflux and GORD

• Bloating, gas, and abdominal discomfort

• Food intolerances and sensitivities

• Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO)

• Leaky gut (intestinal permeability)

• Constipation and poor motility

• Weight that will not shift despite dietary changes

What Mark looks for:

Mark takes a detailed dietary and lifestyle history and looks at the full picture of how your gut is functioning. He is interested in what you eat, when you eat it, how you eat it, your stress levels, your sleep, your medication history (including any previous antibiotic use), and your family history.

He will assess nutritional status, as gut dysfunction commonly leads to malabsorption of key nutrients including B12, iron, magnesium, zinc, and fat-soluble vitamins. He will consider the role of gut microbiome disruption, intestinal permeability, and the gut-brain axis in your presentation.

Where food intolerances are suspected, Mark can guide you through an elimination and reintroduction approach that is structured and evidence-based, rather than a self-guided restriction diet that often misses the real trigger.

Gut health and weight

The relationship between gut health and body weight is well established in the research. The composition of gut bacteria affects how calories are extracted from food, how fat is stored, how insulin functions, and how hunger hormones are regulated. If weight loss has been resistant to calorie reduction and exercise, the gut microbiome is worth investigating.

Mark takes a metabolic and gut-focused approach to weight management rather than prescribing a calorie deficit. The goal is a gut environment that supports a healthy weight naturally.