Gut & Metabolic Tolerance
When your body struggles to tolerate input.
Many people I work with don’t just have “gut symptoms”.
They have systems that struggle to tolerate input — food, supplements, fibre, probiotics, or even well-intentioned dietary changes.
This often shows up as bloating, discomfort, fatigue, brain fog, or feeling worse rather than better after meals or interventions that are supposed to help.
If you’ve tried to “fix your gut” and ended up more reactive, depleted, or confused, this pattern may be relevant for you.
What this pattern often looks like
People with gut and metabolic tolerance issues often recognise some of the following:
Bloating, pressure, or discomfort after eating
Fatigue or brain fog following meals
Poor tolerance to fibre, probiotics, or fermented foods
Symptoms worsening after dietary clean-ups or restrictive approaches
Feeling worse with aggressive gut protocols
Fluctuating energy that doesn’t clearly track with food quantity or quality
These responses are not a lack of discipline or willpower.
They usually reflect limited metabolic and digestive capacity, not “bad choices”.
Why common approaches don’t always help
Many gut-focused approaches assume the system can tolerate change.
In practice, this isn’t always the case.
When digestive function, microbial balance, bile flow, or cellular energy production are under strain, adding more — more fibre, more antimicrobials, more supplements — can overwhelm the system rather than support it.
This is why some people feel temporarily better, then crash.
Or why each new protocol seems to help less than the last.
The issue isn’t that gut health isn’t important.
It’s that tolerance and sequencing matter.
How I approach gut and metabolic tolerance
I don’t start by “fixing the gut”.
I start by understanding:
What the system can currently tolerate
Where energy and metabolic capacity are limited
Whether digestion, absorption, immune signalling, or stress physiology is constraining progress
From there, the focus is on:
Stabilising digestion and metabolic handling
Reducing unnecessary load
Supporting the conditions that allow the gut to respond predictably again
This work often overlaps with immune function, nervous system regulation, and hormonal signalling — which is why it’s approached as part of a broader system, not in isolation.
Who this approach is especially suited for
This way of working is particularly appropriate if:
You’ve reacted poorly to gut protocols in the past
You feel sensitive to “doing too much”
Your symptoms fluctuate rather than follow clear rules
You suspect gut issues are part of the picture, but not the whole story
Many people with this pattern also recognise themselves in one or more of the other system profiles.
How to start
If this description resonates, the best place to begin is a personalised consult.
This allows me to assess your individual pattern, identify what’s limiting tolerance, and decide what needs to be stabilised first — rather than applying a generic gut protocol.
If you’re still orienting, you may also want to explore the Immune & Inflammatory Reactivity or Stress Physiology & Recovery pages.