Dr. Laura Brass ND

Dr. Laura Brass ND I'm a Naturopathic Doctor and Functional Medicine Practitioner specializing in digestive health, IBS & SIBO.

I can help you achieve optimal health and guide you back to balanced well-being.

06/09/2026

3 gut health non-negotiables I come back to again and again as a naturopathic and functional medicine doctor with 17+ years of clinical experience:

1️⃣ Daily bowel movements
Pooping every day matters. Your body needs to eliminate waste, hormones, and toxins through the digestive tract. If you’re regularly constipated, bloated, or feeling backed up, that’s information worth paying attention to.

2️⃣ A variety of vegetables
Your gut microbiome thrives on diversity - so it’s not just about the quantity, but variety. Aim for about 30 different varieties in the week.

3️⃣ Enough water
Hydration supports digestion, bowel regularity, stomach acid production, nutrient transport, and overall gut function. You want about half your bodyweight, in ounces of water per day.

These may sound simple, but simple does not mean insignificant.

Before jumping to another supplement, cleanse, or restrictive diet, start by asking:
Are the foundations actually in place?

And if you’re doing the basics but still dealing with bloating, constipation, reflux, IBS symptoms, food sensitivities, or unpredictable digestion, it may be time to look deeper.

Save this as your gut health foundation checklist, and if you’re looking for more support, head to the link in my bio to book a consult. 🔗

Your gut, immune system, and brain are in constant conversation — and that conversation may be shaping how you feel ever...
06/08/2026

Your gut, immune system, and brain are in constant conversation — and that conversation may be shaping how you feel every day.

Bloating, fatigue, brain fog, mood changes, cravings, inflammation, and digestive discomfort can feel like separate issues… but the body rarely works in isolation.

The gut-immune-brain axis is the connection between three powerful systems:

Your gut, where digestion, nutrient absorption, and microbial metabolites like SCFAs, bile acids, and indoles play a role in overall health.

Your immune system, which responds to signals from the gut, including barrier integrity, cytokine activity, and immune regulation.

Your brain, which communicates with the gut through pathways like the vagus nerve, neurotransmitters, and inflammatory signalling.

The encouraging part? This connection is modifiable.

Food choices, sleep quality, stress levels, movement, blood sugar balance, and gut health support can all influence this conversation over time.

Ready to explore your gut health and metabolic health with a personalized plan? ➡️

Book a discovery call with me using the link in my bio. 🔗

Your gut and hormones are more connected than you may realize. 🫣If you’re dealing with bloating, constipation, IBS sympt...
06/04/2026

Your gut and hormones are more connected than you may realize. 🫣

If you’re dealing with bloating, constipation, IBS symptoms, reflux, PMS, breast tenderness, mood shifts, skin changes, or perimenopause symptoms, your hormones may not be the only place to look.

Your gut microbiome plays a role in how estrogen is metabolized and eliminated from the body.
One important part of this process is called the estrobolome — a collection of gut microbial genes that influence estrogen metabolism.

When the gut microbiome is imbalanced, estrogen metabolism and elimination may be affected. This may influence whether estrogen is properly excreted or recirculated 🔁

This is one reason gut health, bowel regularity, dysbiosis, inflammation, and digestion can matter when looking at hormone-related symptoms.

It does not mean every hormone symptom is caused by the gut.

But if digestive symptoms and hormone symptoms are showing up together, the gut may be part of the picture — and it may be worth investigating more deeply.

This is where proper assessment and targeted testing can help.

Because once we understand what may be driving your symptoms, we can create a more personalized plan instead of guessing.

Test, don’t guess.

Book an initial consultation to start uncovering what may be driving your symptoms. Link in my bio 🔗

Healing the gut is rarely simple — and it’s never one-size-fits-all. When you’re dealing with chronic bloating, constipa...
05/29/2026

Healing the gut is rarely simple — and it’s never one-size-fits-all.

When you’re dealing with chronic bloating, constipation, reflux, food sensitivities, IBS-type symptoms, or ongoing digestive discomfort, it’s understandable to want a quick answer.

One supplement.
One food to remove.
One simple fix.

But in clinical practice, gut symptoms are usually more nuanced than that.

Bloating, for example, is not just something to “get rid of.” It’s information.

When does it happen?
How soon after eating?
What foods trigger it?
Is it paired with constipation, loose stools, reflux, fatigue, skin changes, or brain fog?

Those details matter because different patterns can point us in different directions.

That’s why proper assessment matters.

Your symptoms deserve more than guessing. They deserve the right questions, a deeper look, and a more personalized next step.

Not sure what your digestive symptoms are trying to tell you? ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Take my free 2-minute quiz: What’s Really Causing Your Digestive Problems?

It’s designed to help you uncover what may be driving your symptoms — and where to start. Link in bio 🔗

Your gut symptoms may be giving you important clues. 🔑Bloating, skin changes, low energy, brain fog, mood shifts, poor s...
05/27/2026

Your gut symptoms may be giving you important clues. 🔑

Bloating, skin changes, low energy, brain fog, mood shifts, poor sleep, inflammation, and hormone-related symptoms can all be connected to gut health.

This is not to say your gut is the only thing going on.

But it can be a powerful indicator.

Your symptoms are pieces of a bigger puzzle - and the gut often gives us valuable information about digestion, absorption, the microbiome, immune signalling, inflammation, nutrient status, and stress physiology.

When we assess the gut properly, we’re not just looking at digestion.

We’re looking for clues that help us understand what may be driving symptoms across the whole body.

If everything looks “normal” but you still don’t feel well, it may be time to look deeper.

Book a complimentary discovery call with me using the link in my bio. 🔗

I’ve had so many patients come in and say something like:“I tried a probiotic because I thought it was supposed to help ...
05/24/2026

I’ve had so many patients come in and say something like:
“I tried a probiotic because I thought it was supposed to help my gut… but my bloating got worse.” 😣

And honestly, I understand why that feels confusing.

We often talk about gut health in terms of “good bacteria” and “bad bacteria,” but the gut is much more nuanced than that.

Sometimes it’s about how much of certain bacteria are present. Sometimes it’s about the ratios between them. That’s why probiotics are not one-size-fits-all. 🦠

I absolutely use probiotics in my practice, but the strain matters. The timing matters. The person’s symptoms and gut landscape.

It means we need to be more strategic about which strains we use, when we use them, and whether they make sense for your body.

If probiotics have made you feel worse, you’re not crazy - your gut may just need a more individualized approach. Link in my bio to work 1:1 with me 🔗

You are not “too sensitive” for wanting answers.If you’ve been living with bloating, constipation, reflux, food reaction...
05/19/2026

You are not “too sensitive” for wanting answers.

If you’ve been living with bloating, constipation, reflux, food reactions, IBS symptoms, or unpredictable digestion, it can be exhausting to keep trying new things without understanding what’s actually going on. ⬇️

A new diet.
A new supplement.
Another probiotic.
Another “normal” test result.
Another appointment where you leave without a clear plan.

It’s easy to start blaming yourself. But your symptoms are information.

They may be connected to digestion, absorption, microbiome balance, inflammation, motility, stress physiology, nutrient status, or other root-cause factors that require a more complete picture.

This is why proper assessment matters.

My goal is not to keep guessing or chasing symptoms. It’s to understand what may be driving them, using a thorough intake, targeted testing when appropriate, and a personalized plan that fits your body.

Ready to stop guessing? Book a consultation using the link in my bio. 🔗

Ever wonder what people mean when they say “eat your probiotics”? 🦠They’re usually talking about fermented foods like yo...
05/17/2026

Ever wonder what people mean when they say “eat your probiotics”? 🦠

They’re usually talking about fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, tempeh, natto, and kombucha — foods that may contain beneficial bacteria or live cultures that can support the gut microbiome.

But here’s the important part:
Probiotic foods are not automatically the right fit for everyone.

If you struggle with bloating, gas, reflux, constipation, diarrhea, IBS symptoms, SIBO, food sensitivities, or histamine intolerance, fermented foods may feel helpful — or they may make symptoms worse.

That does not mean they are “bad.”

It means your gut may need a more personalized approach.

The goal is to understand what your body can actually tolerate and what may be driving your symptoms.

Take my free 2-minute gut quiz through the link in bio to start uncovering what may be contributing to your digestive symptoms. You’ll get personalized results delivered straight to your inbox. Link in my bio 🔗

Save this post for your next grocery trip! 🛒

Still trying to figure out what’s causing your digestive symptoms? 🤔Bloating, constipation, reflux, loose stools, food r...
05/12/2026

Still trying to figure out what’s causing your digestive symptoms? 🤔

Bloating, constipation, reflux, loose stools, food reactions, gas, and abdominal discomfort can have different underlying causes.

And that’s why guessing often leads to more confusion.

I created a GUT HEALTH QUIZ to help you start connecting the dots.

In just 2 minutes, you’ll answer questions about your symptoms, stool patterns, food triggers, bloating, digestion, and whole-body symptoms.

At the end, you’ll receive a personalized result that may help you better understand what could be contributing to your digestive problems — plus follow-up education delivered straight to your inbox.

This is not a diagnosis, but it is a meaningful first step toward clarity.

Take the quiz through the link in my bio. 🔗

A meaningful professional update 🩺My functional medicine certification has officially been updated from IFMCP to the new...
05/09/2026

A meaningful professional update 🩺

My functional medicine certification has officially been updated from IFMCP to the new Functional Medicine Certified Professional – Medical (FMCP-M™) credential through the International Board of Functional Medicine Certification (IBFMC™).

This updated credential reflects an important evolution in how functional medicine clinicians are certified, with more clearly defined competencies, a rigorous independent exam, and oversight by an autonomous certifying board.

For my patients, this matters because it reflects a continued commitment to comprehensive, evidence-informed, root-cause care — including thoughtful assessment, diagnostic interpretation, personalized treatment planning, and support for complex and chronic health concerns through a functional medicine lens.

I’m proud to carry this updated credential and to continue doing the work I care so deeply about: helping patients feel heard, understood, and supported as we uncover what may be driving their symptoms.

As always, thank you to my patients for trusting me with their care 💙

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