Rachel Redmond, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Holistic Women's Health Coach, 221 W. Lake Lansing, East Lansing, MI (2026)

09/17/2026

One thing most people don’t want to hear: your protein drink may be contributing to your GI issues.

I’ve been working out more, trying to build muscle and hit my protein goals, so I decided to experiment with one of those ready-to-drink protein shakes you see everywhere at the grocery store.

I tried the chocolate one and honestly, it seemed too good to be true. It tasted like melted ice cream and was such an easy way to get protein in the morning or after a workout.

But after about a week, I started having pretty significant GI symptoms—loose stools, abdominal pain and cramping.

So I stopped the drink.

My symptoms noticeably improved, but it still took two weeks for my digestion to return to normal.

It made me think about how many people are drinking these every single day while also struggling with bloating, gas, loose stools or abdominal discomfort—and may not make the connection.

Yes, these drinks can be a convenient source of protein.

But many are also highly processed and contain ingredients like gums, emulsifiers, sweeteners and other additives that some people simply don’t tolerate well.

So before we go searching for root causes, let’s at least make sure we’re not overlooking the obvious ones.

And if you’ve been dealing with ongoing GI symptoms and have no idea where to start, this is exactly the kind of detective work I do with my patients. We look at the whole picture, figure out what may be contributing, and create a plan from there.

If you’re ready for a different approach to your gut health, book a free discovery call through the link in my bio.

And for anyone curious, I switched to Equip protein powder (not an ad) and it’s probably the best protein powder I’ve tried—and I’ve tried several. It tastes good, has a very simple ingredient list, and so far has been much gentler on my gut.

09/15/2026

The gut is foundational to your health. Ayurveda and Chinese medicine have known this for thousands of years, and Western research on the microbiome is finally catching up.

But knowing the gut matters most doesn’t tell you where to start.

I’ve seen clients put through aggressive gut protocols. Symptoms improve, then come back.

Why?

The gut isn’t isolated. It’s part of an ecosystem, and a dysregulated nervous system will keep undoing the progress.

Restoring your nervous system’s resilience isn’t instead of gut work. It’s what makes gut work actually hold.

Ready to get to the root of it instead of chasing symptoms?
👉🏼Apply to work with us — link in bio.

09/15/2026

The gut is foundational to your health. Ayurveda and Chinese medicine have known this for thousands of years, and Western research on the microbiome is finally catching up.

But knowing the gut matters most doesn’t tell you where to start.

I’ve seen clients put through aggressive gut protocols. Symptoms improve, then come back.

Why?

The gut isn’t isolated. It’s part of an ecosystem, and a dysregulated nervous system will keep undoing the progress.

Restoring your nervous system’s resilience isn’t instead of gut work. It’s what makes gut work actually hold.

Ready to get to the root of it instead of chasing symptoms?
Apply to work with us — link in bio.

09/15/2026

The gut is foundational to your health. Ayurveda and Chinese medicine have known this for thousands of years, and Western research on the microbiome is finally catching up.

But knowing the gut matters most doesn’t tell you where to start.

I’ve seen clients put through aggressive gut protocols. Symptoms improve, then come back.

Why?

The gut isn’t isolated. It’s part of an ecosystem, and a dysregulated nervous system will keep undoing the progress.

Restoring your nervous system’s resilience isn’t instead of gut work. It’s what makes gut work actually hold.

Ready to get to the root of it instead of chasing symptoms?

👉🏼 Apply to work with us — link in bio.

09/12/2026

One of the simplest things you can do for your gut health has nothing to do with WHAT you eat.

It’s creating a rhythm around WHEN you eat.

Eating meals at relatively consistent times and avoiding constant snacking or grazing gives your digestive system time between meals to do some important housekeeping.

One of the mechanisms involved is the migrating motor complex (MMC)—a pattern of muscular contractions that occurs between meals and helps sweep leftover food particles, bacteria, and debris through the small intestine.

When we’re constantly eating or grazing, we interrupt this fasting-state process.

And when the MMC isn’t functioning well, it may contribute to an environment where bacteria can accumulate in the small intestine—one of the factors associated with SIBO.

This idea of digestive rhythm isn’t new. Both Chinese medicine and Ayurveda have long emphasized regular meals, healthy appetite, and allowing adequate time for digestion.

So before you worry about eliminating another food or finding the perfect gut-health diet, start with something much simpler:

Eat real meals.
Eat at relatively consistent times.
Give your digestive system a break between them.
And pay attention to whether you’re developing a natural rhythm of hunger and fullness.

Sometimes better digestion starts with when you eat, not just what you eat.

09/10/2026

If I had taken a gut-first approach with this patient, I might have missed what was actually keeping her sick.

She came to me after five years of IBS: daily flares, pain, exhaustion, and a diet so restricted that she could barely tolerate fruits or vegetables.

She’d already been diagnosed with SIBO, taken medications, and tried treating her gut.

Nothing had created lasting change.

Because when digestive symptoms are the loudest, it’s easy to assume the gut is the whole problem.

But her testing told a different story.

Her cortisol and DHEA were extremely low throughout the day, suggesting her stress-response system was struggling.

So that’s where we started.

And when we later ran comprehensive stool testing?

Her gut looked remarkably healthy.

There was no major imbalance waiting to be fixed.

Within weeks of supporting her stress-response physiology and foundational health, her energy and digestion began improving.

By six months, she was eating fruits and vegetables again and felt 80–90% better.

Then came the real test.

She went through an intensely stressful period at work — the kind of stress that had previously triggered months of GI symptoms — and then got food poisoning.

She expected her IBS to spiral.

It didn’t. She recovered in less than two weeks.

That’s what healing looks like.

Not a body that never reacts to stress, illness, or life.

A body that can adapt, recover, and return to baseline.

So no, I don’t automatically start with the gut just because the symptoms are digestive.

Sometimes the gut is where the symptoms appear.

But the missing piece may be somewhere else.

09/04/2026

I just saw an acupuncture patient who was in a major GI flare with bloating, abdominal pain, and loose stools.

They know that stress is one of their biggest triggers, so in addition to acupuncture, I gave them something simple they could start doing at home: diaphragmatic breathing.

It may seem almost too simple, but there’s real physiology behind it.

Slow diaphragmatic breathing, especially with a longer exhale, helps shift the nervous system out of a stress response and toward a parasympathetic, “rest and digest” state. This matters because the gut and nervous system are constantly communicating through the gut-brain axis.

Here’s how to try it:

Place one hand on your chest and one on your belly. Inhale slowly through your nose for a count of 4, allowing your belly to expand. Exhale slowly for a count of 6.

Continue for about 3-5 minutes.

This can be helpful during a flare, but I also want my patients practicing these tools when they’re NOT in a flare. That’s how we start building a more resilient nervous system and creating the conditions for true healing.

Try it 3 times a day for 3 weeks and notice what changes.

For persistent GI symptoms, especially when you’ve been to the GI doc and have been told everything looks good, I often recommend functional testing to investigate what else may be contributing.

But sometimes the first step is using simple, accessible tools that support the gut-brain connection.

Try it and report back.

09/03/2026

When it comes to healing your gut, most people want to know what to eat.

But before we talk about what you’re eating, I want you to think about something even more foundational:

How are you eating?

Are you eating your meals at roughly the same times each day? If not, starting there alone can be a game changer.

Eat regular meals and minimize grazing and snacking throughout the day. Give your digestive system time between meals.

Sit down to eat. Step away from work, your phone, and other distractions. You don’t need an hour-long lunch break. Even 10 minutes where you actually stop and make space for a meal can make a difference.

Take a few deep breaths before you eat.

Chew your food.
Notice your food.
Enjoy your food.

Give your body a chance to shift out of doing, rushing, and reacting and into a state where it can actually focus on digestion.

All of these things help create the conditions in which your body receives and digests the food you’re eating.
So if you’re spending a lot of energy worrying about the perfect gut-healing diet, I invite you to shift the question.

Before asking “What should I eat?”

Start with:

“How am I eating?”

And work on changing that first.

09/02/2026

I was 17 when I first went to a GI doctor for stomach issues.

I was dealing with constipation, stomach aches, food sensitivities, and digestive issues that would end up following me for more than a decade.

I was prescribed a PPI, a medication that reduces stomach acid, and I remember being grateful because it gave me some relief.

But even then, I had this sense that there had to be a reason I was having these symptoms in the first place.

The medication helped my symptoms while I started trying to understand what was underneath them.

That curiosity eventually led me down a completely different path. I started learning about Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, and eventually functional medicine.

More than 20 years later, I can look back and see just how much that experience shaped the way I think about health and healing today.

I know that the mind and body are deeply connected.

I know that nervous system regulation is foundational to our health.

I know that symptoms have a story, and understanding what is driving them matters.

And maybe most importantly, I know that there is always room for healing.

No matter how long you’ve been struggling or how stuck you feel, the body is constantly changing and responding.

There is always room for healing.

05/19/2026

One thing I see over and over with people struggling with fatigue, hormone issues, digestive problems, poor sleep, anxiety, brain fog, and burnout is this:

Their body rarely gets enough time in true recovery mode.

And I don’t just mean “taking breaks.”
I mean the body physiologically shifting out of chronic stress physiology and into a state where repair can actually happen.

Modern life constantly pushes us out of rhythm: irregular meals, late nights, constant stimulation, multitasking, rushing, overriding exhaustion, scrolling instead of resting, being “on” all the time.

Over time, the nervous system adapts to this pace.
The problem is that healing requires rhythm.

The body thrives on predictable signals: consistent sleep, regular nourishment, morning light, movement, rest, moments of stillness, time to digest, time to recover.

This is why I talk so much about regulation through rhythm.

Not perfection. Not rigid routines.
 Not doing wellness “perfectly.”
But creating enough consistency and recovery in the day that the body no longer feels like it has to constantly brace, compensate, and push through.

Sometimes the smallest things become the most powerful: eating breakfast before caffeine, going outside in the morning, stretching before bed, writing instead of scrolling, sitting quietly for 10 minutes, 
Small moments. Big signals to the body.

Healing is not only about what we add in. It’s also about creating the conditions that allow the body to repair.

Which part of this resonated most with you?
brainfog fatigue womenshealth stressrecovery circadianrhythm holistichealth healingjourney

Rachel Redmond, Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Holistic Women's Health Coach

09/17/2026

09/15/2026

09/15/2026

09/15/2026

09/12/2026

09/10/2026

09/04/2026

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09/02/2026

05/19/2026

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