The holidays are a time for joy, connection, and celebration. While alcohol might feel like a staple at parties and gatherings, it can have significant impacts on your gut health—and not in a good way.

Here’s why skipping alcohol this season could be the best gift you give your body—and how you can still enjoy festive drinks with gut-friendly alternatives.

Why Avoid Alcohol During the Holidays?

Alcohol doesn’t just disrupt your mind; it wreaks havoc on your digestive system:

• Microbiome Disruption: Alcohol reduces the diversity of beneficial bacteria in your gut, allowing harmful microbes to thrive. This imbalance can lead to bloating, irregular digestion, and weakened immunity.
• Increased Gut Permeability: Alcohol contributes to "leaky gut," a condition where the gut lining becomes more permeable, allowing toxins and undigested particles to enter the bloodstream, triggering inflammation.
• Inflammation: Alcohol promotes inflammation in the gut and throughout the body, exacerbating...

What is An Adrenal Cocktail? 

Adrenal cocktails are tasty, nutrient-packed beverages designed to nourish your adrenal glands and replenish key minerals. These drinks deliver a combination of essential electrolytes that support energy, stress resilience, and overall vitality.

The beauty of adrenal cocktails lies in their simplicity. They are rich in sodium, potassium, and magnesium—critical minerals that help maintain electrolyte balance, support hormone health, and optimize cellular function.

Minerals are the powerhouse behind every process in your body. Think of them as the spark plugs for your cells, essential for producing energy, creating hormones, and supporting enzymatic reactions.  Without adequate minerals, your body can't function optimally, leading to fatigue, stress, digestive issues, hormone imbalance, poor detoxification, brain fog, and so much more.

Why You Need More Minerals

Modern life is stressful, and demands a lot from our bodies. High stress, busy schedules,...

If you're grappling with gut issues like IBS, Celiac Disease, or symptoms like bloating and constipation, you're likely familiar with the mental toll they can take, including anxiety and depression.

But why does this happen?

The key is the gut-brain axis, a complex network linking your gut and brain. The trillions of bacteria that make up the gut microbiome influence not only your digestion but also your emotions and instincts.

I have helped hundreds of people heal their gut and reduce anxiety and depression through customized and targeted strategies that are built on the foundations that support the gut-brain axis.

I'm Kari, an integrative and functional dietitian dedicated to aiding women in healing from GI issues, fatigue, anxiety, hormonal imbalances, and autoimmune conditions. My holistic approach prioritizes YOU by addressing you as a whole person, not just as a set of symptoms.

In this post, we are going to unlock the power of nutrition to enhance your gut-brain axis and up...

Gluten-free for gut health: should you try it?

If you're experiencing symptoms like bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, constipation, reflux, or unexplained fatigue, you’ve probably been told by a loved one, a friend, or a professional that you should eliminate gluten. If this sounds like you and you’re wondering whether or not eliminating gluten might help heal your gut, this article is for you. 

Let’s dive in together.

Hi there, I’m Kari Natwick, an integrative and functional dietitian specializing in improving women's gut health. If you are a women who is confused and overwhelmed by your health issues, I'm here to help you determine the root cause of your gut, energy, and hormonal imbalances. My goal is for you to move beyond temporary and band-aid solutions by implementing customized and personalized interventions to support and guide you in your journey to healing. By doing so, you can focus on the things that matter most in your life rather than constantly worrying about fi...

When I first discovered functional medicine, I felt like I had found my home in how I served clients.  

Finally, a realm where the entirety of an individual—mind, body, and spirit—was acknowledged and addressed. However, amidst the promising landscape, there's a shadow side that's hard to ignore.

More and more, I see practitioners who present themselves as integrative or functional providers but lack proper training, expertise, experience, and credentials.  

Hi, I'm Kari, a functional gut health dietitian. I am dedicated to helping women break free from gut dysfunction and empowering them to live with energy, radiance, and purpose, free from digestive symptoms.

In this article, I will explain what functional medicine means and provide information to help you find the right functional medicine practitioner for your needs. It is important to understand that we’re not all the same!

The dark side of functional medicine

Functional medicine is a field where we take a comprehensive d...

Just mentioning the word parasites (eeks!) can draw a reaction from anyone.  

If you are someone who feels like you have tried everything to heal and improve your health through testing, supplements, and diet changes, but you’re still feeling sick, fatigued, and have GI symptoms, listen up.  Parasites may be the reason.

I’m Kari, an integrative and functional dietitian who specializes in working with people with GI-related conditions such as IBS, chronic diarrhea, constipation, bloating, reflux, and nausea.  

In this article, we’ll explore what parasites are, where they come from, how to test for parasites, and everything you need to know if you do have them. 

Am I at risk of a parasitic infection?

Some of the key system imbalances in the body that can make you vulnerable to infections in the gut, such as parasites, include immune dysregulation, inflammation, impaired detoxification, hormonal imbalances, GI structural dysfunction, circadian rhythm disturbances, stress,...

Constipation is miserable

If you suffer from constipation, you know it’s THE WORST!  Feeling bloated, distended, sluggish, and uncomfortable takes over your mind and life.  Also, if you are someone who lives with chronic constipation, you have probably tried many things to find relief, and most of them haven’t worked.

This article will discuss the power of herbs and tea as an intervention for constipation.  And if those don’t help, we’ll tell you what to do next.

Hi, I’m Kari, an integrative and functional dietitian specializing in gut health.  I use a holistic approach to help you address your gut distress, identify the root cause, and help empower you to live free from digestive symptoms.

And before we start talking about solutions, let’s first make sure that we’re on the same page with what constipation is. 

What is constipation, really?

Although there is some debate about the exact definition of constipation, the easiest way to summarize it is if you’re not having a bowel ...