Andrea Hardy on Gut Health The Allsorts Podcast

Something up with your gut? You’re not alone: gut issues seem to be plaguing more of us than ever before. Researchers have found that folks who are adopting “Western-style” eating patterns have lost specific gut microbiota niches that those who eat more traditional cultural diets haven’t. Tackling this problem on a daily basis is our next guest, registered dietitian Andrea Hardy. She’s encouraged by the fascinating science of fecal microbiota transplants—where you transfer feces (yep, poop!) between animals (and humans) to create changes in the microbiome—and she tells us why in this exciting episode.

We also chat about normalizing bloating, gas, and reflux issues (honestly, I mean .. everyone experiences them), how a multitude of factors—including the the positioning of our pelvic floor—can contribute to constipation, and why she believes in medication for gut issues. When we’re so bent on fixing things with food, she says, we should remember not to feel bad about adding a layer of support through some prescriptions. It ain’t sexy, but it’s effective: everything in moderation. Andrea is a firm believer in a multifaceted, team-based approach to health—and is committed to “gutting real” about our gut health!

A special thanks to our podcast’s very first sponsor, Silver Hills Sprouted Bakery for supporting this episode. I’m so excited to partner with them on the pod as I’ve been a fan of their sprouted breads FOREVER (try the Mack’s Flax, it’s de-li-cious!) 

About Andrea Hardy:

Andrea Hardy is a registered dietitian from Calgary, Canada. She specializes in gut health & gastrointestinal diseases, and is recognized in the media as Canada’s Gut Health Expert. She is passionate about translating science into ‘easy to digest’ information to support a healthy gut.  She has spoken on the TEDx stage, as well as internationally, about digestive health.

On this episode we chat about:

  • What bloating is and what causes it. Can we all start normalizing it?!
  • Everything gut health: IBS, reflux, and the abdominal pain of distention 
  • Gas! Everyone gets gassy so let’s talk about it 😉 
  • Why the underlying driver of bloating is different for everyone
  • Doomscrolling our potential diagnosis and why that miiiiight not be such a great idea
  • The simple formula for getting going again when you’re constipated (the worst, right?!)
  • How the pelvic floor could be behind your gut issues— and it’s not just a ‘woman thing’ 
  • Why medications don’t mean you’ve failed. 
  • How pregnancy affects digestion (hello hormones!)
  • The fascinating science of gut microbiome: research shows that traditional ways of living vs Western ways of living affects specific niches of microbiomes in our bodies
  • Fecal microbiota transplants (sounds wild, but research is showing promising results for the remission of some illnesses)
  • Probiotics: matching the right strain to the right person for the right reason

Learned something new? Have questions? 

Keep the conversation going on Instagram: screenshot this episode and be sure to tag us @theallsortpod @andreahardyrd

Thanks for supporting our little pod by subscribing, rating, and/or reviewing the pod on your fave podcast app! 

Connect with Andrea:

Andrea on Instagram: @andreahardyrd

Andrea’s Ignite Nutrition website: ignitenutrition.ca

Andrea’s Twitter: @AndreaHardyRD

Andrea’s gut health podcast Let’s Gut Real, which is all about making nutrition science easy to digest! 

Andrea’s Recommendations:

The constipation smoothie to get things moving!

Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential audiobook