Episode 65: Still Flaring After “Fixing Your Diet”? The Hidden Stressors Sabotaging Your Gut, with Maria Horstmann

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If you’ve “cleaned up” your diet but still battle flares, this one’s for you. Courtney and guest Maria Horstmann unpack the under-the-radar drivers of IBS/IBD chaos—cortisol, blood-sugar swings, poor digestion (stomach acid, enzymes, bile), microbiome dysbiosis, overtraining, under-fueling, alcohol, and life-stage stress. You’ll learn how to pair food with macro balance, when fiber helps (and harms), why CGMs can confuse without context, and how functional stool testing (like GI-MAP) can shortcut the path from flare to flow. Practical, compassionate, no guesswork.

What you’ll learn

• Why “perfect” eating can still fail when stress hormones, sleep, and blood sugar are off.
• The digestion triad (stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes, bile) and how weak digestion drives malabsorption → fatigue, brain fog, flares.
• Microbiome dysbiosis 101: why overgrowths (and yeast) can create alcohol-like byproducts that burden your liver and spike symptoms.
• Fiber nuance for IBS/IBD: when soluble fiber soothes—and when added prebiotics (inulin, flax) can pour gasoline on a flare.
• CGMs without panic: interpreting variability, timing carbs around training, and why “average glucose” can hide daily rollercoasters.
• The hidden costs of over-exercise + under-fueling (and how female life stages—postpartum, perimenopause—change the rules).
• Alcohol reality check: how it hijacks your liver, masks glucose spikes, then triggers hard crashes and hunger.
• Why carnivore-style phases sometimes “work” (temporarily)—and how long-term carb avoidance can down-regulate thyroid and backfire.

Link to my free training “The Root Cause Approach to Gut Healing”—my step-by-step framework to stop guessing and start healing

Link to a free 30 minute Gut Check Call

Link to my website

Disclaimer: None of the content discussed is meant to be taken as medical advice. All information presented is for educational purposes only and listeners and viewers assume all responsibility around implementing any changes to their health and medical regimen.