Gut Foundations
Eight Weeks. One Clear Focus at a Time.
A practical self-guided program covering the digestive foundations I regularly use in clinic, including meal habits, digestive secretions, motility, bowel function and the gut-brain connection.
SELF-GUIDED ONLINE PROGRAM
Build the Foundations First
Work through the digestive foundations I regularly address before moving into more targeted protocols, testing or restriction.
One Focus Each Week
Each week introduces one clear action that builds on what you’re already doing, so you’re not trying to change everything at once.
See What Changes
Track your digestive symptoms and bowel pattern from the beginning so you can assess what is actually improving and decide what’s worth continuing.
Stop Guessing What Your Gut Needs
Gut health advice can quickly become an overwhelming mix of restrictive diets, probiotics, antimicrobial protocols and testing.
You may have already removed foods, tried supplements or wondered whether SIBO, food intolerance or your microbiome is involved without knowing which changes are actually relevant to you.
Gut Foundations gives you one structured process to follow for eight weeks.
You’ll work through the digestive foundations I regularly return to in clinic, including how you eat, digestive secretions, bile and fat digestion, motility, bowel function, the intestinal barrier and gut-brain signalling.
This is where I prefer people to start because putting these foundations in place can improve symptoms on its own and gives us much clearer information if something more specific still needs investigation.
Inside the Eight-Week Program
Each week introduces one new focus while the foundations from previous weeks continue in the background. Every strategy is practical enough to use consistently, while noticing how your digestion responds over time.
Before Week 1: Establish Your Starting Point
You’ll complete your digestive baseline, review your typical bowel pattern, prepare for the eight-week food reset and organise any products you’ll need later in the program.
Weeks 1–4: Digestive Function and Motility
The first four weeks focus on the way digestion begins and how food moves through the upper digestive tract.
You’ll work on meal habits, digestive secretions, fat digestion, meal spacing and motility, with one new strategy introduced at a time.
Weeks 5–8: Barrier, Bowel Function and Gut-Brain Support
The second half focuses on the intestinal barrier, stool consistency and evacuation, gut-brain signalling and movement.
Where appropriate, targeted supplements are introduced gradually rather than adding everything at once.
Your Final Review
At the end of the program, you’ll repeat your baseline assessment and work through a structured review.
You’ll identify what has improved, what is worth continuing, whether temporarily removed foods should be reintroduced and whether anything still needs individual investigation.
Is Gut Foundations Right for You?
This Program May Suit You If
You experience bloating, reflux, heaviness, constipation, loose stools or ongoing digestive discomfort
You feel overwhelmed by conflicting gut-health advice
You want a structured, self-guided place to begin
You’re willing to introduce one new digestive strategy each week
You want to address useful foundations before moving into more restrictive diets or extensive testing
You want to better understand your digestive pattern and what appears to make a meaningful difference
Choose Individual Support First If
You are experiencing unexplained weight loss
You have blood in your stool, black stools or persistent vomiting
You have severe or rapidly worsening abdominal pain
You are struggling to eat enough or maintain adequate nutrition
You have significant persistent diarrhoea or another new gastrointestinal symptom that has not been medically assessed
If you already have a diagnosed gastrointestinal condition requiring specific medical or dietary management, individual guidance may be more appropriate before beginning.
Created by Clinical Naturopath Sara Judd
I originally created Gut Foundations because I found myself returning to the same core digestive principles with patients in clinic.
Before moving into more targeted protocols, testing or complex treatment, I wanted patients to have the basics in place: how they were eating, whether digestion was being properly stimulated, meal spacing, motility, bowel function and the gut-brain connection.
Having these foundations established gave us a much clearer picture of what was actually still unresolved. It also meant we could use consultation time to go deeper into each person’s history, pathology and whether more targeted investigation was genuinely warranted.
Gut symptoms do not automatically mean SIBO, food intolerance or a microbiome problem. I investigate those areas when someone’s history and symptom pattern give me a reason to.
Sara Judd
BHSc Clinical Naturopathy
ANTA Member
What Happens After Week 8?
By the end of the program, you’ll have spent eight weeks working on the foundations of digestion and will have a much clearer picture of how your gut has responded.
If Your Symptoms Have Meaningfully Improved
Keep the strategies that are working for you.
At the end of the program, you’ll repeat the same symptom and bowel assessment you completed at the beginning so you can compare where you started with where you are now.
Some of the nutritional support introduced during the program may also continue beyond Week 8. You’ll have clear guidance on what to continue, what to stop and how long to keep going.
If Improvement Has Been Limited
If you’ve consistently worked through the foundations but still have significant symptoms, there may be something else contributing that needs individual investigation.
Depending on your symptom pattern and health history, this could include assessing for SIBO or IMO, coeliac disease, H. pylori or other gastrointestinal conditions.
The foundations are still important. They just aren’t always the whole picture.
Already Working With Me?
If you’re currently receiving individual naturopathic care through my clinic, access to Gut Foundations may be included when the program forms part of your treatment plan.
You don’t need to purchase it separately. I’ll provide access when it’s relevant to your care. I may also provide you with a personalised supplement list based on what you’re already taking and what is appropriate for your individual treatment plan.
Begin Your Eight-Week Gut Foundations Program
Gut advice can quickly become an overwhelming collection of food restrictions, supplements and possible causes.
Gut Foundations gives you a structured place to begin. Each week gives you one clearly defined focus. You’ll understand why it matters and how to put it into practice.
The program follows the foundational process I regularly use in clinic before deciding whether more targeted treatment or investigation is needed.
An 8-week gut reset designed to help you work through the foundations of digestion in a clear, structured way. You’ll focus on digestive signalling, bile and fat digestion, motility, bowel function, intestinal barrier support, movement and the gut brain connection, with practical weekly actions and targeted support along the way.
Frequently Asked Questions
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No. Gut Foundations is a structured self-guided program rather than an individual consultation or personalised treatment plan.
It covers the digestive foundations I regularly use in clinic, but it cannot account for your full medical history, medications, pathology or individual diagnosis.
If you are already working with me, I may adjust parts of the program or your supplement plan to suit your individual care.
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Some weeks include a small amount of targeted supplements.
You’ll receive a supplement list before the program begins so you can order products in advance if you choose. Do not start them early. Each product is introduced in the relevant weekly lesson with clear instructions on when to begin and how to use it.
Not every strategy requires a supplement. For example, Week 2 includes a food-based bitter option.
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No.
The program is deliberately structured so you introduce one new focus each week while continuing the foundations from previous weeks.
I want you to build changes gradually and give yourself enough time to notice how your digestion responds, rather than changing several things at once and not knowing what helped.
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Before Week 1, you’ll complete a digestive baseline covering areas such as bloating, abdominal discomfort, reflux or upper digestive symptoms, bowel frequency, Bristol stool type, straining, incomplete evacuation and the impact your symptoms have on daily life.
At the end of the eight weeks, you’ll repeat the same assessment and compare your overall pattern with where you started.
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Do not automatically add every product in Gut Foundations on top of what you are already taking.
If you are currently working with me, I may provide you with a personalised supplement list based on your existing treatment plan.
If you are not a patient and you are unsure whether a supplement is appropriate alongside your current products or medication, check with your doctor, pharmacist or another qualified healthcare professional before starting it.
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No.
Gut Foundations may be useful for people with SIBO-type symptoms because the program addresses areas such as meal spacing, motility and bowel function.
However, it is not a complete SIBO treatment protocol and it does not include antimicrobial treatment.
Symptoms such as bloating, constipation or food intolerance also do not diagnose SIBO on their own. If SIBO remains a concern after the foundations are in place, more targeted assessment may be appropriate.
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Week 6 includes a specific constipation pathway.
The lesson also looks beyond frequency alone. Straining, stool consistency and whether you feel completely emptied are all important.
Targeted supplementation is used during with week to support your individual presentation.
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Week 6 also includes a loose-stool pathway with specific, targeted supplements to support this.
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Little or no improvement doesn’t mean you’ve completed the program incorrectly.
The final lesson helps you identify what changed and whether something more individual may need to be investigated.
Depending on your history and symptom pattern, further assessment might look more closely at areas such as SIBO or IMO, post-infectious symptoms, pelvic-floor dysfunction, gastric emptying or another gastrointestinal condition.
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Gut Foundations is completed online.
Once enrolled, you’ll work through the introductory lessons first, followed by one weekly lesson at a time over eight weeks.
You’ll have ongoing access after completing the program so you can return to the lessons and resources when needed.
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No. Gut Foundations is a self-guided educational program and does not include individual consultations, messaging support or personalised treatment.
If you are already a patient of mine, I may incorporate the program into your individual care when it is relevant to your treatment plan.
If you complete the program independently and still need individual help, you can book a separate naturopathic consultation for a more personalised assessment.