The festive season is a time of celebration, but for those managing Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), it can also bring discomfort and disruption. In the final “Create Your Kindspace” podcast of 2024, Gemma Stuart, founder of Gut Wealth, joined Caroline to discuss the importance of digestive wellbeing, her top tips for gut health and how she turned her personal struggle with IBS into a mission to help others.
A Personal Struggle Turned Mission
Gemma’s journey with IBS began over a decade ago, marked by years of trial and error with treatments and diets.
“I’d been suffering in silence and sometimes very loudly… I used to buy products from different countries, try every sort of dietary plan, and regularly had cameras in places you don’t want to think about.”
Her journey wasn’t just physical; the emotional toll of living with IBS in a corporate environment was particularly difficult.
“I totally remember the embarrassment, the discomfort… I worked in corporate environments, and I just would be quite embarrassed to ever share anything to do with my own digestive health.”
The turning point came during the pandemic when Gemma decided to take control of her health.
“I was just sick, fed up of it, to be quite completely honest, and figured that there must be something that I can do to change and be more consistent with, to improve my digestive wellness”
She immersed herself in research, discovering the benefits of biotics for gut health. This led to the creation of Gut Wealth, a liquid supplement designed to support digestive health. Her mission is simple:
“If I can help more people not have that discomfort and not have that in their mind, then I’m doing a good job.”
Gut Wealth comes in convenient sachets and contains postbiotics, which are beneficial bacteria that help calm digestive discomfort and improve gut function.
“It’s an orange citrus flavour and it’s got a postbiotic, which is a type of good bacteria for your gut. It calms digestive upset, improves bowel regularity, and really improves bloating.”
The supplement is intended for a four-to-eight-week trial period to gauge effectiveness. To make it as simple as possible for users, Gemma designed the product with ease of use in mind.
5 Simple Tips for Better Digestive Health
In addition to Gut Wealth, Gemma offers five practical tips for maintaining a healthy digestive system—basic habits everyone can adopt, whether or not they suffer from IBS:
Rest – your digestive system needs downtime to function properly.
“If you’re not getting enough sleep, your gut will be showing you symptoms.”
Movement – physical activity improves blood flow and supports food movement through the digestive system.
“Even if you’re not someone who’s really into exercise, the absolute minimum that you should be doing after your main meals is to get 10-15 minutes of walking.”
Stress management – stress is a significant trigger for digestive issues.
“When I’m stressed, I’m holding everything, this tightness that you create around the body. That’s not great for your digestive health.”
Hydration – drinking water throughout the day is crucial for digestion.
“We all know that we’re supposed to drink two litres of water every day, but it’s really about sipping it throughout the day rather than drinking a litre in the morning and a litre at night.”
Diet – make food choices that work for you.
“For me, it’s just about variety and colour… There are salads in the world that I really don’t love and salads in the world that I do. So I make the ones I like.”
It’s Not Just What You Eat—It’s How You Eat
Instead of being overly focused on diet and striving for perfection, Gemma encourages working on the basics – rest, movement, stress management and hydration – and making consistent, small improvements in our food habits and choices.
Gemma highlights the importance of meal habits, particularly the simple but effective practice of chewing food properly. When our lives get busy, as happens at the end of the year, we can forget about the first four basics that underpin our gut health. We live our lives at such a pace that eating can also become something we rush, grabbing things because they are convenient or wolfing down our meals before our body gets a chance to properly prepare the stomach and the gut to receive the food.
“When someone said that to me, it was this ridiculously simple but very impressive lightbulb moment of, “Ah, of course, it’s going to be difficult for my digestive system to break down big chunks of food.”
Building a Business: The Realities of Entrepreneurship
As a business owner, Gemma has faced the challenges of balancing multiple roles and managing expectations.
“On most days, that’s fine. And then there’s just some days it’s just really, really hard to see the wood for the trees.”
Gemma places a high value on honesty and sharing the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, often sharing her challenges to highlight the realities and difficulties she experiences.
“But I do a thing where I’ll be, ‘Oh, last month wasn’t as great as I thought it was going to be because of XYZ reason.'”
For Gemma, kindness starts with honesty—both with herself and others.
“The best form of kindness is truth. And actually, I think there’s a nuance to that. The best form of kindness for me is being able to speak my truth and just talk through something.”
She encourages others to do the same and share their struggles so everyone can learn from one another.
“I’ve got a skill set in one way, and they’ve got a different skill set or different experience, and we share with each other.”
Final Thoughts and Resources
Gemma’s journey serves as a powerful reminder that challenges can spark meaningful change, not only in our own lives but in the lives of others. Her practical tips and emphasis on small, consistent habits make better digestive health accessible to everyone, whether or not they face the challenges of IBS. Above all, Gemma’s story shows the importance of self-kindness and honesty, both in our personal health journeys and as we navigate the complexities of life and entrepreneurship. Through her work, Gemma inspires us to trust our gut (literally and figuratively) and to approach wellness with curiosity, patience, and care.
- Visit Gut Wealth: https://www.gutwealth.co.uk/
- Connect with Gemma Stuart on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gemmastuart/
- Listen to the Full Episode: Catch Gemma Stuarts’s full interview on the Create Your Kindspace podcast.