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Digestive Health
Feel better in your gut — and in your life.
Digestive symptoms can affect everything from what you eat and how you sleep to your energy, mood and confidence in your day-to-day life.
Whether you’re dealing with bloating, constipation, diarrhea, reflux, abdominal pain or IBS, you don’t have to figure it out on your own.
At Sage, we take a comprehensive approach to digestive health. We look at your symptoms, your medical history, nutrition, medications, lifestyle and other factors that may be contributing to how you feel — and then build a personalized plan based on what makes sense for you.
Digestive concerns we help with
Digestive symptoms can take many forms. Our team works with patients experiencing a wide range of digestive concerns, including:
IBS
Irritable bowel syndrome, including IBS-C, IBS-D and IBS-M, with symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, constipation and diarrhea.
Bloating & Gas
Persistent bloating, excessive gas and digestive discomfort, including symptoms that occur after eating.
Constipation
Infrequent or difficult bowel movements, incomplete evacuation and chronic constipation.
Diarrhea
Acute or persistent diarrhea, urgency and changes in bowel habits.
Reflux & Indigestion
GERD, heartburn, LPR/silent reflux, nausea and upper digestive discomfort.
SIBO & IMO
Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and intestinal methanogen overgrowth, when clinically appropriate to investigate and treat.
Food-Related Digestive Symptoms
Symptoms that appear to be triggered or worsened by particular foods, including suspected food intolerances and other food-related reactions.
Inflammatory & Chronic Digestive Conditions
Nutritional and naturopathic support for conditions such as Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, alongside appropriate conventional medical care.
Your symptoms are the starting point — not the whole story.
Digestive symptoms can have many different causes.
For example, bloating may be related to constipation, IBS, dietary factors, altered motility, SIBO/IMO, medications or other gastrointestinal conditions.
That’s why we don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all “gut protocol.”
From there, we determine what needs to be addressed — and what doesn’t.
We start by asking:
From there, we determine what needs to be addressed — and what doesn’t.
Comprehensive care, without unnecessary testing
Not every digestive concern requires extensive or expensive testing.
At Sage, we don’t order tests simply because they’re available. We first consider your symptoms, history, previous investigations and clinical findings, and determine whether additional testing is likely to provide information that could actually change your care.
When testing is appropriate, it may include:
Blood work
Stool testing
SIBO/IMO breath testing
Nutritional and other targeted laboratory testing
Diagnostic imaging, when clinically indicated
Other investigations or specialist referrals, when appropriate
Our goal is simple:
Get the information we need to make informed clinical decisions — without unnecessary testing or expense.
One team. Multiple healthcare perspectives.
Digestive health doesn’t always fit neatly into one discipline.
Sage has a large, multidisciplinary healthcare team that includes naturopathic doctors, nurse practitioners, dietitians and other healthcare practitioners.
This allows us to incorporate different areas of expertise and multiple treatment modalities when appropriate.
Depending on your individual needs, your care may include:
Naturopathic medicine
Nutrition, botanical medicine, targeted supplementation and lifestyle strategies.
Nurse practitioner care
Conventional medical assessment, prescribing and medical management when appropriate.
Nutrition & dietetics
Personalized nutrition support, including guidance from dietitians trained in the Low-FODMAP approach when this type of dietary intervention is appropriate.
Conventional medical collaboration
Coordination with your family doctor, gastroenterologist or other healthcare professionals when additional investigation or treatment is needed.
Lifestyle & gut-brain strategies
Sleep, stress, movement, nervous-system regulation and other factors that can influence digestive function.
Psychological therapy
For patients whose digestive symptoms are influenced by stress, anxiety, trauma, disordered eating patterns or the gut-brain connection, therapy may be an important part of comprehensive care.
The goal isn’t to choose between conventional and naturopathic medicine. It’s to use the right tools for the right patient at the right time.
Meet Some of Our Practitioners
Dr. Rahima Hirji, ND
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
Dr. Deanna Walker, ND
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
Dr. Heather Robinson, ND
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
Dr. Emile Sabga, BSC (Hon), ND
Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine
Dominique Williams, MSW, RSW
Registered Social Worker
What might treatment look like?
There is no single “Sage digestive protocol.”
Your treatment plan may include one or several approaches, depending on what we find.
This may include:
Personalized nutrition
Support from a dietitian
Fibre optimization
Dietary modification, including Low-FODMAP when appropriate
Food reintroduction strategies
Probiotics or other targeted supplements
Botanical medicine
Bowel-management strategies
Prescription medications when appropriate
Lifestyle and behavioural interventions
Psychological therapy
Targeted testing
Diagnostic imaging or medical investigation when indicated
Collaboration with your physician or gastroenterologist
We also recognize that treatment should evolve.
Rather than adding treatment after treatment indefinitely, we monitor how you’re responding and adjust the plan based on what is actually helping.
What to expect at your first appointment
We listen.
We’ll take a detailed history of your symptoms, digestive patterns, diet, medications, supplements, medical history and other relevant factors.
We look for patterns.
We’ll consider when your symptoms occur, what triggers them, what relieves them and how they fit into the bigger picture of your health.
We decide whether testing is necessary.
If additional testing could help guide your care, we’ll discuss the options with you. If it isn’t likely to change your treatment, we may recommend that you don’t test.
We build your plan.
Your practitioner will work with you to develop a personalized treatment plan using the therapies and practitioners that are appropriate for your needs.
We reassess.
Digestive care is a process. We monitor how you’re responding and adjust your treatment rather than assuming the first plan will be the final plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. You can book directly with our team. If your symptoms suggest that you need additional medical investigation or specialist care, we can help coordinate that next step.
Not necessarily. Testing is recommended when it is clinically appropriate and likely to provide useful information. We don’t believe in testing simply for the sake of testing.
Not necessarily. Dietary changes are individualized, and when a therapeutic elimination diet such as Low-FODMAP is appropriate, the goal is generally to use it strategically rather than unnecessarily restricting your diet long term.
Yes. We work with different presentations of IBS, including IBS with constipation, IBS with diarrhea and mixed IBS.
We can assess whether SIBO or IMO may be relevant to your symptoms and determine whether testing and treatment are appropriate.
Yes. We believe in collaborative care and may recommend coordination with your physician or specialist when appropriate.
Not necessarily. Supplements are one potential tool, not a requirement. Treatment is based on your individual needs and clinical situation.
Yes. You don’t need to arrive with a diagnosis. Our first step is understanding your symptoms and determining what evaluation and care may be appropriate.
Ready to feel better?
You don’t have to spend years trying to figure out your digestion on your own.
Our team can help you understand what’s happening, identify the next appropriate steps and create a plan that fits your health and your life.
Sage Natural Health
Integrative healthcare. Multiple perspectives. Personalized care.
