Love & Guts

#316 Chloe Turner has lived with Crohn's disease for 25 years. She's also a degree-qualified naturopath and clinical microbiome consultant at Microba — one of Australia's most advanced gut microbiome testing companies. In this conversation, she brings both worlds together: the science of what microbiome testing actually reveals in IBD, and the deeply human experience of living inside a body that can turn on you without warning.
Chloe talks candidly about the psychological weight of waiting for the next flare, why clinical remission doesn't always mean your microbiome is safe, and how shotgun metagenomics testing is catching things that colonoscopies and blood tests simply miss — including stealth pathogens like EPEC quietly driving inflammation while everything else looks stable.
 
In this episode, you'll discover:
What gut microbiome testing reveals that conventional IBD workups cannot
How EPEC and E. coli species silently fuel flares — and what to do about it
Why clinical remission doesn't mean your microbiome is out of the danger zone
How microbiome shifts can precede a flare before symptoms appear
The emerging link between microbiome state and biologic medication response
The psychological weight of the relapse-recovery cycle and how Chloe navigates it personally
Why intuition and anxiety around food can look identical and how to tell them apart
Practical dietary and supplement strategies used alongside conventional IBD care
Why annual microbiome testing could be one of the most powerful tools for flare prevention
What Chloe wishes she'd known 25 years ago
If you're living with Crohn's, colitis, or any form of IBD, or you're a practitioner working in this space, this episode is for you.
Connect with Chloe Turner: chloturner.com.au
Register for a Microba Practitioner account
 
I'm Lynda Griparic, a degree-qualified naturopath with extensive experience in complex gut health conditions, including SIBO, IMO, and chronic constipation. Book a consultation or shop BetterMe Tea at lyndagriparic.com
This content is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your health routine.

#315 Should you test your baby's microbiome — and if so, when? In this episode, I sit down with naturopath, herbalist, lactation consultant, and infant microbiome expert Dawn Whitten to take a critical and balanced look at the new wave of paediatric microbiome testing.
Dawn brings over 20 years of clinical experience in perinatal and early life health, and in this conversation, she covers what these tests get right, where they fall short, and the very real risk of over-interpreting a rapidly changing ecosystem.
In this episode, you'll discover:
What "normal" actually looks like in the infant microbiome across the first two to three years of life
Why the infant microbiome can shift dramatically in just a few weeks without any intervention
The clinical risk of testing too early and acting too fast
Why Bifidobacterium is the keystone genus of the infant gut — and which species matter most
The age grouping problem with current paediatric tests
Why organisms like Blastocystis and Dientamoeba in a baby's report may not be cause for alarm
The problem with functional markers like faecal calprotectin in infants
What responsible interpretation actually looks like in clinical practice 
What Dawn wishes these tests would do differently
Dawn's Natural Early Life Health course and how it equips practitioners to use these tests wisely
Love & Guts listeners receive 25% off Dawn's Natural Early Life Health course via the links below. Jason Hawrelak's Healthy Gut course is a prerequisite — bundle options are available. Offer available until 15 April 2026.
Love & Guts podcast special discount links
Natural Early Life Course & Bridging Course Bundle https://probiotic-advisor.teachable.com/p/early-life-health11?affcode=186042_ituurmer
Natural Early Life Health 2026 term https://probiotic-advisor.teachable.com/p/early-life-health12?affcode=186042_ituurmer
If you work with infants and young children, or you're a parent navigating gut health in early life, this episode is for you.

#314 What if chronic constipation, gut dysbiosis, and microbial imbalance were early warning signs of Parkinson's disease — appearing up to 20 years before a diagnosis?
In this episode, I sit down with microbiome researcher and founder of The BioCollective, Martha Carlin, whose journey into Parkinson's research began when her husband John was diagnosed at just 44 years old. Martha spent over two decades studying the gut-brain connection in Parkinson's, building one of the first independent IRB-approved human microbiome research initiatives in the world.
In this episode, you'll discover:
Why chronic constipation can precede a Parkinson's diagnosis by 20+ years — and why it is never normal
The two phenotypes of Parkinson's disease and how gut bacteria can distinguish between them
The role of hydrogen sulphide, LPS endotoxins, and leaky gut in Parkinson's pathology
The mycobacteria connection to Parkinson's that almost nobody is talking about
How glyphosate is decimating the good bacteria we need most
The glycocalyx — what it is, why it matters, and how to restore it
The overlooked cardiovascular risks in Parkinson's disease.
Where to start if you or someone you love has just received a diagnosis
If you are living with chronic constipation, have a family member with Parkinson's, or want to understand the deeper gut-brain connection — this episode is for you.
 
Find Martha at biotiquest.com 
 
I'm Lynda Griparic, a degree-qualified naturopath specialising in complex gut health conditions, including SIBO, IMO, and chronic constipation. Book a consultation or shop BetterMe Tea at lyndagriparic.com

#313 You've been told to take probiotics. But nobody told you how — or whether what you're taking is actually doing anything.
Probiotics are one of the most talked-about tools in gut health, and one of the most misused. In this solo episode, Lynda busts 7 of the most common probiotic myths she sees in clinic and online — and by the end, you'll understand probiotics at a level most people never do.
You'll discover:
Why probiotics don't permanently colonise your gut — and what that means for how you take them - Why "a probiotic is a probiotic" is one of the most misleading claims in the supplement industry - Why more strains in a bottle doesn't mean more effective - Why you should absolutely take probiotics during antibiotic treatment — and what the research actually shows - Why taking probiotics on an empty stomach is outdated advice - Why kefir and kombucha won't reliably restore your gut after antibiotics — and what will - Why probiotics are not the automatic answer to every gut condition
If you've been taking probiotics without results, this episode will show you exactly why — and what to do instead.
References & show notes: https://www.lyndagriparic.com/[YOUR-SHOW-NOTES-URL]
 
🧳 WORK WITH ME
💝 Book a 1:1 Consultation: https://www.lyndagriparic.com/book-an... 🫖 Shop BetterMe Tea (Digestive Support): https://www.lyndagriparic.com/shop/ 🌐 Website: https://lyndagriparic.com
📱 CONNECT WITH ME
📷 Instagram: @lynda_griparic_naturopath
 🎙️ Podcast on Youtube: https://youtu.be/HEZK2T4nrAs?si=LL6Hd3inlMAW1vhg

#312 Shame around our bodies — including gut symptoms like bloating and constipation — can quietly erode desire, intimacy, and our relationship with ourselves.
In this episode, I'm joined by Rebecca Levy, Somatic Sexologist, Sex Educator and Relationship Counsellor, to explore the hidden link between gut health, body shame and sexual desire. We discuss how nervous system dysregulation impacts both digestion and desire, what somatic sexology actually is, and simple practices you can start today to rebuild body awareness and reconnect with pleasure.
If you've ever felt disconnected from your body or struggled with intimacy because of how you feel in your skin — this one is for you.
 
CONNECT WITH REBECCA LEVY
Website: www.rebeccalevy.com.au 
Find her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebeccalevy_somaticsexologist/
 
WORK WITH LYNDA
Book a 1:1 Consultation: https://www.lyndagriparic.com/book-an...
Shop BetterMe Tea (Digestive Support): https://www.lyndagriparic.com/shop/
Website: https://lyndagriparic.com
 
ABOUT ME
I'm Lynda Griparic, a degree-qualified naturopath specialising in complex gut health conditions, including SIBO, IMO, chronic constipation, and microbiome dysfunction. I help people who have tried everything and still can't get answers. I use advanced Microba shotgun metagenomics testing — analysing thousands of bacterial species compared to the ~50 detected by standard tests — to find the root cause others have missed. University of Tasmania Roll of Excellence 2024 | Bachelor of Medicines Management ProfHonsCM | 20+ years clinical experience | Host of the Love & Guts Podcast | Creator of BetterMe Tea | Telehealth consultations available Australia-wide and internationally.