Naturopathic care for IBS, SIBO, leaky gut and digestive problems that have not settled with standard treatment.
25+
Clinical Experience
ATMS
Registered
Telehealth
Australia-wide
Free Discovery Call
No referral required
In-clinic at Kealba, Melbourne. Telehealth available across Australia.
Bloating, pain, irregular bowels and food reactions are easy to treat as separate problems. Often they share one cause in the gut, and it does not always show up on the tests a GP orders. A normal result rules out serious disease, which matters, but it does not explain why you still feel unwell.
Vital Health and Natural medicine naturopathic approach to digestive health works alongside your doctor, not in place of them. We use functional testing to look for that cause, then build your protocol around your results instead of a general gut diet.
Many of the people we see have already changed their diet, tried probiotics or been told it is stress. Their symptoms keep coming back because the underlying imbalance was never identified. Gut problems can also show up outside the gut, as fatigue, skin flare ups, brain fog or mood changes, so we look at the full picture before any treatment starts.
Functional testing helps find the specific imbalance behind digestive conditions that have not responded to standard approaches.
Standard testing rarely explains why someone has been bloated for three years or why IBS symptoms worsen despite following every dietary recommendation. Here is what functional testing reveals, and what changes when you treat the actual cause.
A woman in her mid-30s with severe bloating, alternating bowel habits, and post-meal fatigue had been on low-FODMAP for two years without lasting relief.
GI Microbiome Map revealed elevated Methanobrevibacter smithii consistent with methane-dominant SIBO, depleted beneficial bacteria, and mild gut inflammation.
Treatment followed the 6R framework with targeted herbal antimicrobials, structured probiotic reinoculation, and gut lining repair.
Bloating resolved within six weeks. Bowel regularity normalised by week ten. Follow-up GI map confirmed clearance of the methane-producing organism.
A woman in her early 40s had eliminated gluten, dairy, eggs, and soy over 18 months but continued reacting to new foods.
She also had recurring eczema and a recent Hashimoto's diagnosis. GI Microbiome Map confirmed intestinal permeability, low secretory IgA, and H. pylori at low-moderate levels.
H. pylori eradication was followed by gut barrier repair and thyroid support.
Food reaction frequency reduced markedly by week eight. Eczema ceased by week twelve. TPO antibodies dropped 40% at the 4-month retest.
Gut symptoms rarely have one obvious cause, so we do not start with a supplement or a diet sheet. Every client is taken through the ROOT Method, our four step framework for finding what standard testing misses and building treatment around it.
Map gut dysbiosis, hormonal patterns, and mitochondrial function through the GI Microbiome Map, AdrenoCortex Salivary Panel, and Organic Acids Test
Address the highest-burden driver first, whether gut integrity, cortisol dysregulation, thyroid conversion, or cellular energy depletion
We look for patterns in your results within the context of your full picture.
Your protocol is built directly from what the testing found, not from a template.
Gut healing works when the steps happen in the right order. Clearing an overgrowth before the gut lining is ready, or adding probiotics too early, is a common reason progress stalls. Our treatment follows the 6R Program, a staged approach that builds on the functional medicine 4R framework.
Calm inflammation and ease acute symptoms early, so you have the energy to complete the program. Targeted probiotics and nutrients are introduced where they are needed.
Take out dietary irritants and pathogenic bacteria, fungi and parasites, using targeted herbal antimicrobials alongside a healing diet.
Restore digestive support that may be running low, including enzymes, stomach acid and bile.
Reintroduce beneficial bacteria through probiotics, fermented foods and prebiotic foods to rebuild microbial balance. This step follows Remove and Replace because timing matters.
Support regrowth of the gut lining with nutrients such as vitamins A, C, D and E, zinc, glutamine and collagen, plus soothing herbs like slippery elm and marshmallow root.
Taper off the elimination phase, reintroduce foods one at a time, and build a sustainable long term routine for eating and stress management.
The GI Microbiome Map is a stool test that uses DNA technology to assess gut bacteria, fungi, parasites, inflammation markers, digestive function and markers linked to gut barrier health. The kit is posted to your home, you collect the sample yourself, and we go through the results with you in a follow up consultation.
Depending on your history, we may also recommend food sensitivity testing, gluten sensitivity testing or an organic acids test, which can show how your gut links to energy and nutrient status.
Domenic Pisanelli is a registered naturopath and functional medicine practitioner with over 25 years of clinical experience, and an ATMS member. His training spans medical herbalism, nutritional medicine, live blood analysis, electro dermal screening and iridology, alongside functional medicine. He is the practitioner people see when their results come back normal but they still feel unwell.
We also see patients from Richmond, Fitzroy, Brunswick, Frankston, Dandenong, and surrounding Melbourne suburbs — and telehealth patients from across Australia.
See your GP before booking if you have blood in your stool, black stools, unexplained weight loss, persistent vomiting, difficulty swallowing or severe ongoing pain, as these need medical assessment. For long running symptoms without those signs, you can book with us directly.
No. You can book directly, and you are welcome to keep your GP informed.
Yes. Continue your medication as prescribed and tell us everything you take. Herbs and supplements can interact with some medicines, so we check this before recommending anything.
Yes. Stop probiotics and antimicrobial supplements 5 to 7 days before collecting your sample. Prescription medication continues as normal.
Wait 2 to 3 weeks after finishing your course before collecting your sample.
The kit includes collection paper, vials with preservative, a prepaid return box and clear instructions. Collection takes 5 to 10 minutes at home, and you drop the sealed kit at any Australia Post location.
The lab returns results 10 to 14 days after it receives your sample. From posting your kit to your results consultation is usually about 2.5 to 3 weeks.
The GI Microbiome Map is a stool test, so it does not diagnose either on its own. It shows bacterial and inflammation patterns, and includes a marker linked to gut barrier function, which we read alongside your symptoms and history. If further testing would help, we will tell you.
It varies with the condition and how long it has been going on. Some people notice early changes in energy and bloating within the first weeks, and the full program typically runs three to six months.
Book a free 20 minute discovery call. We will phone you at a time that suits, with no obligation. Available by telehealth across Australia.
