4 ways to ease bloating, constipation and improve your gut health beyond diet | Dr Rabia Topan
The Doctor's Kitchen Podcast
Dr Rupy Aujla
4.7 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 17 June 2026
⏱️ 81 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
SHOW NOTES
This episode is for anyone dealing with constipation, bloating, reflux, abdominal pain or IBS.
And really, anyone who wants to protect their gut, reduce stress and feel better overall.
When we think about gut health, we usually start with food… what to eat, what to cut out, which diet or supplement to try next.
And while nutrition is foundational, there’s another side we don’t talk about enough: the constant conversation between your brain and your gut 🧠💬
My guest today is Dr Rabia Topan, an NHS consultant gastroenterologist and PhD researcher specialising in disorders of gut–brain interaction like IBS. She works at The Functional Gut Clinic with people who’ve often had “normal” tests for years, but very real symptoms.
She’s also trained in cognitive behavioural hypnotherapy and yoga, bringing a practical, mind–body approach to gut health.
We cover 👇
• Breathwork techniques and why slowing your breath to around 6 breaths per minute can shift you into “rest and digest”
• What the gut–brain axis actually is
• Simple daily movements and pelvic floor exercises to support gut function
• Practical toilet training tips for children
• How cognitive reframing and gut-directed hypnotherapy can ease bloating, constipation and IBS
• One habit you can start today to calm your nervous system and support your gut every morning
🔗 Key links
• Dr Rabia’s website with resources, yoga videos and more
• Gut–brain hypnotherapy audio you can try at home
Important disclaimer: The patient mentioned in this episode gave full consent for their story to be shared.
Hope you enjoy!
Dr Rupy x
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I'm Dr. Rupi and on this show, I help you feel more in control of your health through food and lifestyle medicine. |
| 0:10.5 | If you struggle with bloating, reflux, unpredictable digestion or any other gut issues and you've tried making changes to your diet, maybe even cunning out foods, but nothing helps. |
| 0:23.2 | The missing piece might not be what you're eating, but actually how your brain and gut are |
| 0:28.5 | communicating. Today, we're diving into four overlooked tools that improve gut health and |
| 0:35.0 | have nothing to do with what's on your plate. I'm joined by Dr. Rabia Topan, NHS consultant gastroenterologist and PhD researcher |
| 0:43.6 | specialising in gut brain disorders like IBS. |
| 0:47.7 | She helps patients at the functional gut clinic who've struggled with digestive symptoms |
| 0:52.1 | sometimes for years, even when their tests come back normal, |
| 0:56.2 | which actually happens to one in three people in the UK described as having a functional gut disorder. |
| 1:03.1 | Whether you suffer from gut symptoms or you're just looking to optimize your gut health for better energy and overall well-being, |
| 1:12.2 | these practical tools that we discussed today can benefit you. In fact, what Dr. Rabia recommends as a single |
| 1:18.2 | practice to follow daily at the end of the pod is something new I'm adding to my own routine. |
| 1:36.0 | Dr. Rabia, can you improve symptoms like bloating, constipation and other digestive issues beyond changing what you eat? When we talk about gut health, most people think about |
| 1:42.7 | the food that they eat. They think about what they eat, |
| 1:47.7 | what they should avoid, and what diet to follow. But in clinic, I see all the time that patients |
| 1:52.6 | really make some fantastic changes beyond diet or when diet hasn't been effective. And the reason |
| 1:59.2 | that is is because the gut is not only a digestive organ that responds to the food you eat. |
| 2:04.6 | It's deeply connected to our brain and our nervous system. |
| 2:08.6 | And so the way that we feel, the way we process stress, and the way that our body feels safe in the world around us, |
| 2:16.6 | can all actually change and modulate the way |
| 2:19.9 | the gut functions. Okay. And what that means is that there are powerful tools to care for your |
| 2:25.9 | nervous system which will influence your gut health beyond diet. And we're going to talk about |
... |
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