/ /

The Good Gut Programme

A HIGH-PRECISION GUT HEALTH RESET

Nutrition 5 Minute Read

Functional nutritionist Jieun Wrigley takes us through the Good Gut Programme at COMO Shambhala Singapore — a high-precision, holistic approach to understanding your gut health and making lifestyle changes that stick.

On Gut Health and Nutrition

Jieun Wrigley

Jieun Wrigley is a functional nutritionist with a focus on chronic disease prevention through evidence-based science and personalised food strategies. With a global perspective shaped by years in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Dubai, she empowers her clients to understand the root causes of health issues, which include gut and brain health, hormonal imbalances, and metabolic function. She also collaborates with other medical professionals, integrating nutritional frameworks into patient care for better clinical outcomes.

TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR STORY — HOW DID YOU BECOME A NUTRITIONIST?

I actually began my career in the finance industry. I worked in Goldman Sachs and then in journalism, which trained me to think analytically and seek a deeper understanding of the patterns beneath the surface. At the time I thought that these skills were unrelated to health, but everything changed when I became a mother. My daughter, when she was a toddler, had chronic colds, snoring, and mouth breathing. I entered the medical system — as most parents do — trusting that someone was going to tell me how to fix those issues. Instead, it was a never-ending cycle of appointments and symptom management. I was getting prescriptions, not answers. And as a mom, that didn't sit right with me. I realised that if I wanted better answers and care for my children, I'd have to learn how the body works. So I started digging deeper into inflammation and food, and that led to me getting my Master’s in Nutrition, and a Doctorate in Clinical Nutrition.


 

WHAT IS FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION? HOW DOES IT DIFFER FROM CLINICAL NUTRITION?

Functional practice is a way of looking at things in its entirety — in a holistic and integrated way. The functional perspective on nutrition is grounded in three key ideas. The first is identifying the root cause, looking beyond the symptoms for that connection to the root cause. We’d ask ourselves, how does this affect the network within our bodies? Second, we view nutrition as a key environmental driver of health or diseases. And in functional nutrition, the focus on health and our health troubles are usually related to the gut microbiome — the things we eat, the toxins we’re exposed to. Nutrition allows us to correct imbalances in the system. The understanding of how your gut uses that food and how the gut microbiome processes the food you eat is core to the functional approach. Third, functional practice does not focus on disease or illness, but seeks to answer the question on what actually keeps us healthy. It's very different from just looking at disease, which is what the typical medical system focuses on. Being in good health isn't just that you're free from disease, it means that you have vitality and endurance. 

Clinical nutrition is more disease-specific, or to manage and treat certain illnesses with the help of dietitians. A dietitian is someone you’ll meet when you’re inpatient and dealing with a disease, while a nutritionist focuses on outpatient work and the nature of it can be more preventative. 

WHY IS THE GUT MICROBIOME IMPORTANT FOR OUR HEALTH AND WELLBEING? HOW ARE THE GUT AND BRAIN CONNECTED?

The gut microbiome is a community of trillions of microbes, bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and they mostly live in our large intestine. When this hidden ecosystem is balanced, it functions as a hidden organ — they help in digestion, nutrient absorption, immune regulation, inflammation control, hormonal balance, metabolic signalling. When it’s out of balance, the signs of that appear very quickly. For some people, the inflammation manifests physically, like rashes or eczema, and for others, it’s more internal, like digestion troubles, hormone imbalance or weight gain. 

The big takeaway is that the gut microbiome influences more than just digestion. It determines whether your body is in a state of balance, chronic inflammation, or stress, and it also influences immunity and hormones.

WHAT IS THE GUT-BRAIN AXIS? HOW CAN FOOD “INSTRUCT” THE BODY?

The process of consuming food begins with the brain sending signals to begin mechanical digestion via chewing, before it gets broken down by the body and becomes chemical instruction in our stomach. The gut microbiome also influences the production of neurotransmitters and hormones that affect mood, sleep, focus, and our immunity. The brain and body are connected through the gut via the vagus nerve — the brain’s main connection highway. This is the gut-brain axis. 

This relationship is bidirectional. For example, if you have trouble sleeping, you can eat more foods that prompt the production of GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid, a calming neurotransmitter), which could potentially help you sleep better. Or if you’re receiving bad news while eating, you suddenly feel as if your food has no taste. In the same way that eating your favourite comfort meal brings about feelings of happiness and contentment, the gut is able to influence the brain — we call this psychosomatic nutrition. 

Our gut barrier also determines whether the body absorbs the food we eat as a nutrient, or rejects it as a pathogen. So people who have chronic gut issues, that inflammatory signalling is off and that barrier function, and by extension, their immunity, is impaired. Food is so much more than just culture, taste or memory. There’s a very clear signalling mechanism that the food follows. 

THE GOOD GUT PROGRAMME WORKS TO HELP CLIENTS UNDERSTAND THEIR GUT MICROBIOME. WHAT TYPE OF INSIGHTS CAN WE EXPECT FROM THE TEST AND REVIEW?

The Good Gut Programme is for anyone who is curious about their overall wellbeing and long-term health, and are ready for personalised, data-informed guidance rather than the generic advice that's out there on social media. Clients typically opt for this test when their body feels imbalanced or if there’s some kind of indicator that the body is showing, such as low energy, poor sleep, or low mood.

The test that we use in the Good Gut Programme is a high-precision microbiome test that’s non-invasive and uses a stool sample. It looks at key markers for digestion, immune function, nutrient absorption and immune response. My favourite marker is the microbiome age, which gives you a singular number that summarises how your gut is doing in relation to your chronological age. For example, if you are 25 years old, but your microbiome age is 35 years old, you’d be a little bit worried. Because youth is a good thing — it means your cells are still regenerating. The microbiome age helps people to benchmark where they are. 

After the test, you can book a 60-minute personalised review with me on your individualised microbiome profile. For example, someone who has trouble sleeping might realise from the test that they need more magnesium in their diet. To produce more melatonin (the hormone that helps you sleep), we’d want to look for foods rich in tryptophan, which is a building block for melatonin. I would then provide tailored recommendations and lifestyle strategies on how to better sustain and improve gut health. 

WHAT ARE THREE AREAS OF NUTRITION THAT YOU’D WANT TO SEE PEOPLE FOCUS ON THIS YEAR?

Firstly, I would love to see people focus on gut health and microbiome diversity. That means fibre-rich, plant-forward foods. Most people know that we’re supposed to eat our veggies, but most people don't choose it. I think that's where the Good Gut Programme helps to make that decision marking easier, because people have access to their own personalised, data-driven information. 

I’d love to see a greater focus on anti-inflammatory foods — but that’s also with the understanding that every body is different. What might cause a flare-up in one person might be okay for another. The microbiome is unique to us, like a fingerprint. Having that data is very important so that you can be very precise in what is an anti-inflammatory food on a personal level. 

Lastly, I’d like for people to be mindful about the psychosomatic aspect of nutrition. Paying attention to what we eat, how we eat — are we eating when we’re stressed, or late at night? All of that affects our gut health. People will feel more energised and sharper, and become more adaptable to the fast-paced life we lead in Singapore.  

Experience the Good Gut Programme exclusively at COMO Shambhala Singapore, the brand’s urban wellness flagship.

Share the Story

Related Tags

Related Articles