Helping IBS patients address the common brain-gut patterns driving symptoms
— including GI-specific anxiety, stress, emotions, and the fear-avoidance cycle.
Digestible is a structured brain-gut therapy program to help your IBS patients reduce symptoms and get back to living. Developed by clinical experts in Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction.
The IBS Fear-Avoidance Cycle
Food avoidance and GI-specific anxiety are among the strongest maintaining factors in IBS symptom severity. It's estimated that over 90% of IBS patients restrict their diet — yet increased restriction is associated with worse outcomes, not better.¹,² The more foods a patient eliminates, the more sensitized the brain-gut response can become, reinforcing the very cycle it was meant to break.
GI-specific anxiety compounds this directly: higher anxiety correlates with more foods restricted, more situational avoidance, and worse quality of life.³,⁴ This fear-avoidance cycle becomes self-reinforcing in a way that dietary and medical management alone rarely resolves.⁵,⁶
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Hayes P, Corish C, O'Mahony E, Quigley EMM. A dietary survey of patients with irritable bowel syndrome. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2014.
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Melchior C, Algera J, Colomier E, Törnblom H, Simrén M, Störsrud S. Food Avoidance and Restriction in Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Relevance for Symptoms, Quality of Life and Nutrient Intake. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022.
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Tarar ZI, et al. [title]. Ir J Med Sci. 2023.
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Muscatello MRA, et al. [title]. Compr Psychiatry. 2014.
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Ligaarden SC, et al. [title]. Am J Gastroenterol. 2012.
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Labus JS, Bolus R, Chang L, et al. The Visceral Sensitivity Index: development and validation of a gastrointestinal symptom-specific anxiety scale. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2004.
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Digestible gives your patients daily practices to retrain the common brain-gut patterns driving symptoms.
“I believed what Digestible explained about the brain–gut connection and started adding foods back in. Now I know now it’s not the food."
Lily
"Digestible has helped me more than anything else I’ve tried."
Lauren
“Digestible put words to what I was feeling and helped me understand my symptoms and triggers.”
Gary
Integrating evidence-based brain-gut therapies
IBS patients need practical guidance to reduce stress and symptoms, with compassion and understanding. Digestible does just that, with evidence based brain gut therapies:
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GI-CBT
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Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction
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Emotional Awareness & Expression Therapy
Each addresses a different layer of the cycle: beliefs and avoidance, the stress-symptom cycle, and emotional processing.
Digestible is designed to complement your care, with daily lessons, meditations, journaling exercises, and challenges.
Helping your patients enjoy food again
Fear of food is a common and under-recognized issue in the IBS patient experience. Up to 90% of IBS patients avoid foods¹ , but increased restriction is associated with worse symptoms, not better². While elimination diets have their place in IBS management, 1 in 2 IBS patients also screen positive for Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)³, meaning 50% of your IBS patients may be struggling with fear-driven food restriction that goes beyond evidence-based dietary management. We help users challenge that fear in a safe, supportive way.
Digestible is the only IBS app with a structured protocol to address food fear and avoidance. Research shows that when people with IBS expand their diet, symptoms actually improve. In one RCT, 60% of symptom reduction from exposure-based CBT was explained entirely by patients eating more of the foods they'd been avoiding⁴.
Digestible guides users in identifying and addressing fear around food, so they can enjoy eating again, without unnecessary restrictions.
References
¹ IFFGD
² Lenhart et al, Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol, 2022
³ Flack et al., Gastroenterology, 2026
⁴ Biesiekierski et al., Aliment Pharmacol Ther, 2022
Developed with Clinical Experts
"I've treated thousands of patients with IBS and other disorders of gut-brain interaction using exactly the same concepts that are in the Digestible app."
Dr. David Clarke
Board-certified Gastroenterologist,
President of the Association for the Treatment of Neuroplastic Symptoms
Dr. Jennifer Franklin
Clinical psychologist specializing in the treatments of DBGIs
Ingrid Currington
Dietitian specializing in gastrointestinal symptoms and food avoidance
What's Inside
Learn & Discover
Psycho-education on IBS as a Disorder of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI) influenced by stress
Pattern tracking to uncover hidden stress-based triggers
Food Response Retraining
Systematic food challenges in a personalized schedule, led by a registered dietitian
Gather evidence for conditioned food responses
Prime the body to access a "rest and digest" state at mealtimes
Retrain & Regulate
Daily brain-gut regulation exercises, <15 minutes per day
Educational audios, guided meditations, journaling prompts, and mini challenges.
Integrate & Maintain
In-the-moment support for flare ups and emotional challenges
Community support group and real recovery stories
Repeatable practices to reinforce changes
Want to explore the program yourself?
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The only IBS app with a graded food exposure protocol, guided by a registered dietitian
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IBS-specific psychoeducation, grounded in research on IBS as a Disorder of Gut-Brain Interaction (DGBI)
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Active tools for insight and change: expressive journaling, behavioral challenges, and self-reflective exercises
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Targets symptom reduction and elimination, not just coping
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In-the-moment support for symptoms and emotions
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Recovery stories and community support group
More than passive relaxation, active cognitive restructuring & exposure therapy
of IBS patients are open to mind-body treatment, but only 15% are ever referred.
With your help, we can change that.
How to Refer a Patient
Ideal candidates
How to Share
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Confirmed IBS diagnosis, medical workup complete by a physician
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Fear, worry, or frustration about symptoms (GI-specific anxiety)
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Recognizes stress as a potential trigger for their symptoms
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Symptoms started or worsened during a time of increased stress
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Restricting foods from their diet
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Avoiding travel or social situations
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Open to understanding the brain-gut connection
"IBS isn’t caused by damage to your gut. It happens due to a miscommunication between your brain and gut, which means the brain can play a bigger role in your symptoms than you might think. Digestible is a brain-gut therapy app that’s been proven to help reduce IBS symptoms. Use code CARE30 to try it free for 30 days."
Not the right fit
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Active IBD flare requiring medical management
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History of eating disorder without specialist support in place
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Not yet open to exploring the brain-gut connection as a factor in their symptoms
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Actively pursuing further dietary restriction or currently working with a provider on an elimination protocol*
* Digestible's approach is fundamentally oriented toward expanding food freedom, not restriction. Patients who are currently pursuing or strongly committed to elimination-based approaches may find the program's philosophy misaligned with their current treatment goals.
Your Referral Code
CARE30
30 day free trial | $149/yr after
