The Right Order Digestive Reset
Calm digestion first, observe for 30 days, then decide what to test
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~months to results
- Steps
- 6
- Confidence
- 97%
The Right Order delays broad testing until the digestive environment is calmer and therefore easier to interpret. Begin by recording symptoms and supporting basic digestive function. For 30 days, reduce obvious likely irritants such as late-night eating or excess alcohol while observing what improves. Only then decide whether testing is needed for unresolved questions. The mechanism is sequencing: an inflamed, irritated system may report that many currently consumed foods are bothersome, creating an expensive but low-value list rather than identifying a root cause. A short reset removes noise, changes provide diagnostic information, and later testing becomes more targeted. Koff also recommends a quarterly digestive check-in, with more frequent review after major events such as surgery, an accident, or giving birth.
Origin
Ashley Koff calls this sequence the right order after seeing distressed clients receive broad sensitivity results that simply mirrored foods eaten while their gut was irritated.
Core principles
- 01An irritated system can react broadly
- 02Testing order affects what the result means
- 03Remove obvious irritants before buying precision
- 04Body signals deserve investigation, not concealment
How to run it
- 1
Capture signals
Record bloating, bowel patterns, odor changes, skin changes, discomfort, and other relevant signals before changing the routine.
Pro tip Use concrete observations rather than labels such as bad gut.
Watch out Red-flag or severe symptoms need prompt medical assessment.
- 2
Remove obvious irritants
Temporarily reduce broadly plausible stressors such as late-night eating or extra alcohol. Do not begin with a sweeping permanent food ban.
Pro tip Keep the reset small enough to sustain for 30 days.
Watch out Do not use this step to dismiss a known or suspected true allergy.
- 3
Support digestion
Add simple, appropriate practices that help digestive function while keeping other variables reasonably stable.
Pro tip Choose supports based on the person's context rather than an online stack.
Watch out Throwing many supplements at the reset makes the useful variable impossible to identify.
- 4
Observe for 30 days
Run the reset for a month and compare symptoms with the recorded baseline.
Pro tip Note what improves, stays unchanged, or worsens each week.
Watch out Do not declare a cause from one good or bad day.
- 5
Test unresolved questions
After the reset, decide whether targeted testing would answer a specific remaining question.
Pro tip Ask how the result would change the next action before paying.
Watch out Testing without an actionable question recreates the original problem.
- 6
Schedule check-ins
Review digestive status at least quarterly and sooner after major life or health events.
Pro tip Reuse the same symptom questions for comparison.
Watch out Waiting for severe deterioration loses early signals.
In the wild
A person with an irritated gut tests as reactive to kale, almonds, and apple cider vinegar—the ingredients in a meal they often eat. Rather than permanently banning all three from one test, they calm the digestive system, remove obvious irritants for 30 days, reassess symptoms, and test only if a specific uncertainty remains.
→ The later decision is based on a less noisy digestive baseline.
Common mistakes
Testing the irritated state first
The output may primarily reflect foods currently contacting an inflamed system.
Covering body signals
Deodorant, mouthwash, or indiscriminate supplements can hide changes that deserve investigation.
Changing everything together
A large stack of removals and additions makes it difficult to learn what helped.
Is it for you?
Best for
People with non-acute digestive irritation who are considering broad commercial gut or sensitivity tests.
Not ideal for
Suspected true allergies, severe symptoms, bleeding, acute illness, or cases requiring prompt medical diagnosis.
From the transcript
“there's something called the right order so to me the right order is tune up your digestive system”
“remove some of the things that we just know to be probably you know not so great for our digestive system like late night eating…”
“then we could go ahead and decide to do testing”
From the episode
Episode 303: Ashley Koff: Personalized Nutrition Expert on Diet, Nutrition, and Supplements
Ashley Koff