Hey bestie! I’m Ruthie—a foodie, runner, traveler and, at this point, professional patient 💁🏻‍♀️.

My gut health journey (unfortunately) started long before it was trending on TikTok. At 6 years old, I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune liver condition. Thankfully, I quickly went into remission. But, my gut? She wanted her moment too. Enter: Celiac Disease and IBS, my lifelong (uninvited) plus-ones.

Over the past several years, I’ve been on a medical mystery tour and done all the things: stool tests, endoscopies, elimination diets, food diaries, breath tests, you name it. Yet, I am still stuck guessing what is triggering my symptoms.

That’s why I am creating Belly Bestie—the app I’ve always wanted. It makes tracking food and lifestyle factors (yes, stress counts too) quick and painless with voice memos and photos.

Then, AI does the hard part— your “Bestie” spots patterns consistently contributing to your symptoms. Because the limit does not exist (iykyk) when tracking yourself. Plus, we’ve got a community of besties who get it—because feeling alone in your gut struggles is isolating, and it shouldn’t have to be.

Turning years of frustrating, messy, why-is-this-happening moments into something that helps others (& myself) gives me so much excitement. I hope Belly Bestie makes your gut health journey easier, smarter, less lonely and a little more fun ✨.