Symptoms of IBS can vary from person to person and can be tough to diagnose if you aren't familiar with it. Because IBS is mostly related to food intolerances and stress, doctors often misdiagnose it, call it a stomach bug and prescribe medications to alleviate the symptoms, but not the cause. Isn't that usually the way with doctors though? Most of them believe in curing the symptoms rather than actually getting to the root of the problem and fixing that. Medicine is a big business these days and doctors are booking appointments just 15mins apart to try and increase their intake of patients AND their intake of money. Very few of them charge medical aid rates anymore and even fewer will sit and get a comprehensive history of your problems, to try and work out the reason for them. Food intolerances are not even considered because food is not seen as a cure or a cause for anything.
My domestic is actually the reason I decided to post on this. I am convinced that she has IBS. She is permanently afflicted with severe stomach pains, diarrhea and constipation. She's not shy to talk about it either;)
This morning I walked into the bedroom to find her doubled over in pain on the floor. She asked me for painkillers and, of course, I had none! I don't take them so I don't even buy them. The best I could do was give her a beanbag, warmed in the microwave, to help soothe the pain, and I told her to lie down until it passed. It eventually does. But it's hell while it's happening. I'm so familiar with those pains. It's like someone has stuck a knife in your intestines, then gripped both knife and intestines, and squeezed and twisted. I remember times, when I was younger, running, screaming from one room to the next and crouching on the floor, to try and escape the pain. Nothing ever really worked but waiting it out.
The root of the pain is a spastic colon (which I think is a terrible name, personally! I just hate the word spastic) and this means that the muscles in your colon are contracting and twisting out of control. The cause of it is still not entirely known but some researchers believe it is caused by changes in the nerve structure while others believe it's caused by changes in the central nervous system. Because women suffer more from IBS than men do, others believe it may be hormonal changes causing it. Whatever causes it, I DO know what triggers it, for me, and for most people.
The two main triggers are food and stress. When I was told, by a homeopath, that I had IBS, he advised me to begin eliminating certain foods from my diet, and then gradually reintroduce them, to work out which ones were aggravating my IBS. The main culprits, for most people, are wheat and gluten, dairy and sugar, but I'd also noticed that red meat was a trigger food for me. Whenever I ate it, within minutes I would be running for the bathroom. So I started with wheat, gluten, red meat and dairy. Sugar is tough to cut out and I was VERY new to the whole food journey so I didn't even know how to start that. Sugar is in EVERYTHING.
As it turns out, so is wheat, gluten and dairy! I cut out the main things like bread, pasta, milk and cream and then all the red meat too and I felt an IMMEDIATE improvement. It wasn't easy. These days you can buy so many things that are grain-free and dairy free, and restaurants cater to every kind of eater, so there is always chicken and fish available. 20 years ago, it was impossible to find anything gluten-free, never mind grain-free and most restaurants had very little chicken and fish options. It's amazing how much has changed in that time and I'm extremely thankful for that!
Something that was less easy to cut out of my life, was stress. I am a naturally highly strung person. Things get to me far more than they do to most people. I'm a sensitive soul, what can I say;) My body doesn't handle it very well and the stress affects my digestive system, directly. I can be eating all the right foods. But the moment something happens that gets my adrenalin up, the pain hits. It's crazy, and frustrating.
I've tried yoga but, honestly, it didn't help in the long term, only in that moment that I was doing it. Even holidays don't really do it unless it's the kind of holiday where I don't have to prepare, and pack food for a week or so. Preferably I need a holiday where all I need to pack is my costume and the rest is taken care of. I'm a perfectionist which means, whatever I do, it has to be done PERFECTLY, or not at all. I create my own stress, I know. It's a constant battle to try and remind myself that no-one can be perfect. Lord knows, I am fully aware of my shortcomings! But that doesn't stop me from always trying to do things perfectly. I push myself hard, putting my body through huge stress, and, when I fail, which you inevitably do, my body goes through huge stress again. The result? Bedridden with stomach problems and MORE stress because I am annoyed with myself for getting into this position! Can anyone say, "vicious cycle;)"
So! I can't help you out with the stress, clearly;) But, for most people, it's a food thing and that CAN be controlled quite easily these days. If your life is a rollercoaster of diarrhea, constipation, intense pains in your colon, bloatedness, heartburn, indigestion and acid reflux, there is a very good chance that you have IBS.
In the last 2 years I can honestly say that my IBS is pretty much gone. So what changed for me? I had a COMPLETE overhaul of my diet and lifestyle. I went organic, free-range and chemical-free. Over the years I have cut out several things, and they helped for a time, but my IBS symptoms would eventually come back. Why? Because, as I said, wheat, gluten and sugar are in pretty much everything that is processed. Until I understood that that stuff wasn't actually food, and cut out EVERYTHING that wasn't real food, my body would continue to get a build up of all the toxins that it didn't know how to handle, and my symptoms would return.
When I met GLM, I was PERMANENTLY on de-activated charcoal. In case you don't know what that is, it's something often given to people who overdose, or eat something they shouldn't have, like poison. It's really good at trapping chemicals and preventing their absorption. It does wonders for someone with IBS who is trying to avoid chemicals and foods that cause problems when they are absorbed. Can you imagine the downside of it? I was eating food that I wasn't supposed to, and then I'd just take a charcoal capsule, and, as a result, my body wasn't getting ANY nutrients at all. My immune system suffered and I got sick, often.
It took me about a year to realise how stupid I was being and I began to research in earnest to figure out the next step. Hence the real food, organic, chemical-free lifestyle we now live. GLM ended up on it by default but, the more I've learnt, the more I see how much it will benefit her as well, to keep her life chemical-free. Why only keep myself healthy and not my wife, whom I adore and plan to spend the rest of my life with?! She has always suffered from an under-active thyroid and that is a direct result of chemicals and GMO's in her diet. She's been fixing it through a homeopath, and diet, and her thyroid is pretty much corrected I'm happy to announce:)
More recently, since January in fact, GLM has started banting. So, naturally, I joined her because cooking is just so much easier if we both eat the same. Cutting out all grains, starches and sugar has done WONDERS for my IBS. I can't even begin to describe it. I feel like a new person! I think I have finally found the lifestyle that suits us both perfectly. She is losing weight and I am feeling normal again!
Now, the ONLY time I suffer with my IBS, is if I veer off the path a bit. It happens. Sometimes we go to someone for dinner and they've unknowingly cooked with garlic or onion. And then, once or twice a year we have a big night. GLM's birthday was one occasion. Shooters were flowing, (hate those things!!) and I suffered for a week afterwards trying to get my colon back in order. I do these things knowing it will make me suffer, but I take every step to fix things as soon as possible afterwards. Sometimes you have to let go and have some fun;) Given that it happens about twice a year, and that I live a clean life 100% of the time aside from that, it doesn't take me long to get back on track, and I CAN do it knowing it's not a regular thing.
These days I often forget that I have IBS. I've even reintroduced some other meats into my diet like lamb and pork. I've realised, as long as meat comes from animals that are free-range, pasture-fed and healthy, it doesn't affect me. I have a bit of a mental block with beef because it's made me very ill at times. At this stage we only eat other meats at home because there are very few restaurants that offer free-range, organic food and most people don't cook with it. If the meat contains chemicals, and if the animals are fed with grains, it hits me hard, so I don't do it. At those time I'll stick with fish and chicken.
If you suffer from any of the symptoms I listed earlier, those being diarrhea, constipation, intense pains in your colon, bloatedness, heartburn, indigestion and acid reflux, and you want to know how to get rid of them, I CAN tell you that you won't get rid of them through medication. Painkillers will just kill the pain, the cause will remain. You've heard me describe what the pain did to me. It had me screaming. And yet I don't TOUCH a painkiller anymore because I don't need it. Gaviscon will stop heartburn and indigestion, but it won't prevent it from coming back. So if you want to know how I do it, I'll tell you, but you HAVE to be strict with yourself.
- Cut out ALL processed foods. NO exceptions.
- Cut out ALL sugar except things like stevia and raw honey. Don't use xylitol. It totally aggravates IBS.
- Cut out ALL wheat and gluten, preferably all grains. (A lot of grains contain gluten. Check this list to find out which ones are gluten free if you must eat grains. Make sure they are properly soaked before eating them.)
- Cut out ALL conventional foods and stick ONLY to free-range meat and organic fruit and veggies.
- Cut out cow's dairy (most people with IBS can't digest lactose, which is abundant in cow's dairy) I drink goat's milk which doesn't affect me at all.
- Some things that aggravate IBS symptoms are onions, garlic, peppers, seeds and nuts that aren't soaked properly, and coffee. Swap normal potatoes for sweet potatoes.
- Stop taking antibiotics and conventional medication
- ONLY organic and free range food
- Bone broth:
- Fermented foods
- Raw food with every meal. However, avoid raw carrots and raw spinach and other leaf veggies. Always steam those slightly to aid digestion.
- Lots of organic veggies and limited fruit.
- Good, saturated fats from free-range meat and dairy
- If you enjoy dairy, acquire a taste for goat's dairy. It's easy to find at woolworths and at markets these days. It's got practically no lactose and doesn't affect me at all. If you can find it, buy raw milk. It is so good for you and raw cow's milk doesn't aggravate my IBS at all.
That's how you will cure your IBS. I've actually found it so easy. I have replaced all gluten filled flours with things like coconut flour and almond flour so I still get to eat desserts and breads, but they are healthy and don't affect my IBS at all. I can honestly say that sacrificing certain foods has been so worth it. I feel normal again simply because I can go to a dinner with friends and not end up being Miss Anti-Social when my stomach gives me grief. It's such a novelty that I can't complain about being deprived of anything. I eat delicious, healthy food and I eat WELL.
Let me know how it goes!
No comments:
Post a Comment