Do you know Gillian McKeith? She's a holistic nutritionist and host of BBC's "You are What You Eat." Hit the click above to watch an episode.
She is harsh. She is mean. She is the Hitler of healthy!
My sister Moira told me about her. In one episode she hollered at one of her clients: "You eat like a BIG FAT SLOB MAAAN!" We've been obsessed with her ever since.
A few weeks ago, I grabbed up her "Food Bible" from my local library. Inside, I found a guide on how to use food to cure illness. I bet you can guess the first illness I looked up!!!
Here's what Gillian says about IBS.
"Many people say it is caused by stress. Certainly, stress can cause gastrointestinal spasms, but the main cause is what I call the "body plumbing back up." Your digestive system is shot and your intestines do not work properly... You end up quite depleted nutritionally, as this condition interferes with the absorption of nutrients" (315-316).
None of the books I've read explain IBS as something that can leave you malnourished. I love that Gillian does. This explains why I feel so tired, weak, and dizzy all the time, despite my insanely healthy diet.
Here's what she suggests IBSsers eat and drink:
Veggie juice to boost nutrition
Whole grains
Veggies
Legumes
Sprouted seeds
Dried figs
Flax seeds
Artichoke soup
Probiotics
Digestive enzymes
Ginger and Tumeric
Gentian and Slippery Elm
Peppermint, Fennel, Pau d'Arco and Chamomile tea
Foods rich in vitamin B and magnesium
Here's what she suggest IBSsers NOT eat and drink:
Processed foods (duh)
Wheat, dairy, margarine (duh)
Red meat (duh)
Sugar (duh)
Citrus, tomatoes, spicy peppers (duh)
Whatever foods you can't tolerate (duh)
There's lots here that I've never heard of before. There's also lots here that makes no sense.
I mean, C'MON. Look at me. I've been a vegan for over three years. I've been gluten-free for two. And I'm STILL SICK.
WTF, Gillian?
Two changes are gonna be made.
First - I'm starting a food diary. A REAL food diary. Twitter obviously doesn't cut it.Second - I'm writing Gillian a letter. I'm going to ask her for help.
It's silly. But I'm doing it anyway. Part of me dreams that she can - and will - help me.
In the search for perfect health, we all have our gurus who we go to for help. We live by their regime. We try to do everything right. We want their cures to work.
Sometimes I wonder if we would do better just listening to ourselves instead.
Who is your healthy guru? Are healthy gurus a good idea? Do they inspire healing? Or do they just make eating more complicated?
Posts
17 comments:
Tell Gillian you have lots of readers waiting to hear what she says. :) As for gurus, I think they can be kind of confusing. What works for one person doesn't work for everyone else. Case in point: After reading lots of raw food blogs, I started eating salads every day. It was around that time that I started getting headaches. Part of the reason, I think (although definitely not all since they haven't gone away) was that all that raw food was way too hard for my stomach to digest. Now I have my raw veggies in my smoothies, and for now, am cooking the rest in soups. I definitely feel better that way.
I will never forget when I first saw her show. I was instantly hooked and have had a secret pipe dream to be her, in male form, ever since!
That lady is CRAZY. I love when she makes the people on her show poop in a bowl for her to inspect. Seriously, Crazy.
Andrew Weil's Eating Well for Optimal Health is a book I really dig.
Ha-poop in a bowl! She's my kinda crazy! (Did I just say that out loud?)
Being gluten, lactose, casein, and egg intolerant, I'm not left with much choice, BUT to stick with fruits, veggies, gf grains, rice, beans, and legumes.
So, I look to those that can help me utilize my remaining choices in various and creative ways.
Foodie blogs (yours included) are very inspiring and helpful :)
you hit the nail on the head when you said we'd do better listening to ourselves. it's important to educate yourself, but at the end of the day, you gotta do what works best for you, ya know? no one knows yourself better than you!
i have people i call my food mentors bc they taught me so much about nutrition and eating vegan/ raw, but at the end of the day, i eat how my body wants me to. i pay attention to how i feel after meals and take mental notes (should write it down though - a food diary is a great idea!).
i treat my interstitial cystitis symptoms on my own and have figured out what causes the flare ups (bread, dried cranberries, coffee...) it took a while for me to pinpoint the culprits, but now that i know, the symptoms are gone. it's just hard bc i loooove bread, so i enjoy in moderation, and make sure i eat lots of other good things throughout the day.
awesome idea to write to gillian. she's hilarious! i think i'd be a little scared though. she'd call me out on my french fry addiction!
I've never heard of Gillian McKeith but I'm going to check out her show.
I'm glad that you're writing McKeith. You never know...
Hope some of her advice works for you.
We have here book, You are what you eat. Never hear of this one. Thanks for sharing.
Pure2raw twins
We know her very well here in the UK! She's infamous for her poop investigations. Recently though, lots of dietitians and doctors have been doing their best to discredit what she says, probably because she makes so much money (and they're a little jealous). It is true that her qualifications are rather lacking (in the UK you can called yourself a nutritionist with basically no training) but most of what she does say is based on basic common sense eating, a fresh, minimally processed, nutritionally dense plant-based diet. That's basically what I try to do, although I'm wary of McKeith's pushing of (expensive) 'superfoods' (she has her own range in the UK), a very varied diet, avoiding what upsets you, is all the advice you need. Definitely the increase in exercise recently is making my digestion better, e.g. coping much better with nuts and root veggies. It's so nice not having to think so much about what to eat!
My healing guru is ME!!! Of course I read everyone else's advice and I used to turn to everyone BUT myself for healing advice but I've finally learned to listen to my body. The best thing I've done is learn the science of food and the science of digestion. It made everything else make sense. Now I know that those cramps I'm having aren't necessarily from the dinner I just ate 20 minutes ago, it could be the lunch I ate yesterday.
I'm glad you're going to keep a food diary, I hope you figure it out soon!!! I've never heard of this lady, now I'm going to look her up!
Haha..I am totally drawn to that show because she is so honest about everything...even peoples poo! The sad thing about IBS is that it is not a one size fits all scenrio. What works for one person does NOT work for another. Since my husband was diagnosed with celiac and I cut back on wheat...I feel so much better! I eat a lot of beans (with no gas) and a lot of raw foods! No soy and no dairy. I won't deny that there are some bad days even on that diet...that is the beauty of IBS...there is no rhyme or reason. Can't wait to see if you get any enlightening information!!!
I know everyone prob gives you advice...so I'll just hop on that annoying bandwagon and chime in, unsolicited.
Ok if I were you I would cut out all meat, dairy, gluten, soy, and what are you left with? My life!
Whole plants. Fruits, vegs, a few seeds/nuts, maybe edamame (i realize it's soy), maybe protein powder (not much, if any!), grains such as quinoa or rice in very small amts. Do this for a month. I can guarantee you, you will feel better. I will bet my house on it.
In addition to doing this, add probiotics. I like this one i discuss and have coupon info
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2010/03/easter-bunnies-probiotics-brownie.html
i think all other supplements "can" help but shy of spending a small fortune, really, just clean up your diet to the enth degree.
I wouldnt say I had ibs per se, but extreme food intolerances left me with symptoms that many would say were ibs. I have healed myself. Not saying life is gonna be all rosy, but try my plan. For a month. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
exiting down from know it all status now *
and please feel free to disregard and think i am full of crap. I will still love your sweet comments and support you always show me :)
xo
xoxo
GREAT post! The tips that Gillian gives, although yes, we all know them, are good. But I definitely think you should write to her!
I too suffer from bloating and well.. farts (my boyfriend is not too fond of this one) after I eat pretty much anything- except liquid foods- juices, green smoothies, etc. So I'm still looking for balance with everything. Cutting out meats, dairy, gluten, processed (ew) foods helps tremendously but I still want it to help altogether!
One thing I have found that really really helps with a lot of my problems is veggie juicing. It has been a life-changer for me...
:)
Good luck!
Thanks for the support, everyone!
Heather - I keep trying to comment on your blog and/or email you, and I can't figure it out! Just so you know, I've been reading! :)
Vegan Dukka - You are so right about working out. Do it early and it changes the whole day! Energy and digestion-wise! Love it. Thanks so much for telling me about your success with it.
Averie and Sareena - You guys are so right about cutting soy. Last week, I thought I could handle it and let it back in. I ended up SO sick. Once I stopped eating it for a day, I got miraculously better. Just threw all of the tofu in the trash. Thanks for that suggestion!
The whole 30 day whole food challenge really has me thinking that eating whole foods is the best way to go. I'm looking forward to it! Although, it will be hard to not eat any Amy's products (or chocolate) for a whole month! :)
I have to admit that I had so many gurus but after a while I feel like I am back to square one, no matter what I try. So I try not to believe in anyone too much anymore.
That being said, I am having good luck with the Digestive Advantage pills I mentioned to you before. Knock on wood. I hope things stay good!
I'm really interested to see what Gillian writes back!
Huh....well Gillian must be wrong. I have IBS and the only nutrient that I tested low for when I had blood work to see is I was malnourished was Vitamin D. I live in Seattle so that is pretty common.
Then Again I used to have serious issues with IBS when I ate whole grain pasta...and since I have gone off of grains (for the most part) my IBS tends to show up mostly when I am very stressed.
I still have gas and bloating issues, but generally I can link those to cruciferous veggies, beans, you know...the usual suspects for "gas", which she doesn't focus on. I can eat citurs with no problem (assuming I don't eat too much). I adore spicy food and spicy food has never caused any intestinal problems for me. The ONLY time I have experienced "double burn" in fact was probably due to the rice, and not the peppers. Anyway...I don't think Gillian has the answers, I was 300 lbs and shame didn't get me to lose a single pound. Plus, I fart JUST as much (if not more)now (150 lbs lighter) than i did at 300 lbs. And I do that because I am eating HEALTHY foods like BROCCOLI. Ha! You can see I am not much of a fan ;-)
If there was any doubt left in my mind that we are separated at birth, than this post put it to rest. I have seen every episode of You Are What You Eat and I have some of Gillian's books too. I don't know anyone else who even know or cares who Gillian is. But I was obsessed with her! Watching her TV show put me on the right path to being grossed out by any processed food. I love her!
Post a Comment