I've been posting for three and a half years. In that time, I've stood on this blog like a mountain. I've raised up my hands and declared many saviors of IBS.
Each time, I cry: "I'm cured!"
I'm a little over-the-top.
The truth is, the same tricks don't work for everybody. The same tricks don't work every day either.
Every morning, I feel different. Every night, there's a new concoction of sludge mixing in my tummy. It's zapped by whatever is going on in my head and heart. Sometimes, my intestines decide to take the day off. And from there... all I can do is try to keep myself from feeling bloated, dizzy and farty.
What do I mean by "cure"? First, I don't mean a tonic. Tonics are daily routines that keep IBS at bay. That's another post.
Cures are angels. On a day when I'm incredibly bloated, not digesting anything, feeling exhausted and stinky, cures hear my desperation and return my body to normalcy. Cures stop IBS in its tracks.
Let's look at these so-called "cures." Let's re-evaluate them. Have they lasted the test of time?
Going Vegan
I love BIG slices of garlic on top of a swiss chard omelet!!!
On my thirtieth birthday, I made a vegan no-refined sugar cake. It made me horribly IBSsy for days. I learned - going vegan will not save me from IBS.
Recently I brought eggs back into my diet. My boyfriend's niece has her own chickens, and we like to support her. Now, I eat omelets a couple times a week. And guess what! No problems.
I love BIG slices of garlic on top of a swiss chard omelet!!!Going Gluten Free
Eating gluten free IS NOT about eating whatever I want that's gluten free. Gluten free cookies are still cookies. Gluten free pizza is still pizza.
Processed food is void of nutrients and fiber. While I find myself able to eat it on occasion, my body works best when given mostly whole foods - grains, vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, and seeds. If I do want to sneak and eat something "bad," I can once in a while. But on a regular basis? I have to take the time to cook and prepare something from scratch. And it's worth it!
White Rice
White Rice
White rice is a quick fix. It is very easy to digest and instantly calms down my guts. BUT - white rice lacks fiber. So while it eases IBS in the moment, it won't help clean the pipes of whatever is causing the farts.
Peppermint
Psyllium
Larabars
It helps, but not enough. I prefer to make a tea with basil, thyme, and parsley. It's an acquired taste. Imagine nomming on a branch of Christmas tree. Basil and thyme tea is slightly minty, with a bitter barky edge to it. Personally? I love it. It quells my farts almost instantaneously.
Psyllium
Oh lord... I still feel bad about this one. I got emails afterwards. Many of my pals found psyllium very difficult to take orally. You know what? I AGREE.
For me, psyllium is most effective when the husks are mixed in A LOT of water. Usually, I take two tablespoons in 32 ounces. Unfortunately, this is also the most uncomfortable way to take psyllium. It's like trying to swallow pencil shavings in water. Yeah, good luck with that!
While psyllium DOES work, I don't enjoy taking it. I save it for when I'm three days into a bout of IBS, with no light at the end of the tunnel and DESPERATE to feel better. Psyllium helps clean me out, but without the explosiveness of a laxative. It just makes shit happen.
Larabars
Larabars, or any homemade date bar, has become my number one go-to IBS cure. I can't tell you why it works. But it just does. Every single time. All of the above cures have been known to fail on random occassions. Larabars? Never. Never. Ever. No matter how bad I feel, and for how long, one Larabar sends instant calm into my guts.
As I've discussed before, I'm not a huge fan of the de-rawing, de-veganizing of Larabars. They were taken off the shelf during the salmonella peanut butter scare of. 09. This is why it's a good idea to make your own!!!
Homemade Date Bars
Ingredients
15 Pitted Dates
1/4-1/2 cup soaked nuts of choice
Pinch of salt
Instructions
Throw everything into food processor.
Process until smooth.
Press into tupperware.
Stick in fridge for two hours.
Cut into desired shapes.
Nom happily.
Nom happily.
Toots
What foods calm your stomach?
What foods calm your stomach?
Do you think there's one diet that can cure IBS?
... Or are our crappy tummies all different?
Posts
9 comments:
I'm an IBS-er, too. I do think that going vegan helped a lot, but I still have a few IBS-heavy days here and there, usually surrounding my period, so it may actually be more related to my uterus than my stomach, I don't know...
Thanks for all the information, especially the homemade LaraBar recipe. Those things are pricey!
This is definitely the problem with IBS. No one thing works for all of us. I have gotten so much better by cutting out heavy fats, not eating apple skins (they kill me and then I kill the rest of my family with my gas after eating them, not eating meat and eating way less processed foods. Life is so much more tolerable!
My IBS is gone now, thankfully. When I have a sugar or nut containing dessert as a once in a blue moon treat and feel a bit bloated, my helper food is a really gelatinous bone broth. Magic. I still suffer from some constipation, but a dose of magnesium citrate at night helps big time. I also find sweet potatoes move thing along without causing gas. I must try that herb tea- it sounds good farts or not!
Gluten Free Cookies are still cookies; Gluten Free pizza is still pizza: Amen Sister!! I'm going to quote you on that in an upcoming blog post if it's okay with you!
Ooh - tell me how you make your tea. I do love ginger tea for similar reasons. But when I'm in bad shape, the pre-packaged stuff isn't enough. I have to slice fresh stuff and steep it in hot water.
Psyllium, I've noticed, does help. I add it to my smoothies. I think maybe now that I've used a small amount for a while, it might be time to step it up a bit to see if it helps.
Peppermint tea defo works for me, and a vegan, gluten-free diet helps too. Although I'm constantly experimenting to get the balance even within veganism. Interesting that larabars helps, I hadn't thought of them. Roasted starchy veg are quiting calming for me too. x
hey anney-my IBS calmer is the never fail Cream of Rice cereal. I guess it's basically just rice ground up into miniscule grains. But, when I'm IBSing, cooking it up with some cinnamon and peanut butter is the ONLY thing that does the trick. :)
Peppermint tea...
Oatmeal cooked in almond milk, homemade sugar free applesauce, a bit of raisins and homemade raw walnut butter... like a hug and kiss from a mommy to my intestines...
Larabars are DEATH to me - they ferment like craziness in my gut. But I love them... despite the pain and flkatulence they cause.
Sugar is bad for me.... meat is hard to process for me, but I crave it during my period.
FG,
I was wondering what do you think about what the researchers in this study were producing?
http://www.dailyrx.com/news-article/yummy-yogurt-silences-rumbly-your-tummy-12080.html
They developed a genetically altered probiotic derived from yogurts and cheese and used it to eliminate colon inflammation.
Would you feel comfortable with something like this at market knowing its origins and that it is genetically modified?
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