Even though the low Fodmap diet may have removed most of your IBS symptoms, maybe something is still affecting your digestive system. There are various possibilities but in today's video I want to specifically talk about deadly nightshades and the part they may be playing in your continued issues. Today, I want to talk to you about the deadly nightshade plants, in particular, potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers or you might call them capsicums. These deadly nightshades - we know that there are some plants that are actually really toxic, and could kill us potentially - but these particular vegetables and fruits, we eat them but not everybody should be eating them because they contain glycoalkaloids. This is a natural pesticide for the plant to protect it against animals, and we are animals, so we do have to be careful about our levels that we're eating, and our own particular sensitivity to these glycoalkaloids. If we take potatoes in particular, most of the … [Read more...] about Could Deadly Nightshades be affecting your gut?
fructose malabsorption recipe
Have you swung from diarrhea to constipation on the Low Fodmap Diet?
Even if you have irritable bowel syndrome with diarrhea, once you start on an accurate low Fodmap diet, you may swing over to constipation. If this happens, you will need to re-balance your fibre levels. Watch my video to find out how to do that. Today I want to talk about something that we've touched on before separately: constipation and fiber. More and more I get e-mails from people - and I see it with my clients as well - about their diarrhea turning into constipation once they're on a low FODMAP diet, which takes away all their bloating, their cramping, and their pain, but leaves them swinging to the other side. Now as I've said on that video that you've already seen on constipation, you've got to keep up your water and your exercise. Various different things like that - you can try magnesium citrate as well but you can have a look at that video. But the one thing I want to touch on more today is the fiber issue. Fiber is a real problem for us because too much and it … [Read more...] about Have you swung from diarrhea to constipation on the Low Fodmap Diet?
Tasty Low FODMAP Cottage Pie
Since being diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) in 2013, I have been following a modified low FODMAP diet. This means that even after four years, I still have to eat 80% low FODMAP food in order to stay below my safe threshold and avoid those awful symptoms. Thankfully, cooking low FODMAP food is not an effort anymore - I know what I can tolerate and what food I should avoid. I am the only member of my family suffering from IBS, but for convenience I tend to prepare mostly low FODMAP food for everybody at dinner time and generally nobody complains about the fact that they are missing high FODMAP ingredients in the recipes. One of my most popular dinners is a low FODMAP Cottage Pie. With some easy modifications, I transform this classic British dish into one that is also low Fodmap for me. Originally (pre-IBS), I used to prepare this recipe with garlic, onion, celery, carrots, peas and sweetcorn; now I use garlic and onion infused oils, carrots, a smaller quantity of … [Read more...] about Tasty Low FODMAP Cottage Pie
Juliette’s Story – from crippling pain to baffled excitement
Juliette has given me permission to tell her journey from crippling pain to baffled excitement but her name has been changed for privacy reasons. She wrote the following on her application form for my coaching program: “I have had IBS for years and years. I also have a twisted or loopy gut. I am in constant pain and no doctor has been able to help me. I hate food as it makes me so sick. The only treatment is pain meds and laxatives when bloating gets too bad. Diarrhea is out of control and then it stops and I bloat up and that is when the laxatives enter the picture. Without the pills I would have no life. I spent many years without meds and life was not worth living. Could never plan, travel or make any commitments. I want off these drugs and to be able to live a normal life. Even half the pain would be life-changing. I eat once a day and am underweight. Eating makes me sick so if something is planned, I don’t eat. Such a crazy way to live. I will try anything at this point. My … [Read more...] about Juliette’s Story – from crippling pain to baffled excitement
My IBS Story – with a happy ending
I have over 14,000 subscribers now with around 200,000 page views a month and know that many of you have been with me since the beginning, and I thank you for your loyalty. I have heard many of your stories with IBS through my coaching and complimentary pre-coaching phone calls, but have you heard mine? Maybe yes, maybe no. I recently uncovered a video I made a few years ago and it tells my story from the beginning of my life up to now. You may be interested in listening to it so here it is. … [Read more...] about My IBS Story – with a happy ending
Declutter Your Life to Help Your IBS
Lately I have been thinking about the clutter in our lives and its effect on our irritable bowel symptoms. I am convinced there is a link. Our issues are exacerbated by stress, and clutter causes stress. When I was 18, I taught at a high School in the Fiji Islands on Volunteer Service Abroad (the New Zealand equivalent to the US Peace Corps). I lived in a simple house on the school compound with two other teachers and my bedroom contained a bed, a curtained wardrobe and a desk. At least, I think I had a desk though I remember preparing lessons on the floor. My wardrobe contained five or six dresses, two tops, two pairs of shorts and one skirt – the sum total of my possessions apart from a few toiletries. Our living room had a sofa and a side table while the kitchen had a small table for eating. That was about it. I received a tiny monthly volunteer salary which was enough for very basic food with a little left over for bus fares and limited play money. And yet I wanted for nothing. … [Read more...] about Declutter Your Life to Help Your IBS
