SALUD!

Food

 

I remember the moment that my bought with IBS began. I was 9 months pregnant, had 2 small children and had just completed my last final exam in graduate school. I walked out of class, exhausted and overwhelmed and suddenly felt a sharp pain in my abdomen followed by diarrhea. I thought that it was pregnancy related, but soon after delivery the following month, the diarrhea continued intermittent with constipation. I looked it up and found that it was likely IBS, followed by a consult with a GI Dr. who confirmed my self-diagnosis.

 

I declined any medicine and decided against the meat and potatoes diet that was recommended and decided to clean up my diet the way that I knew to do (being raised by a vegetarian who healed herself of fibroids and later prevented cancer treatment with a strict vegetarian diet) I became a vegetarian and within a few months all of my symptoms resolved. I later met a woman who also became a vegetarian after a diagnosis of the more sever bowel disease IBD/ ulcerative colitis and was cured through a strict vegetarian diet as well.

 

A balanced vegetarian diet includes not only fruits and veggies but sufficient protiens as well in the form of foods such as legumes and dairy.

 

Avoiding triggers

 

For me coffee can cause me to have a nervous stomach and I have to have it in moderation or my symptoms will reappear.  For others it may be spicy foods or acidic foods.  If you think that a specific food may be negatively impacting you but you are not sure, try keeping a food journal and doing an elimination diet to help you narrow down the causes.

 

Stress Management

 

Stress management is a key component to treating IBS. Stress is unavoidable but dealing with it in a healthy way is crucial. Sometimes we may need to simply cut back on commitments and activities, but when that is possible, other alternatives are relaxation techniques, etc.

 

Relaxation

Guided imagery

Massage

Yoga

Stretching

 

Herbs and Oils

Lavender

Chamomile