Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

[celtic rose]

Does anyone here suffer from IBS or other similar disorder?

I've suffered from IBS for over 20 years and during that time have tried various remedies. Cutting out food additives has been the most successful, but I still do get attacks, sometimes once a week. At its worst I was in constant pain.

How do other folks cope with this condition and what have you found to be most successful?

[PinkFluffyCloud]

I have a very sensitive stomach these days.
I had thought, recently, that I was oversensitive to Wheat, so have experimented a lot with this. I have now found out it is Broccoli that I can no longer tolerate - I was getting mixed up because I eat a lot of it, but hadn't considered it as a culprit.
I am sad about this because I love Broccoli - the taste, and the way it looks like little green trees!!

Hope you find a way to manage your problem - too much fibre seems to be a factor for some people, doesn't it?

[PinkFluffyCloud]

Oh, btw, I now take the old warning to chew my food properly, and not to drink with a meal, seriously - it has worked wonders!!

[tails4wagging]

Stress can be a factor for IBS.

[gertvegan]

celtic rose, Here's (http://www.drmcdougall.com/science/colitis_m.html) an article from drmcdougall.com. Hope that helps. ;)

NB. Don't read it if you're eating.

[Aurora]

I used to suffer with IBS until I gave up bread and now I don't have so much of a problem as long as I only have it occasionally.

[ridgerunner]

Yes! there is real help for those suffering with irritable bowel syndrome (and many other idiopathic and so-called incurable diseases). First off, I highly recommend reading the book: "Fasting and Eating for Health: A Medical Doctor’s Program for Conquering Disease", by Joel Fuhrman M.D. (http://www.drfuhrman.com/) (1995). In this well researched and thoroughly documented book, he describes the dietary causes of many common chronic illnesses including; (headache, hypoglycemia, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, colitis, psoriasis, lupus, and uterine fibroids). In a nutshell, by removing the causes of disease (excessive low nutrient foods = toxins) and eating a nutrient dense diet of (whole fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and grains) the body is naturally able to heal itself without the use of medications. In the case of some tricky/stubborn diseases (arthritis, migraines, asthma, lupus, etc), a medically supervised water only fast is sometimes required followed by a careful reintroduction of suspect food triggers. Here is an excellent article on his web site covering miscellaneous illnesses including IBS: Nutritional therapy should be the first-line treatment for most diseases (http://www.drfuhrman.com/disease/Other.aspx).

I also highly recommend his more recent book: "Eat to Live". There is an excellent review of this book here over at VegSource.com (http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/fuhrman_eat_review.htm) (pay particular attention to the testimonials at the bottom from the likes of John Robbins, Howard Lyman, T. Colin Campbell, etc.)

Although I have no personal experience with IBS, I am an asthmatic who was cured by following the advice on nutritional excellence from Dr Fuhrman's books. Dr Fuhrman is my hero!

[celtic rose]

Thanks everyone, followed up all the links which confirmed my belief its diet related.
I just need to weed out the trigger foods.

[Phoenix20]

Celtic Rose,

I have IBS, and there is one diet that has made a big impact on my life, you can find out info at www.helpforibs.com . It can be easily tweaked to be vegan; infact, it is what started me out to later become strict vegetarian. ALot of the diet consists or cutting out red meat, dairy, eggs, etc. There are also restrictions on how you eat certain foods and fibers, etc. it is a very good diet, please take a look!
Good luck, that is a shame you have had this for twenty years, I have had IBS for about four years now.

[aubergine]

Following a nasty bout of food poisoning I have suffered with what I guess is IBS... Although I don't want to admit because the same thing has ruled my Dad's life for nearly 30 years.

I found cutting out Meat, white bread, onion, caffiene, eggs and dairy, combined with eating a reasonably high amount of soluble fibre.

My gut is now very calm, but I am still bothered by the panic of going out to a small degree.

[Realfood Mary]

I used to have dreadful ulcerative colitis, and was on medication for it, but going vegan helped. What helped most though was cutting down on sugar and caffiene, having said which I am on my third cup of coffee now...

Someone has posted on our Vegan Buddies Forum, suffering from Chronn's disease. Anyone have any good ideas to help her? If so, drop me a line!

[ConsciousCuisine]

^^ She should avoid nightshades, take MSM and arnica (also apply them topically). Sleep is very important to keep from having a flare-up.

[Realfood Mary]

^^ She should avoid nightshades, take MSM and arnica (also apply them topically). Sleep is very important to keep from having a flare-up.

Sleep! Yes, that too!

I found that substituting potatoes for sweet potatoes in many recipes helped when I was going through bad times. They are a nightshade, right?

[Gliondrach]

Some herbs can help with IBS by soothing the nerves that control the intestinal tract, such as skullcap, valerian and chaomomile. Some people have found that slippery elm is helpful. Others swear by aloe vera, although there are different qualities of aloe vera availabe, and I'm not sure which is best. Flaxseed oil is also beneficial.

The gut actually has what amounts to its own brain. Its nerve cells are very similar to those in the brain. Emotions affect the gut. Type the words enteric brain into a search engine and you can discover all about it. Here are a couple of links to be going on with:

http://www.positivehealth.com/permit/Articles/Regular/butlin42.htm

http://altmedangel.com/gutbrain.htm

Crohn's Disease is a nasty one. It's recommended to have a test to discover if there are any nutritional deficiencies. Again, as in IBS, flaxseed oil and other omega -3s can help, by soothing inflamation and in helping to repair the tissues.

I have some info about Crohn's somewhere. I'll find it and post it here.

[Gliondrach]

In Crohn's Disease sufferers often have a lack of nutrients due to the gut not being able to absorb them efficiently. Good nutrition is important. Sufferers especially need the B-complex vits to ensure that new cells are formed and to help to prevent anaemia. As you all will know, the body renews itself over a certain period. Some parts are renewed in months and others in years. Glucomsamine is necessary in this renewal process. Some of you might have read about its use in cases where people have damaged cartilage - it can help to rebuild the cartilage. It is also needed by, I think, every part of the body, including the skin, bones, eyes, and digestive tract. The cells there are renewed very quickly. Glucosamine supplements could help here. However, Glucosamine sulphate, the most common kind, can in some cases irritate the gut. Glucosamine hydrochloride is easier on the gut. There are vegan forms of the sulphate one but I'm not sure about the hydrochloride one. As with anything, including herbs, one should try a small portion to see if it has any adverse results. If a sufferer can take glucosamine it will help to renew the cells of the gut.

Human growth hormone also helps in the regeneration of cells. High intensity exercise, especially weight training, results in a surge of extra growth hormone being produced. Good sleep is needed to utilise it.

A system called Neuro-Linguistic Programming could help. It has been successfully used in various diseases. I have had practitioner training in it but an advanced practitioner would be more effective. It also needs face-to-face contact, in my opinion, to be most effective. Practitioners should be recognised by the Association of NLP. If anyone is interested in contacting them, let me know.

Green tea and turmeric can protect the gut from developing tumours. As has been mentioned by others, avoid spicy food, and sugar. And milk.

Because the mind and body are one system, and the gut has its own brain, relaxation techniques such as meditation can help. I have found that self-healing imagery can help many people who have physical or emotional symptoms. Cancer patients, too, can get beneficial results.

It is often the case that if someone is relaxed and concentrates their attention on a particular body part, there is an increased flow of ***** to that part. Something similar is done in Autogenic Training. People can do self-healing imagery work by imagining their problem in some form so that they can then imagine a process that will heal or alleviate the problem. Take clogged arteries for example: Someone with this condition could imagine their arteries as the chimney system in some large house. Then they could imagine a chimney sweep getting to work cleaning out the clogged chimneys. Someone with a leg ulcer that won't heal could imagine it as a hole in the road that a super-efficient team of repair men are sent to work on. They carefully repair the hole and make it better than it was. This may seem like mumbo-jumbo but, at the very least, it helps to put the person into a state in which natural healing can take place - the type that happens when we sleep. But, more than this, the personal involvement in your own healing can pay dividends. You will be communicating with some deep level of your mind and directing it to marshall your natural healing energies into working properly. Much of the healing that takes place in hypnosis works in this way. Try it. If anyone wants help with this, let me know. You get best results by relaxing and keeping an open mind. If you have a little voice telling you that it is rubbish, it will be difficult to even start. Concentrating on your breathing is a good way to become relaxed. Again, if anyone needs help with this, let me know.

It is better if each person thinks of their own imagery - so that their subconcious minds are more in tune with it.

According to the Mayo Clinic, many people with Crohn's Disease are low in certain nutriets. These are vits A, many Bs, and E. And selenium.

[Gliondrach]

I don't know what happened with my post. Where there are five asterisks ***** it should be the word '*****'. I tried editing it but still the asterisks appeared.

[Gliondrach]

It's happened again! That word should be b l o o d . If this doesn't work, the word I want to type is that red fluid that flows in our veins and arteries.

[Realfood Mary]

I imagine that Korn has the site set so that "swear words" don't come up. I will have to check what we have done on our site, since I have certain words to be censored as well. (We want kids to go on the site without horrifying their parents.) But if we are going to lose words like b l o o d then we will have to rethink our strategy!

[Gliondrach]

Well, blooming hell.

Good night. Off to kip.

[lolamako]

You might be gluten intolerant, this often gets mistaken for LOTS of other things. Do a search, I never knew how bad I felt till I felt better, it took me getting very sick and no doctors being able to figure it out, to start doing research.

Gluten Freedom - Symptoms of gluten intolerance/celiac disease (http://www.glutenfreedom.net/symptoms.aspx)


Celiac Disease - Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (http://www.gluten.net/celiac.html)

[vegan114]

A doctor told me it is caused by dairy. I haven't used daisy in over 10 years and I still have trouble with my stomache. Sometimes it hurts so much I pass out. I don't have health care but the er doctors never tell me what is wrong or just don't care enough to help. I have had this problem both before and after I went vegan. I wish I knew what was wrong so I could avoid it. :(

[lolamako]

try the elimination diet.

dont eat gluten for a few months, see how you feel, pay attention to changes in your bowel movements. I swear the pain was so horrible, and the doctors didnt help at all. Dont think you have to have expensive tests done, alot of people recommend elimination and oberservation.

Youd be suprised. gluten is like whey, its in EVERYTHING.

http://www.gfcfdiet.com/Beginningthediet.htm (http://www.gfcfdiet.com/Beginningthediet.htm)

[vegan114]

thanks I will try that. :)

[celtic rose]

Since starting this thread I've discovered caffiene is a major trigger for my IBS.
Plus, a good way of settling my stomach is a cup of peppermint tea.

[harpy]

As well as peppermint tea, I've read that fennel tea is also meant to be quite good for IBS. I don't have IBS (as far as I know) but I do find fennel tea is good for settling the collywobbles. I didn't like the taste at first but it's grown on me.