Resources for the Digestively Impaired

Nobody likes talking about it.
But it affects nearly 10% of us.

IBS, or Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It’s a term used to describe a number of symptoms of digestive distress. It’s used when your doctor has put you through a battery of tests, has found nothing abnormal and doesn't know what else to tell you. After all that poking and prodding the doctor says there's nothing wrong with you. Well, there definitely is something wrong because you feel horrible! If everything was ok, you wouldn’t feel so bad!

I went to several GI (gastrointestinal) doctors and underwent an endoscopy, a colonoscopy, a CT scan of the abdomen, was tested for SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth*), lactose intolerance, celiac disease and intestinal parasites, and all of them came back negative. I was diagnosed as having a “functional” problem. After months and months of tests and such, there was nothing else for them to do. It was now up to me to find solutions.

What I absolutely 100% knew was that I was not going to put myself on pharmaceutical drugs to mask symptoms. I was prepared to give up whatever offending foods and habits I needed to in order to get on top of this, naturally. I saw this as a wake-up call: a sign that I was not taking the best care of myself that I could. Changes would have to be made.

Throughout my journey I did a lot of reading on the subject of digestive health, getting as many ideas and opinions as possible. I was like a sponge, absorbing everything. Over time, I created my own little “pharmacy" of products that have helped me, books that have been a great resource and cookbooks to help navigate eating during the healing process. I still keep all of these on hand for when trouble strikes, as it inevitably will. Sometimes I eat perfectly but nevertheless something won't sit well and I'll have to reach for a product to get me through the night or through the work day so that I can function with minimal discomfort until the offending thing passes. It's clearly something I'll have to live with the rest of my life.

The problem with treating IBS is that everyone is different. We each have our own triggers. Could be foods, could be stress. I joined several Facebook user groups to see what other people were doing to cope and it helped tremendously! I got a lot of ideas for what foods could be triggers and what to take when trouble strikes, to relaxation techniques and what books to read and websites to visit.

While I have no idea what could be going on in your digestive tract, what I can share with you is what I've done in the hopes that something here might be of help to you. My advice is to keep trying different things until you find the combinations of things that work for you. I do encourage you to seek out a GI doctor that you feel comfortable with and work with them, go through the testing process to see if your symptoms can be pinpointed to something specific and a diagnosis made. Don’t guess, find out for sure what’s going on!

But while you’re doing that and are still uncomfortable, there are things you can do to help yourself.

The #1 thing that I would recommend you do is clean up your act! Remove as many toxins from your diet as you can. This means eliminating all processed foods, adopting a whole foods diet and switching to organic meats and wild-caught fish, and organic dairy, fruits and vegetables.

The next thing I would do is immediately cut down (and I mean drastically) the number of starches you consume. It seems, in the digestive literature, that almost all experts agree on this. Your intestines contain live bugs (bacteria), which is normal and necessary, but they love starches and with them present, they seem to proliferate. So the more you eat, the more the bad bugs take over, crowding out the good ones. Help achieve balance by reducing crappy carbs. Focus on protein, good fats (like organic or pastured butter, and avocados), fruits and vegetables (preferably cooked in the beginning, raw stuff is harder to digest) and minimize even the good carbs for a while, until you bring symptoms under control.

So, here’s my list of items to have in your arsenal.

What to take to ease symptoms right away
Pepto-Bismol (not exactly natural, but can help when you’re in pain and need relief now)
Iberogast - good for cramps and pain, bloating, gas (taken 3x a day). This stuff is nothing short of amazing. You can get it on Amazon.

Herbals for immediate but gentle soothing of symptoms
Peppermint in every form: capsules (these on the left from Heather’s Tummy Care are my faves), peppermint tea, and 100% pure peppermint essential oil applied to the abdomen as a compress or taken internally a little warm water (however, avoid peppermint if you have GERD)
Ginger tea - good for nausea
Fennel tea - good for bloating and gas

Supplements to aid digestion
Digestive enzymes (those I’ve found to work best are these from DigestGold)
Digestive bitters (I like these from Urban Moonshine)
Bromelain - an anti-inflammatory that aids in protein digestion
Turmeric - anti-inflammatory that aids in the digestion of fats and sugars
Activated charcoal - helps trap toxins and gas and eliminate them

What to drink and eat to support good digestion
Lots of pure filtered water, preferably with a little lemon in it
Homemade bone broth
Probiotics** in the form of yogurt and kefir (organic of course)
Kimchi or homemade sauerkraut
Gut Shots (I like the ginger beet!)
Fermented foods in general

Other modalities to help while you’re in pain 
Full-day or multi-day fasting - to give your system a chance to rest
Meditation and gentle, restorative yoga

Eating plans to look into
Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)
Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) Diet
Low FODMAP Diet

What to read
Optimal Digestive Health - A Complete Guide (a FANTASTIC resource for all things digestion)
Breaking the Vicious Cycle

Cookbooks
Low FODMAP Diet
Recipes for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet

*Resources for SIBO
SIBO and Dr. Pimentel

I hope this list helps you as you begin to navigate taking control of your digestive health. I won’t lie to you: it’s a daunting task. But it can be done. I find that staying open-minded, being willing to experiment on myself, and staying true to a course of eating with the long-term mindset that I was going to resolve this, helped tremendously.

Today, I have mostly good days and less bad days and I am happy with that. When my digestive problem flares up, I know what to do to bring it under control, naturally.

If I can help you in any way by sharing my experiences, please let me know.

**There is some controversy around probiotic supplements. Some can actually make things worse. Read up and experiment and see for yourself. I believe they are best taken once things are under control, as a preventative measure and not as a cure.