There is a very strong connection between what we eat and the health of our digestive system.
Gut problems don’t happen over night and are often a result of many years of eating unhealthy food that our bodies can’t properly digest, as well as overuse of medications (especially antibiotics) and lack of proper digestive enzymes.
I am pretty passionate about the topic of gut health and have written about digestive health, acid reflux and leaky gut, to name a few, but this article will specifically cover the digestive issue of irritable bowel syndrome. Symptoms of IBS include painful cramping, gas, rumbling stomach, diarrhea, constipation and nausea.
There is new information and understanding about gut health emerging daily, even though the exact cause of IBS is not generally known and can be different for everyone. However, many possible factors that may contribute include the following:
- Unhealthy foods. Regular consumption of these foods can contribute to digestive issues: soft drinks, refined sugar and sugar-rich foods, all fried foods, excessive red meat, excessive alcohol, caffeine (including chocolate), wheat and gluten-rich foods, processed and/or fatty meat, and other high fat foods. The foods most likely to cause long-term tummy problems include pizza, hot dogs, fish and chips, hamburgers, French fries, potato chips and other deep-fried snacks, boxed mac and cheese, and other processed foods. Even some healthy foods like those listed in the high-FODMAP categories can cause digestive upset and excess gas. To treat or avoid IBS, we need to cut these foods out of our diets and replace them with low-FODMAP options.
- Stress can irritate the intestinal nerves causing them to become more sensitive and contract more frequently.
- Infection in the intestines caused by bacteria or parasites.
- Medications overuse of antibiotics, antacids and pain medications can trigger IBS symptoms.
- Hormones such as changing estrogen and progesterone levels have been linked to IBS.
- Genetics can be a factor, bacterial fermentation in the gut, and altered bowel motility (where the muscles that move food from the stomach to the large intestine are not contracting enough, or too much). Interactions between the brain and gut are often disrupted.
Normal temporary digestive issues such as gas, cramps and bloating are common and often occur when we swallow too much air (not chewing our food properly), or gulping, consuming gas-producing foods like carbonated beverages, cruciferous veggies (cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, cress, bok choy, green leafy veg), raw veggies, beans or lentils (houmous), artificial sweeteners, high fibre bread, grains, nuts, chocolate, coffee, dairy, alcohol, spicy foods, dried fruit and high-fibre fruit like apples, grapes and cherries.
If we have healthy gut flora and a functioning digestive system, we can usually digest these foods without too many problems. But if we have gastro-intestinal disorders like Crohn's, IBS or Colitis, we need to avoid these foods as they require our stressed digestive system to work harder.
Healing our gut may require extreme measures like temporarily going on a liquid diet (nothing carbonated) while including bone broth (for its collagen), juicing, smoothies, digestive enzymes and pre and probiotic foods to heal the gut flora.
Even though kimchi, sauerkraut and kombucha are excellent fermented (probiotic) foods that help with gut flora, they need to be avoided until the digestive system settles down because they are made from cruciferous veggies and/or are high-FODMAP foods.
I know many will look at these food lists and question “Just what can I eat?” which is a common response.
Space prohibits me from delving further into this but there are many recipes and books and sites online that can walk us through gut healthy eating, and how to reset our digestive systems. It is recommended to follow a low-FODMAP diet. The Canadian Digestive Health Foundation is a good resource.
After a diagnosis of IBS, medication may be prescribed to help with the painful symptoms but there is often too little advice offered on how to change our diets.
When we eat to fill our stomachs and only feed our culinary urges, we are forgetting that the reason we eat food in the first place: for the nutrition that our bodies require to function properly.
Claire Nielsen is a health coach, author, public speaker and founder of www.elixirforlife.ca. The information provided in the above article is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional health and medical advice. Please consult a doctor, health-care provider or mental health practitioner if you're seeking medical advice, diagnoses and/or treatment.
