I’ve been feeling pretty crappy lately, so I’ve decided I’m going to do a detox. No, not like a juice cleanse or something weird like that…just an elimination diet of sorts. My excuse for not doing it sooner is that with our paid-in-advance CSA, we are receiving lots of veggies (and I don’t know if all of them are safe or not), and I don’t want to waste food, blah blah blah…but the truth is, I don’t think I’d be reacting as much to the vegetables if I would quit eating my worst triggers in between meals. Well, enough with that. I’m tired of feeling sick. I was inspired after watching this video by Dr. Dani. She’s right…I have constant inflammation in my gut because I keep eating things I know I shouldn’t.
She suggests eliminating the following:
- Dairy – I really don’t eat this at all (except for in chocolate).
- Wheat – I have already successfully eliminated wheat.
- Caffeine – Ouch. I didn’t even know that my 3-4 cups of green tea each day could be contributing to my symptoms.
- Alcohol – I don’t drink much, but when I have my weekly beer or two, I notice that symptoms do manifest. Lots of bloating and bad headaches the next day. I’ve ignored it in order to participate in social gatherings and because, “It’s Friday, and I feel like a beer, damn it!” But the truth is, I don’t even enjoy drinking anymore. It’s not worth the side effects.
- Refined Sugar – I know that with fructose malabsorption it is important to avoid not only refined sugar, but artificial sugars as well. But I still eat Smarties (because dextrose doesn’t cause a reaction the way fructose does), and a small handful of chocolate chips on a daily basis (chocolate is my kryptonite). Again, I’ve been ignoring that these things make me feel unwell, because “It’s unfair that other people can eat chocolate and I can’t, whaaah!”
I am going to eliminate all of the above and incorporate the following supplements:
- Probiotic – I have already been taking Enzymatic Therapy Pearls IC on a daily basis. This has helped a lot with regularity, so I plan to continue taking it. I did, however, order a package of Enzymatic Therapy Pearls Elite that I plan to test in its place. It has a higher number of bacteria than the Pearls IC.
- Betaine HCl – A lot of digestive troubles are due to a lack of stomach acid. The American diet is not conducive to stomach acid production, so supplementing can aid in digestion. I’ve been taking NOW Foods Betaine HCl supplement sporadically, but I’m going to start taking it with every meal.
- Enteric Coated Peppermint Capsules – I have ordered Enymatic Therapy’s Peppermint Plus, because I trust the brand and HerbsPro was having a great sale (still is, actually). The product description and its promising claims make me want to clutch the bottle to my breast in a covetous fashion, ready to offer up my first born if it does as it says:
Peppermint soothes stomach discomforts by smoothing the intestinal muscle. Rosemary stimulates appetite and improves gastric tone, allowing food to be more easily digested. Thyme comforts the stomach and relieves gas. An enteric-coated capsule helps allow the peppermint oil to move through the stomach to the small intestine and eventually to the colon, where it is released.
Alternative therapies I am thinking about trying:
![]()
Yoga – This yoga routine was developed specifically to provide relief for IBS patients, and this yoga pose is supposed to help relieve excess gas and bloating (my most frequent symptoms, unfortunately!).- Self massage – An abdominal massage can help treat abdominal pain, gas and constipation. There is a good explanation of how to do this here.
- QiGong – This QiGong exercise is supposed to massage and tone the internal organs, while relieving constipation, gas and indigestion.
- Walking – Okay, this is hardly “alternative,” but I read somewhere that taking walks helps with digestion. I miiiight get a membership to the YMCA and walk on my lunch breaks. It would be good therapy for my bad hips, too, I suppose.
I’m going to ease into it, because the two supplements I ordered don’t ship until September 5th for some strange reason. I’m going to start by eliminating sugar and alcohol – today. And I’ll gradually reduce my green tea intake until the supplements get here. After that, it’s decaf only.
Do you use any alternative therapies to treat your IBS symptoms?
The post My IBS Detox and Healing Plan appeared first on Find Wholeness.
