Psyllium is your friend

I have not been so perky lately, so I am off kiwi and orange and anything else that may upset my overly sensitive stomach (low stomach acid... take it from me be careful with Nurofen!)

To get  me through this particularly stressful time I started taking psyllium at night in the hope that an ill effects would move fast through my body. And I am very happy to say it did help a little.

However, when taking this are regularly as a few days in a row my system slowed down as soon as I stopped taking it at night. I am not sure what the answer is, i could of course just take it everynight and probably wouldnt have this problem, but sometimes I just really cant force myself to drink it and metamucil makes me feel perfectly wretched, this is my only option.

I will continue to take Psyllium when I can at night when I have flare ups, and I would recommend it if you have gas issues like me or IBS (C)... I have even heard it read that psyllium helps those with IBS (D).

Good luck

Back to the Kiwi Fruit

I dont think Kiwi is having an impact on my FODMAP symptoms, but I do think that on its own it can be a bit strong for my stomach...i have funny stomach acid.

I think Kiwi can be a problem when its overripe, to be honest I think most fruits are a problem for us if they are overripe.... even banana's sometimes dont sit well.

I try to get our fruit at the local markets because they are normally better, not bananas for some reason, but sometimes they mature too quickly and when your hungry and its all that is around you go for it.... well I do anyway and then I pay the price : (

It wasnt the kiwi fruit

My gut is just having a bad few weeks... probably stress related... ah the joys of IBS.

Kiwi Fruit

Last week my Kiwi fruit was not ripe enough to eat so I went without. My system was pretty good by the end of the week... however I returned to the kiwi over the weekend and I have noticed that not all is well.

So in order to determine if it is the Kiwi's fault, I am going off Kiwi Fruit for a week...I will let you know how it goes.

Eating too fast

Ever since I was little I gobbled my food down, it didnt matter if it was good or not so good I ate it with gusto. As a FODMAP/IBS sufferer feeling bloated is just the start.

I had lunch yesterday, I gobbled it down in five minutes. Three hours later the discomfort started, then my back flared up. Only a peppermint tea, with a peppermint oil chaser pushed it through and I was able to go to my dinner... where I did the exact same thing ... and at 11:45pm whilst saying goodbye to my friend another ball of hell descended and left me hunched and fighting to stand. When I got home a warm pack on my stomach, a cold pack on my back and a peppermint tea in hand helped me get through the worst... and it was bad my friends, I felt like my body was about to explode.

Peppermint tea got me through it in the end. But I learnt my lesson in a big way all in one crazy day!

New Monash Low FODMAP book!

Just got my new Monash Low FODMAP diet book in the mail and to be honest I havent been this excited about a book arrival since I ordered the first ten Astrix comic books!

What really grabbed my attention was the nuts... cashews are now a no go zone and Almonds and Hazelnuts are to be restricted to 10 a serving, we can eat Japanese pumpkin (how freaking exciting it that!!), we can have 5 snowpeas in a sitting and Broccoli is down to 1/4 a cup per serving.

I noticed that the shopping guide and which foods contain poorly absorbed FODMAP's sections differ on serving sizes. As a greedy food person i am going to stick to lower numbers... life is just to short to feel like a decomposing cow!

If your interesting in getting the Monash guide its a steal at only $10 (australian)

http://www.med.monash.edu.au/ehcs/research/index.html

Stress and IBS

I wish I was into meditation, it's a huge reliever of stress, and though I find hours to spend watching the television, the idea of just sitting and focusing on my breathing or relaxing my muscles on by one is too much to bear!

There is nothing quite like stress (in my case family stress) to mess up your digestive system if you have IBS. I know that if I do meditate I feel better, the tightness in my shoulders is less pronounced and I feel like I have more energy the next day.. because I slept well the night before. But I just cant seem to push myself there.

If you like me have an irritable bowel which is exceedingly emotional! Try to meditate and let me know how you go : )