IBS is also giving you IPS - Irritable Person Syndrome

Gas. Bloat. Pain. Farts that smell so bad your partner makes you sleep in the the other bedroom. You are not alone.  One out of four Australians are suffering with some type of digestive disorder and medication is not fixing it. 

Irritable Bowel Syndrome is the name given to a crippling health condition that sometimes is so embarrassing that the sufferer begins staying home from work, social engagements, and their self esteem begins to plummet.  It is very common for people to come to see us in clinic after years of no answers why they have daily intermittent pain, gas, bloating, constipation or diarrhoea or both.  They may even have had a colonoscopy or endoscope with no negative findings, yet are still in discomfort.

Here are five simple hacks to do over a month to pin point the culprit.

1. Ask your GP for a three day stool analysis. Yes, it must be three days and check for blasto and difficile parasites.  Do not compromise if your GP suggests one day is enough.

2. Go ten days without any gluten.  None.  Not a wee bit.  Gluten is in wheat, rye, oats and barley.  Change nothing else in your diet.  If your symptoms are reduced, keep going, but every week add in:  first week some oats, second week some barley, third week some rye bread.  This way you can rule out if it is just wheat making you feel poorly.  This is often the case, sadly because I do love my bread but I have learned to love gluten free bread.

3. If Gluten seems fine then wait a week or so and begin the same elimination with dairy. Ten days off all dairy - cheese, milk, yogurt except goats or sheets products.  Join your own dots.  How do you feel?

4. After you have done the three first steps and if nothing has popped up as a culprit.  Take fruit either out of your diet altogether or only eat it alone and away from meals. Listen to the radio interview as to why.

5. Reduce sugar. Sugar feeds our bad gut bacteria.  Sugar is the guest at the party and makes the party go wild.  Reduce hidden sugar in your diet and allow good bacteria to flourish with whole, clean real foods.  See our recipes for some great low sugar ideas. All of our posts reflect our philosophy at A Healthy View. A whole real food perspective on food and life.  Extremes do not work but clean, whole, tasty and easy food choices can create a lifetime of good habits that lead to a lean, happy, and healthy person. 

Contact us on our website for our next Low Sugar Lifestyle program or a nutritional consult.   Article by Michele Chevalley Hedge, Nutritionist and Founder of A Healthy View.