magazine-pdf.org_13325_Better_Nutrition_April_2017_2

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Always be sure to cook
your food thoroughly.
Well-cooked foods
are much easier to
digest than raw foods.
a consideration, especially if you eat
more than 2–3 servings of fruit daily.
To figure out if a certain food is
causing your symptoms, you need to
completely avoid the potentially
offending food for 2–3
weeks, then reintroduce it
into your diet and watch
for symptoms. IBS can also
present with heartburn, fatigue,
headache, back or abdominal pain,
and even palpitations. If after
3 days of reintroduction there are no
undesirable changes to your gut function,
skin, mood, joint stiffness, or other
symptoms, that food is likely fine.
This takes careful organization
of your diet, and it really helps to
work with a licensed naturopathic
physician or well-trained nutritionist
(not dietician). Some chiropractors also
have additional nutrition training, but
most MDs have very little training in
nutrition, since they are experts in
pharmaceutical medicine.
Natural Solutions
During the acute phase of IBS (lots of
watery stools and cramping), try a hypoallergenic
diet (see sidebar). As improvement
occurs, eggs and yogurt (preferably
made from goat’s milk) can be added if
they don’t worsen the symptoms. Supplements
that often help heal and soothe
the gut include liquid chlorophyll (1 Tbs.
daily), alfalfa tabs, calming herbal teas
(Melissa, chamomile, fennel, peppermint,
and ginger), and my favorite GI repair
agent: glutamine, about 2 grams daily.
As your symptoms stabilize, you can
slowly add the cruciferous vegetables
back into your diet. These provide many
important nutrients, but can be hard to
digest, so are best cooked with digestionaiding
herbs such as fennel, caraway,
cumin, anise, and dill. Nuts and seeds,
grape skins, and red meat are also all
difficult to digest, but may not be the
causes of your GI distress.
Carrageenan is a common additive used
to make ice cream and other confections
“smooth,” but is very irritating to the gut.
Avoid this additive when possible, which
is used in a lab setting to make mice guts
bleed. Very spicy and very sweet foods
are also GI irritants, as are fried foods,
alcohol, and caffeine.
Keep in mind that we’re exposed to
more chemical additives than ever in our
food and drink, so read labels and try to
stick to food that is as close to the way it
grew as possible when you eat it. And cook
your food thoroughly. Well-cooked foods
are much easier to digest than raw foods.
With acute crampy pain, heat to the
abdomen (hot water bottle or heating
pad) can be very soothing. Regular
exercise helps everything, including
being a highly effective stress-reliever.
HYPOALLERGENIC DIET
BREAKFAST: whole brown rice cereal
(3–4 Tbs. rice in 2 cups water, stirring
constantly over medium heat) with
2 tsp. virgin olive or flax oil stirred in
when cooked.
MORNING SNACK: baked apple or
blueberries/sliced banana topped
with unsweetened cocoa powder.
LUNCH: vegetable soup from massaged
kale, parsley, zucchini, pumpkin,
carrots, and squash, with millet or
barley, and 2 tsp. olive or flax oil.
AFTERNOON SNACK: baked apple or
berries or orange.
DINNER: same as lunch, or add a little
fresh fish or free-range chicken.
Some of my colleagues have noted
that the low FODMAP diet can help
IBS. This basically means avoiding
fermented foods (kombucha, pickles,
yogurt); short-chain (simpler) carbs such
as those found in high fructose corn
syrup; honey; inulin; wheat; soy; garlic;
onions; beans/peas; celery; mushrooms;
most fruits; many condiments, dips,
and sauces; beer; wine; coconut water;
fruit juice; and all dairy.
What’s left to eat? Most squashes,
sprouts, pumpkin, potato, chard, kale,
fennel, zucchini, yam, blueberries,
banana, clementines, oranges, lemon,
lime, papaya, pineapple, carrots, cucumber,
ginger, radish, clean beef, chicken,
lamb, pork, turkey, tuna, salmon, cod,
most fresh fish and crustaceans, bone
marrow, oats, quinoa, rice, seeds (chia,
pumpkin, sunflower, etc.), maple syrup,
mustard, eggs, and cocoa powder.
A low FODMAP diet may work
better if you have confirmed SIBO
(small intestinal bacterial overgrowth).
Do you have a question for Dr. Kane? Email it to editorial@
betternutrition.com with “Ask the ND” in the subject line.
!" • APRIL 2017