I have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) , lactose intolerance and gerd (gastro intestinal reflux disease aka my food likes to come up and not go down) . I take no medications, only probiotics and monitor my foods. I'm not supposed to eat fruit because of what it does to my insides. I can't have milk, I can tolerate some cheese. Real milk makes me violently ill immediately. I am not supposed to eat seeds or nuts. There's a whole slew of things I am not supposed to eat. Without probiotics my colon just doesn't move food along.
I am also hypoglycemic bordering on diabetic, also diagnosed in high school. I ate a very healthy delicious dinner. Kale salad with goddess dressing and flax seeds. I know, I'm not supposed to eat the seeds. I justify eating some foods that don't agree with me by weighing the pro's and con's. Some dressings actually make me instantly ill. The type of ill that feels like you have knives in your stomach. Luckily, this one did not and it was delicious! Next was a very small side dish of spinach with a few slices of veggie sausage. Sautéed brussel sprouts (another one of my favorites that my tummy doesn't like) Squash soup with three kinds of potatoes, carrots, cauliflower (cauliflower is not my stomachs friends) garlic, all kinds of delicious herbs, mushrooms and a little dab of butter.
My stomach popping out like I'm nine months pregnant is the result. It was delicious. My bloating will go down in about two to three hours. In the meantime, I feel like my ribs are being pushed on and I hurt like I'm bruised from the inside out. It makes me out of breath even.
I eat very little meat and have been that way for quite some time. Red meat at times makes me instantly ill. Too much fat or oil makes me ill. Ham makes me ill. Duck and lamb makes me ill. When I say ill I mean like food poisoning types of reaction. My body rejects it.
So, why am I sharing this? I think more people need to be aware in general. I'm not pregnant. I have had people point at me and even ask me when I am due when I am actually in the middle of a painful IBS flare up. I'm also not that fat. I'm about 20 pounds overweight and I like the way I look when I'm not all bloated. I don't feel the need to be skinny although I would like to loose some weight.
I'm not looking for "O are you ok?" or "sorry" although if you want to drink a little kombucha or tummy tea in my honor, that would be awesome. Just remember there are all kinds of issues we deal with daily that are invisible and if someone is walking slow, looking tired, confused or just in pain its because
Hey, maybe there's a reason!
So, medicine.. there is one for gerd that I used to take. I have found that if I keep mostly acidic foods to a minimum I don't need it. There is one for lactose intolerance. I choose not to take it, instead I enjoy soy, coconut, almond and hemp food products. There is not one for IBS unless you get really ill. I prefer not to fill my body with medicines that have a bunch of warnings that cause more harm in the long run. At one time my doctor had me on 14 pills a day plus just to keep my stomach in check and even that wouldn't work. No more, just two. Food is my medicine.
I monitor and do pretty well. My throat and bowels don't make so many disgusting noises like I have something trapped in me that's trying to escape. I can't say I have had no flare ups but there are also a lot of foods that my system is still trying to figure out if it wants to reject or allow. My system can also at times tolerate a food that later it either can't or maybe there's just too much other stuff in there.
mmm Maybe I should have blogged...
Thank goodness for copy and paste because not only did I blog~ I created a new blog!!
Till next time....eat healthy and be happy.
