Food Allergies and Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Happy New Year everyone, sorry I haven't posted in a while. In past few months, my computer crashed and I had to retrieve the hard drive, the holidays were crazy as usual, I was sick for a few weeks, and I took a ski trip vacation. Whew! Anyhow, the New Year is here, things have settled down a bit and to add to that we're only days away from getting a new president -- so I'm feeling hopeful, which is a nice thing.

Anyhow, during my hiatus I discovered that I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and wanted to share what I've learned. Readers have frequently asked me if their stomach pain was a symptom of food allergies, and up until now I had no answers. But now I think I do -- medical research believes they are related.

Back in October, after several months of severe stress, I developed chronic stomach pain (crampy, food-poisoning type) that did not go away after several weeks (I've had the beginnings of an ulcer previously, but this time the symptoms were different). I was also a little dizzy, nauseous and bloaty, which were also new. At first I thought it was a stomach flu (which is really gastroenteritis, not the flu, btw) but it lasted more than two weeks and I finally went to a doctor. He ran a standard battery of tests, and found nothing out of the ordinary. He suggested over the counter Zantac 150 for pain, and if it didn't lessen after a week or so, he asked me to return. It helped, but didn't completely take care of the problem. To be extra thorough, I also went to my gynecologist, to check if I had any female trouble that was impacting my stomach...also to check for ovarian cancer (I had a friend who died from it and she made me promise to always check) since the symptoms for that are frequently misdiagnosed as stomach issues (the test is a CA-125, which isn't always covered by insurance). All was clear...

Hm. So what was making my stomach so miserable? Now in addition to my stomach pain I progressed to changes in bathroom habits, which made me even more unhappy. I started to avoid going to places that didn't have bathrooms available every 10 feet. I started researching sources of relief, as well as possible reasons for my stomach pain on WebMD, Google and a few of my other trusty resources (Prescription for Nutritional Healing, and the Merck Manual), and ran across a key phrase...that with IBS stomach pain is relieved by a bowel movement (sorry, that's the nicest way to put it). Aha! This was a subtle change that I didn't notice. Also IBS also impacts the frequency of trips to the bathroom....going more times than usual per day (diahrrea) and less (constipation) at the same time are common. Jeez. There are no tests for IBS, basically you have to test for other digestive problems (Crohn's, Celiacs) and diagnose IBS on the process of elimination. Yikes. I figured that I had really nothing to lose by changing my diet (yet again), and the worst that could happen was that nothing changed.

Apparently, symptoms of IBS are so common doctors believe that 1 in 5 people are affected but don't know/treat it. More women than men are affected because hormones are thought to contribute to it, as does stress. But then stress screws up everything, right? And of course, those with food allergies (esp to pollen) and food intolerances also show a higher rate of IBS.

And now I am a card-carrying member because I am a stressed-out girl with pollen and food allergies. Ding! Ding! Ding! So, what to do? I immediately started following the dietary directions in my Prescription for Nutritional Healing (great book, pick it up if you can, it gives me things I can do immediately myself, and also saves me many trips to the doctor) and cross referenced it with Eating for IBS. The author, Heather Van Vorous also has a Website, helpforibs.com.

Minimized the amount of animal fat
Stopped drinking coffee
Stopped drinking soda (I gave up Diet Coke, I felt THAT bad!)
Increased soluble fiber (more potatoes, quinoa, bananas, avocados)
Drank LOTS more water
Had psyllium fiber every night
Drank peppermint tea
Added vitamin B, peppermint oil and acidopholous to my vitamin regimen.

Anyhow, I immediately made these changes, and after a few days felt better than I had in weeks. For New Years, we took a ski trip to Mammoth (picture of the chalets where we stayed attached), where I made sure that I could still follow my new tummy regimen (lots of fresh and dried fruit, nuts (see recipe below) lots of liquids, and I brought the psyllium along with...sexy!). But recognizing that that the stress was aggravating the whole thing helped as well, so I tried to get very zen in the snow and relax by the fireplace. And I did. Luckily for me, I was able to combat this bout of IBS and stabilize my stomach so that I can be better prepared for next time. There are unlucky people who feel this way ALL THE TIME, so I consider myself fortunate that this was just a temporary thing that was manageable. But I feel confident with the knowledge that I can help myself feel better and get set to go boldly into the future. Yay.


CANDIED PECANS
These are yummy mixed with dried cranberries. We ate handfuls of this on the trip.

2 1/2 c. pecan pieces (or you can use other nuts that you're not allergic to!)
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. water
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of chile powder (I use Ancho)
pinch of salt

Grease a cookie sheet.

Heat a heavy skillet on medium heat, then mix all ingredients, stirring well. Mixture will come to a boil, be careful of the sugar bubbles because they can pop and burn your skin! Cook until water disappears and nuts have a sugary appearance. Remove from heat and pour nuts onto cookie sheet, separating quickly with forks so that the lumps aren't too large. Cool and store in covered container. Makes 2 1/2 - 3 cups.


PS. For the reader who asked for three recipes, please email me your address again since I lost it in the crash.