IBS - Stomach friendly recipes

sunnyside1213

My IBS got so bad, I couldn't leave the house. For unrelated reasons, I gave up my statins for high cholestrol. Guess what? No more IBS.

trijoe

Not necessarily IBS per se, but two of our daughters struggle with GI issues. We had one tested (the other will be tested shortly) and have found a laundry list of food sensitivities. Not celiac's, just sensitivities. The list includes: wheat/gluten, all citrus (namely, anything with citric acid), all dairy, all corn products, soy, apples/pears, apricots, grapes, and a few other things.

Our goal is to eliminate everything irritating, then over time, give our tummies the chance to heal. Then VERY slowly, re-introduce. We've been doing this process, with varying results, for months now.

It's not easy, especially for kids. But the payoff is worth the fight. Yes, they miss their cheeseburgers. But as one daughter put it so eloquently, when I asked if she'd rather have a cheeseburger if it meant hurting at bedtime, "Dad, I don't want to hurt anymore."

We don't know if the time will ever come when the kids will have all the currently banned foods back on their diets. But if staying irritant free is what keeps us all happy and healthy, then there's really no decision to be made.

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OH! And what made all the difference for us was going to a holistic doctor who actually looked at their diets, and tested for irritations. We'd taken the kids to various doctors and specialists for years, with terrible results. I lost track of the doctors that told us, "Hang in there, take this drug to make her feel better, and she'll eventually outgrow this." OH FOR GOD'S SAKE!!!

The holistic doctor got our daughter tested, discovered the root of the GI issues, and has helped us on a path of healing and healthy living.

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A recipe (It is what you asked for, after all...) - Homemade chicken stock

I know this sounds crazy, but homemaking your own chicken stock is one of the most soothing things you can do for your gut. It works wonders in our house.

2 whole chickens, meat removed, bones broken
1-2 pounds chicken necks/backs
1 onion, rough chopped
4-5 stalks celery, rough cut
5-6 carrots, cut into big pieces
Water to cover the bones
*** We use organic meat and veggies. Cuts down on hormones, antibiotics, and other bad things. ***

Place everything in the biggest honkin' pot you can find - we do it in a 2.5G stock pot. Slowly bring to a boil. Make sure not to let this boil over, as it'll start a kitchen fire. Turn down to a very low simmer, and cover. Simmer for 20-24 hours. After an all day simmer, strain everything out. The stock is pretty fatty. We leave the fat in, as it's pretty easily digestible. But you can strain it out if you like. Cool as quickly as you can.

When pretty cool, I ziplock baggie it in 1Q batches, then freeze.

This is unsalted and will taste like it. I don't salt till AFTER I'm done cooking it, usually after I've reduced it to 1Q baggies.

I hope this helps.
TriJoe.

Lyssa62

So far all we have done is the chiro (which we do once a month)..he tried to help with some kind of natural digestive enzyme. that seemed to work for a couple of days but then he was right back into it. Then I took him to my gp who gave him some kind of acid reducing over the counter crap. That didn't do anything.
He consumes way too much sugar..which I am trying to help wean him off of..but it's not easy. He loves to bake (hence his weight)..and who knows what in all of his baking madness he's digesting that could be at least contributing to the issue. We noticed the first really bad bout of it was about 6 months into his vegan attempt.
It's hard when they get this age and you can't force them to eat a certain way. He does still live at home -- we have a 2 story house which he kind of lives on the lower level and is in charge of keeping that area clean and laundry which requires he be up and down 2 flights of stairs several times a day..but that is basically his "exercise". I also know a lack of exercise has to be contributing to it.

I appreciate more than you can know your help and suggestions. I am going to try some of that chicken stock.

DrMAvDPhD

Everyone's triggers are a little different, but my IBS has practically disappeared since I started eating a high protein diet with little to no processed food. The only time I have flares now is when dining out. I used to think my trigger was fat, but my diet is much higher in (healthy) fats than its ever been, so it isn't that simple.

aholly70

Hello, i too have IBS and it was really bad went to DR.all the time.I finally decided to try going gluten free and the DR. sayed try it,and i don't have any promblems anymore,no bloating stomach aches nothing,plus i'm losing weight. I would try it but do it slowly if you go all at once you could get sick,but it works for and now my whole family eats this and they even feel better.

trijoe

In the early days trying to figure out the girls' issues, we tried all the normally tried diets - (1) gluten free, (2) red meat free, (3) dairy free, (4) peanut/treenut free, and there were a few others. None of them worked. I kept reading and hearing from others that a lot of the time, it's not one thing, it's many things.

In the end, this turned out to be very true for us. Our list of irritants is so large, that we never had a fighting chance while trying things ourselves. In short, if you TRY a set diet (gluten free), and it doesn't work, it doesn't mean you FAILED. It could very easily mean that you gave up the gluten (which was good), but not the dairy, or citrus, or tree nuts, or any other host of irritants. Basically you just didn't go far enough.

We would have never figured this out without our holistic doctor's help.

WhiteCloud9

I have found that taking probiotics everyday has been a lifesaver! I take GNC's Super Probiotic Complex 10 billion CFU. Right now I'm having more trouble than usual with my stomach due to an ovarian cyst that won't go away, which is the second time I've had one. Last time was causing the same problems. Before the cyst came back, I could take the probiotics everyday and not have any trouble unless I ate a lot of fast food. But if I skip taking them two or more days in a row then anything I eat causes horrible gas pain and constipation. Then it takes about three days to fix my stomach again. Ironically, I started taking probiotics after the last surgery to remove the cysts because the antibiotics really tore up my stomach, and found that all of my indigestion went away, too.

I have tried the Phillips Colon Health probiotics but they worked for a short time because they are only 1 billion CFU. So I went back to the GNC brand of 10 billion CFU.

Someone mentioned looking six months pregnant from the bloating and that's exactly how I look when my stomach is really messed up.