Blog for Self Healing

How To Calm Down

Have you ever had that experience when you’re looking for something important in your house or office and you can’t find it? And then you start to panic and can’t calm down?

That happened to me a week ago. I was looking for a very important file that contained information that could not be replaced.

I work at home, so I started to rush around the house, looking in places where I thought the file would be but not finding it. Thoughts of all the problems I’d have if I couldn’t find it flooded my mind. I went back to the same places over and over again to see if I’d overlooked the file somehow, but it still wasn’t there.

I began to panic. My heart was pounding. My mind raced and my thoughts spun me into increasing anxiety. …

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New Technology May Help IBS Sufferers Eat Apples and FODMAPs Again!

Several people have emailed us to say that they can’t eat apples whether peeled or unpeeled because they trigger IBS symptoms or other digestive problems. Perhaps you’re one of them. Chances are, if you can’t eat apples, you have trouble with some other fruits as well, like cherries, apricots, plums, pears, mangos, nectarines or watermelon.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not willing to spend my whole lifetime avoiding cherries. Or apples. So, in a minute, I’m going to tell you about a technology I recently experienced that let me enjoy eating fruit again.

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What Is The GAPS Diet?

Hey, have you heard of the GAPS diet and wondered what it is or if it would be right for you? Kathy took a close look at it to see if it applies to people with IBS. Here’s what she found out:

GAPS stands for Gut and Psychology Syndrome. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride MD, author of the book by the same name, has created this term to describe what she believes is the underlying condition originating in the gut and manifesting as any combination of conditions from the following list:

•   Autism
•   Asthma
•   Allergies
•   Eczema
•   Dyspraxia (extreme clumsiness)
•   Dyslexia
•   ADD, ADHD
•   Depression
•   Schizophrenia
•   Irritable Bowel Syndrome
•   Crohn’s and Colitis

In most cases when a person has GAP Syndrome they suffer from several of these conditions. If you are an IBS sufferer who also suffers from one or more of these other conditions you might benefit from the GAPS diet with some important cautions with respect to the fat component.

So what is going on in GAP Syndrome? …

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Is The Paleo Diet A Good Diet For IBS?

Before I get to this question, do you know what the Paleo diet is? If not, here’s a quick summary of what you can eat:
•   protein from things with eyes (animals, fish, birds)
•   any green vegetable
•   sweet potatoes (but not white potatoes or other white starches)
•   fresh fruit
•   nuts, avocadoes
•   animal fats, fish oil and a handful of select vegetable oils: olive, macadamia, coconut
•   and that’s about it!
•   No sugar, dairy, grains, white foods, legumes, processed or junk foods.

The idea is that you eat the way our Paleolithic ancestors did for the thousands of years of human existence before the Agricultural Revolution brought us big helpings of bread and milk along with the diseases of civilization.

So is the Paleo diet a good diet for IBS? What a mare’s nest that question is! It sounds simple but it’s not.

While researching the answer to this, I discovered that:

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Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Trauma and Recovery Books

If you’ve been to this website before or have read a copy of our special report on the Top 5 Triggers of IBS, you’ll know that the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome often requires dealing with trauma. Increasingly, medical research studies are showing that trauma is a major trigger of Irritable Bowel symptoms.

In this blog post, we’re going to look at four of the best books on trauma and recovery. If you would like to recommend a book on this subject that you have found helpful, please leave a comment at the end of this post.

1. The Trauma Spectrum, by Robert Scaer, MD

Dr. Scaer is a physician with 30 years of experience working with chronic pain patients. Besides being a brilliant neurologist who thinks outside the box, he understands trauma from his own personal experience – that includes losing an eye in an accident at the age of four.

The Trauma Spectrum is a fascinating book which describes the brain process that triggers physical symptoms and chronic conditions like IBS, even when there is no proven injury. Dr. Scaer examines the many sources of trauma in “ordinary” life, and does not flinch at including the doctor/patient relationship in this category.

Pre-birth and birth experiences, childhood neglect and abuse, and every day challenges at school or work, when we’re expected to “suck it up,” all contribute to what he calls “diseases of stress and trauma.” In addition to IBS, these conditions range from obesity, hypertension and atherosclerosis, to fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, multiple chemical sensitivity, migraine, and several others.

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Why Does IBS Act Up in Spring or Fall?

Have you ever wondered why your IBS symptoms act up in spring or fall?

The answer is fairly simple, but first you need to understand the concept of your body’s “total toxic load” and a few pieces of related information…

1. Your immune system is at work constantly helping you to clear out environmental toxins, handle stresses, and do all the little repairs needed to help your body stay in homeostasis or internal balance.

It’s a big job.

2. An estimated 60 – 80 percent of your immune system is in and around your digestive system, so the two are closely linked and affect each other. …

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IBS and diverticulosis spasm relief

Our subscriber Cheryl sent in a great question about IBS and diverticulosis spasm relief. Here’s what she says:

I have been diagnosed with Divitulosis and around this mass are muscles that go into spasms. As well as IBS. Is there any remedy for the muscle spasms?

Sadly I cant eat green veg, fruits or onion family. I now choose not to as I cant digest them fast [enough]. I really want to be normal 🙂

The spasms are the worst, as I am a motorcycle rider…

Cheryl, we feel for you, girl. Thanks for sending in your question. This is quite a complex question and the answer probably applies to people with IBS-C (IBS with constipation) as well, so if this is you, read on…

But first, I just want to remind everyone that we are NOT doctors. So, PLEASE, if you’re having a serious problem, see your doc and don’t try to self-diagnose or self-treat using our website!

Having said that, there is quite a range of things you can do for IBS and diverticulosis spasm relief. One of the problems with spasms is figuring out what might be causing them. So, let’s look at some of the possibilities and some of the ways you might be able to prevent spasms. Then later in this post, we’ll look at some remedies for when you are having spasms.

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How To Eat With IBS – An Inspiring Success Story!

Kathy and I received this wonderful email from Bronda in the UK, who has graciously allowed us to reprint it here. She offers her personal success story about how to eat with IBS in case it can help you.

Even if you haven’t had Gall Bladder surgery, Bronda’s dietary information and the action she took may apply to you. Please read her inspiring story and send us yours or leave a comment about your own experiences with eating for IBS.

Hi Karen and Kathy

I just wanted to thank you for the reply to my email and the help you’ve given me this last month!

My story is a wonderful one! …

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Do These Five Herbs Work For IBS?

Herbs are a natural way to treat digestive problems, but do they work for IBS?

Here are five herbs for IBS that have a history of providing digestive relief: peppermint, fennel, ginger, chamomile, and aloe. Please note, there are some cautions for the last three.

Peppermint…

… is relaxing. The tea calms down a stomach ache and acts as an anaesthetic to mucous membranes. Peppermint reduces nausea and vomiting and relieves gas and bloating. It aids digestion, increasing the production of bile by the liver and gall bladder. Definitely a friend to IBS sufferers.

If you are prone to spastic colon, try peppermint oil capsules instead of tea. The caps release their contents in the intestines rather than the stomach, so reach the affected area more effectively. …

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How to Reduce the Embarrassment of IBS

Let us not kid ourselves; IBS symptoms ARE embarrassing.

Embarrassment is common to people who suffer from digestive problems – so common, in fact, that many of us (men, I’m talking to you in particular) don’t even go to the doctor to find out what’s wrong.

One of the biggest problems with all this embarrassment is that it’s easy to start feeling unacceptable as a person when you have chronic humiliating symptoms. It might help to remember that you are not your body. Your body might be experiencing the symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but there’s nothing wrong with YOU. You are fine.

I know that might seem hard to believe when you’re feeling a lot of pain, or something really embarrassing has just happened, but consider this. The embarrassment of IBS is even more intense when your brain puts you through the same painful experience more than once. (Unintentionally, of course.)

What do I mean by that?

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