Tummy Talk Thursday

“What Your Gut is Telling You”

Well, well, here we are on a glorious Thursday.  My gut is a rumbling bloated mess today (as most days lately).  I just want to sit on the couch and rub my balloon of a belly until the gas passes (much to my embarrassment, thank goodness it’s just me and the kids during the day)  Usually when I have bloat, I have gas.  Bad gas, the kind you can’t hide.  So, I think…what is my gut telling me?  I am supposed to go with my gut.  I have a couple guesses as to what can be going on.

For one, I have greatly increased my fiber content lately.  Lots and lots of fiber.  I eat Fiber One bars for snacks, whole grain breads for sandwiches, Kashi whole grain cookies, and oatmeal.  Yikes, it’s not wonder it’s rumbly and odiferous.  I started eating this way because I tend to have IBS with constipation, not diarrhea.  So what is supposed to cure constipation? Fiber, of course.  And now to top it off, I was just reading that all kinds of fiber may not good for IBS.  Great….confusion remains.

Secondly, and I think this is the biggest reason for my bloating and gas lately, it’s summer.  Summer for me means ice cream.  Lots and lots of icecream.  I love it, anyway you serve it.  I eat a huge bowl of it every night lately.  Not just a couple scoops but about 1/4 gallon of that blessed creamy scoop of heaven.  Then I go to bed.  Then I wake up.  Then I am bloated and gassy all day.  Hmmm….a trend?

One would think that a person who has IBS would be more aware of triggers and symptoms.  “De-Nial” ain’t just a river in Egypt for me.  It’s a state of mind for this self-controlless individual.  It wasn’t until a fellow blogger (Finding the Pieces to the Health Puzzle) pointed out to me that it might help to remove dairy products from my diet.  Come to think of it, I did have a strong lactose intolerance when I was young.  I thought I had grown out of it but maybe not.

Reinforcing this thought, I was just reading in the book “What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About IBS” by Richard Ash, MD., that most IBS patients have a lactose sensitivity or milk intolerance.  I am in so much trouble with this.  I LOVE dairy!!!  I practically moo!  But it makes sense, I just need to make a commitment to end the dairy cycle. 

My goal for this next week:  Reduce the bloat and gas by eliminating as much dairy from my diet as possible.  Maybe the following week I can eliminate all of it, I don’t want to rush into anything.  I am also going to look into my insurance and allergy testing.  Hopefully, allergy testing will identify some actual triggers. 

Off I go now, to mourn the loss of my icecream.  Maybe I can find some good soy product to fulfill my cravings.