Wednesday, January 14, 2015

For Fibro & IBS Fighters

I've taken my health into my own hands. Years of doctors, tons of tests, many prescriptions and I am fed up! Over the past 10 years I have experimented with alternative treatments, including dietary, to treat my IBS and Fibromyalgia. Temporarily it seemed things would work.

First step, I eliminated red meat from my diet for my IBS as I noticed that was a huge culprit for me. I haven’t consumed red meat in over 9 years. It helped greatly and still continues to help. However, flare ups with both illnesses would still occur too often. I won’t take you through all of the experimenting over all these years. I will just jump straight to what I know has worked for me.

Before I do that I would like to say one thing to you…

It is hard.

I am not going to sugar coat this. One of the symptoms of both fibro and IBS is depression. When you are depressed the last thing you want to do is eat what is good for you. You want comfort food. Sugar, soda, chips, etc… So I know that making this first step is a huge one because depression really doesn't want you to change your diet. That being said, I want to encourage you. YOU CAN DO THIS! I promise. If I have, you can. 

I am you and you are me. We both don’t want to get out of the bed. We both hurt in places we never knew existed. We both run to the bathroom afraid we won’t make it. We both don’t want to go to social events. We both would rather curl up and sleep (when we can) or watch movies and eat comfort food.

However, if there is one thing I know about us fibro and IBS sufferers, it is this. We are fighters. We fight to be heard, fight for proper diagnosis and fight for a cure. Part of this fight, I believe, is fighting our food cravings and changing what we consume. I have compiled a list of 3 ways you can begin to take control of your fibro and IBS with diet.

Avoid additives
MSG, GMO’s, preservatives and sugar substitutes actually increase sensitivity to pain. I am not a scientist, but have read that these contain chemicals that activate our nerve cells. Well, as fibro sufferers, our nerves are already overactive. Why send them into overdrive by putting unnatural substances into our body?

Stop Drinking Carbonated Drinks
I have to admit that this was one of the most difficult things I have ever done. I went from full sugar sodas to diet sodas to sparkling water. I wanted to keep carbonation in my life at any cost. Well, it cost me. Cost me more pain. Since I have eliminated carbonation not only has my IBS eased up, but my pain has also. Many carbonated drinks contain caffeine which is a stimulant. Again, as stated above, why would we want to stimulate ourselves any more than we already are?

Don’t “Drive-Thru”
Okay, you can shoot the messenger on this one. Talk about difficult. Fast food is part of our life. When your entire body aches why would you want to stand in front of the stove for hours? But trust me on this one. Now, I am not saying stop it forever. There will be times when you must have that #1 super-sized. But you can cut back significantly. If you haven’t, I encourage you to follow The Food Babe on Facebook or check out her website. I will let her tell you why you need to stop eating out. Basically, it all goes back to avoiding additives.

Listen, I know this isn't easy or even fun to read. I understand the need for comfort when so much of our life is painful. We work just to get up and go most days. But I promise you that if you ease yourself into this that you will notice a difference. You can read how I changed my entire lifestyle here. Please feel free to contact me for more information.

Love,

Rachel






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