I thought this would be something worth mentioning as I know this not only effects myself (I have recently been diagnosed with IBS), but others also with the same condition.
I want to start by explaining what IBS is. IBS stands for “Irritable Bowel Syndrome”, and the following information has been taken from http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/irritable-bowel-syndrome/pages/introduction.aspx
(Start quote) Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common condition of the digestive system. It can cause bouts of stomach cramps, bloating, diarrhoea and constipation.
The symptoms of IBS usually appear for the first time when a person is between 20 and 30 years of age. They tend to come and go in bouts, often during times of stress or after eating certain foods.
Symptoms vary between individuals and affect some people more severely than others. However, most people have either diarrhoea, constipation, or bouts of both. You may also have mucus in your stools.
You may find the painful stomach cramps of IBS ease after going to the toilet and opening your bowels.
What causes IBS?
The exact cause of IBS is unknown, but most experts agree it’s related to an increased sensitivity of the entire gut, which can occasionally be linked to a prior food-related illness.
This may be caused by a change in your body’s ability to move food through your digestive system, or may be due to you becoming more sensitive to pain from your gut.
Psychological factors such as stress may also play a part in IBS. (End quote)
As I’ve found it is wheat and gluten which seems to effect me, over the last few weeks and months, I have been looking at making my own wheat and gluten free bread. I have tried to use various recipes and different type of flour but the bread which had been made by hand (I was trained in baking and as a chef many years ago) and in a bread maker, never seemed to rise like normal bread or even the wheat and gluten free breads at the supermarkets. So I have with my partner been looking at the wheat and gluten free range from various supermarkets. We found there are various ones and we have tried most if not all and there is some interesting facts we found out and a surprise we wasn’t expecting.
We found that some wheat and gluten free products have an emulsifier in them, to help them bind the ingredients together. This can usually also be bought from supermarkets and be added to say “Knorr” beef stock cubes (which have no wheat in them) to thicken it up so it isn’t so much like water. We found while researching though, that one of these popular emulsifiers causes me personally to have severe intestinal pain and makes my tummy and intestine bloat up like a ballon, causing more discomfort than if I had eaten wheat and gluten. Because of this fact, when we have to thicken anything we will now either use corn flour or wheat and gluten free flour. Regarding bread, we buy wheat, gluten and locto free bread from Tescos as it doesn’t have the emulsifier in it which causes the issues. The name of the emulsifier which causes the issues for me is: “Xanthan Gum” (I will add a photo of it).
Also be aware of pre-made foods, for example “Dolmio Creamy Lasagne Sauce” as even though it doesn’t have wheat or gluten in it from what I can see, it does have the Xanthan Gum stabiliser (image will be added).
If you have or suspect of having IBS, you should speak to your GP (Doctor) and explain to them the issues you are having. Remember that it may not be IBS, so if you go in saying “Doctor, I have IBS”, won’t help… Not unless you are a qualified doctor lol. By all means ask the doctor if it could be IBS and they will probably refer you to a dietitian, to clarify if it is or is not. Making a food and drink diary of all foods and drinks taken each day and what times, including any pain you feel throughout the day in or around your tummy and intestine area. Also making a note of any bowel movements you have: ie; is it loose, hard etc.
I hope this has helped in either helping diagnose a possible IBS condition or just helping finally tuning your meals. Either way I pray this helps. And if you need more information, Google is a good way to find it. But remember, always speak to your doctor when looking at possible conditions, they would rather you bother them over something little than have you wait and keep putting something off and it turns out to be something serious.
BobOnLife 