IBS and tea is a topic I have yet to cover on this blog. It isn't a treatment many doctors will discuss with you, so I happened upon tea quite by accident. To read more you may want to check out some other bloggers, most notably Dr. Barbara Bolen of About.com.
Let me start off by saying that I'm not a tea or coffee drinker in any normal sense of the word. Most gastroenterologists advise against caffeine and I stick to this by sheer accident because I hate the taste and it gets me so revved up I can't function. I'm a water girl 99.99 % of the time. In recent years I have taken to experimenting with herbal teas as a digestive aid and have had mild success.
What do I use herbal teas for? If I feel bloated, gassy or like I need to use the washroom I may look to drink a tea. Sometimes a glass of hot water will help, but I tend to have more success with tea. My faves are as follows:
1. Mint: This can be a little controversial, especially for those of you who have GERD (I do!). If you have GERD then it can exacerbate your symptoms, but I have learned how much I can handle without causing problems. I tend to buy organic mint or spearmint tea - it has no added caffeine or green tea. My preference is David's Tea, but I also like the Refresh Tea at Starbucks - but not at home as it is far too expensive! I tend to buy 100g from David's Tea and it will last me several months.
2. Detox tea: I have only just begun to explore this tea, also from David's, so am still getting used to it. The flavour is a little overwhelming, but it does appear to help with digestion.
3. Pu'erh tea: These teas have a long history in China of helping with weight and digestion. I'm still acquiring a taste for this; I'm having trouble getting on-board with the flavour; however, know that it works really well. My favourite way to drink it is with some mint tea thrown in their to mask the flavour.
You can also make your own tea using freshly grated ginger, to find out more take a look at this article on IBS from Best Health. For other home remedies that may help your IBS, take a look at this article on Discovery.
Do you use any herbal remedies to help manage your IBS or to aid in digestion?
Showing posts with label digestive teas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label digestive teas. Show all posts
Wednesday, 13 November 2013
Sunday, 14 October 2012
Food Gone Wild
WARNING: This is an IBS-specific post, and may contain TMI - Too Much Information.
We have all been lead to assume that fruits, vegetables, lentils and whole grains are healthy and should represent a large portion of our diet. I would also like to believe this is true, but, unfortunately, for some of us, this can run horribly awry in practice.
For the last few months I have had the sneaking suspicion that I have been heading toward a full-blown IBS episode. Firstly, as my episodes are normally about every two years or so, I am clearly due. What tipped me off though were the minimum of seven to eight visits to the ladies room each day (double what I think of as normal) for the past eight weeks. I have had gas so badly that I have been unable to sit up straight at work and have been forced to drop everything, call a cab and head home to my magic bag on more than one occasion. It has begun to affect my routines, my corn starch usage has gone through the roof and I cannot decide whether sitting or standing is preferable.
In an attempt to combat this I have tried a few things. I had my first abdominal massage, I am now seeing a naturopath (the third in my lifetime). I find myself agreeing to consume tinctures and Chinese herbs with names like bu zhong yi qi tang. I have yet to try a rice water remedy that is supposed to help regulate me.
The likely question here is - is it something I'm eating? I tried that experiment - I did the clean eating thing - I peeled and steamed my veg and fruit. I ate lots of sugar-free applesauce and fruit cocktail (fresh fruit can be tricky for IBSers to digest). I ate more fibre, I drank more water (more than my 3+ litres a day), I drank digestive teas, I did the digestive-friendly yoga poses and lots of yoga breathing. The results? It gave me the shits, like, have-the-flu kind of shits.
Upon realizing that this was not going according to plan I bought a lot of Boost and Gatorade (to help replace electrolytes). On particularly high-pain days I have been drinking 1-3 Boost. Some days I have a completely liquid day so it does not hurt quite so much by the time I hit number 8. On better days I have 1-2 Boost, applesauce, white bread with peanut butter and either more white bread, applesauce and an egg or grilled chicken with steamed broccoli.
However, a funny thing happened. I went on vacation. In the land of Olive Garden salad and bread sticks, pizza, fried food, dessert and alcohol.
Aside from a little gas, I was at 1-2 washroom trips a day - without the big D and minimal amounts of pain! I even hiked up several mountains at Acadia National Park without crapping my pants or popping a squat! The only real side effects are my clogged arteries and the extra padding around my tush.
What does this mean? It certainly goes to show that stress is the leading factor contributing to this IBS episode. It also shows that when in an episode food can have little bearing on your symptoms. So does this mean I plan to continue along this road to chunky town? Definitely not. Come hell or high water I am putting my fat pants away. But, it does mean that as I go back on "real" food, life will be pretty awful, for quite awhile as my body gets used to trying to process fruits and vegetables.
As an IBS sufferer it is often difficult to choose the right foods because my reaction to the good food goes against everything I have been taught - from the food guide to my specialist, to all the health, fitness and wellness bloggers out there. The healthy choice certainly feels pretty unhealthy to me as I have to go every hour, on the hour from the time I wake up. It certainly feels unhealthy canceling appointments and making up excuses as to why I have to miss that meeting or have my colleagues believe that I really cannot shake that flu. It is also really awkward dealing with the corn starch in a public restroom - all signs point to addiction.
So today, my first full day back from vacation I started off with my morning shake (Shakeology, cocoa powder, cinnamon, skim milk, peanut butter and banana baby food) and stuck to real food aside from my one ultra dark chocolate truffle and some butter on my white bread. My body certainly cannot take whole wheat bread and vegetables all at once - one step at a time. As I slowly, but surely trade in my fat pants for my skinny jeans, think of me, perpetually on the throne, in a cloud of corn starch. Think of this as installment one in Food Gone Wild - an IBSer's tale of strange food choices, all in the name of the colon!
For those of you with digestive issues, I would love to hear if you have any recommendations!
We have all been lead to assume that fruits, vegetables, lentils and whole grains are healthy and should represent a large portion of our diet. I would also like to believe this is true, but, unfortunately, for some of us, this can run horribly awry in practice.
For the last few months I have had the sneaking suspicion that I have been heading toward a full-blown IBS episode. Firstly, as my episodes are normally about every two years or so, I am clearly due. What tipped me off though were the minimum of seven to eight visits to the ladies room each day (double what I think of as normal) for the past eight weeks. I have had gas so badly that I have been unable to sit up straight at work and have been forced to drop everything, call a cab and head home to my magic bag on more than one occasion. It has begun to affect my routines, my corn starch usage has gone through the roof and I cannot decide whether sitting or standing is preferable.
In an attempt to combat this I have tried a few things. I had my first abdominal massage, I am now seeing a naturopath (the third in my lifetime). I find myself agreeing to consume tinctures and Chinese herbs with names like bu zhong yi qi tang. I have yet to try a rice water remedy that is supposed to help regulate me.
The likely question here is - is it something I'm eating? I tried that experiment - I did the clean eating thing - I peeled and steamed my veg and fruit. I ate lots of sugar-free applesauce and fruit cocktail (fresh fruit can be tricky for IBSers to digest). I ate more fibre, I drank more water (more than my 3+ litres a day), I drank digestive teas, I did the digestive-friendly yoga poses and lots of yoga breathing. The results? It gave me the shits, like, have-the-flu kind of shits.
Upon realizing that this was not going according to plan I bought a lot of Boost and Gatorade (to help replace electrolytes). On particularly high-pain days I have been drinking 1-3 Boost. Some days I have a completely liquid day so it does not hurt quite so much by the time I hit number 8. On better days I have 1-2 Boost, applesauce, white bread with peanut butter and either more white bread, applesauce and an egg or grilled chicken with steamed broccoli.
However, a funny thing happened. I went on vacation. In the land of Olive Garden salad and bread sticks, pizza, fried food, dessert and alcohol.
 |
| Amazing milkshake at Duckfat in Portland, Maine |
 |
| View from Acadia Mountain |
 |
| Another beautiful view |
As an IBS sufferer it is often difficult to choose the right foods because my reaction to the good food goes against everything I have been taught - from the food guide to my specialist, to all the health, fitness and wellness bloggers out there. The healthy choice certainly feels pretty unhealthy to me as I have to go every hour, on the hour from the time I wake up. It certainly feels unhealthy canceling appointments and making up excuses as to why I have to miss that meeting or have my colleagues believe that I really cannot shake that flu. It is also really awkward dealing with the corn starch in a public restroom - all signs point to addiction.
So today, my first full day back from vacation I started off with my morning shake (Shakeology, cocoa powder, cinnamon, skim milk, peanut butter and banana baby food) and stuck to real food aside from my one ultra dark chocolate truffle and some butter on my white bread. My body certainly cannot take whole wheat bread and vegetables all at once - one step at a time. As I slowly, but surely trade in my fat pants for my skinny jeans, think of me, perpetually on the throne, in a cloud of corn starch. Think of this as installment one in Food Gone Wild - an IBSer's tale of strange food choices, all in the name of the colon!
For those of you with digestive issues, I would love to hear if you have any recommendations!
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