# Red wine and IBS



## babyblue

My ibs started about 3 years ago. I assumed it was because I was going through my divorce and super stressed. About 6 months ago I decided I should get checked out because I seriously thought I had chrohns. I've been through all the tests and taken the antibiotics. Nothing worked consistently. I thought back to previous years in my life and I used to have normal bowel function. Totally regular, solid. Then I started thinking about what I used to eat and drink back then and if anything is different in my diet now. The only thing I can make a correlation with is red wine. In those years prior to my ibs I only drank white wine or vodka or gin tonics. When I got divorced my girlfriend and I would get together and drink wine. She only drank red wine and I didn't care, I like both red and white. So we drank red...and my problems started. I've done the food diary and eliminated dairy, red meat and high fat foods. I would have a few good days and then a week of torture. I then got a great boyfriend and he only likes red wine so...of course we were pouring that. I ran out of excuses as to why I had to leave so early! (I came clean and he couldn't be more supportive!) So I decided on October 1 to quit red wine. And start meditating. And the amazing thing is.... I feel great! I do still watch my diet as far as dairy goes but I have had a few bites of steak (joy!). I have gone back to white wine and went out last weekend and had a few vodka tonics. No problems! What I do religiously is drink kefir in the morning, either a glass full or add it to low fat granola - so yummy- and I take calcium and opc's every day, after breakfast and dinner. Also I just added royal jelly in honey to my tea once a day and my energy has been amazing. Probably from all the B vitamins. I know it's only been 19 days but that's the longest I've gone without having D in three years!! I've been having one BM a day. I feel so good I haven't thought about my stomach, intestines or bowel movements. And that's big for me. I always walked around with my hand on my tummy, pushing and poking, wondering when "it" was going to strike. It's like everything is back to NORMAL! I do a lot of positive meditating before I get out of bed in the morning and before I go to sleep at night. I believe this is a big part of my recovery. I just saw my dr. last week and told him my progress. He said that red wines have a lot of sulfites and maybe I have a sensitivity to sulfites. In our conversation I also said I would usually get D the morning after dinner out at a restaurant. I thought it was from bad food prep but then one night I ate the same thing as my girlfriend and I was so ill with D the next day and she was FINE. My dr. said that restaurants use sulfite solutions on vegetables, especially lettuce, and that made even more sense to him about the sensitivity. Sulfites do cause D reactions in people. I hope this information is helpful. God Bless


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## overitnow

Back when I had active IBS/GERD, red wine--which I loved--just ate up my stomach. So go figure...I take a red grape based supplement (from the seeds and skin) that has stopped both of those problems and I can again drink red wine without effect. Clearly, the flavonoids in the supplement are more bio-useful than those present in the wine.It's so nice when you can find a simple addition or subtraction that solves these problems. Mark


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## Thai

babyblue,Glad to hear of your success. Lucky you!!What are opc's?Thai


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## wearyone

Hi Babyblue - Yeah, I can relate to the sulfur issue. Seems as though West Texas has naturally occurring sulfur in the water and as I was traveling through Balmorhea, Texas, one year, I got the worst case of diarrhea I've ever had and went from gas station to gas station with my eyes bulging out, holding my breath til I got to the next one. Also MSG does it, which a lot of restaurants use in their salad dressings and asian dishes, so I rarely eat those in a restaurant. Glad you've found the answer for you. Wearyone


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## babyblue

opc's are oligoproanthocyanadins. A good antioxidant. It comes from grape seed extract.


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## overitnow

babyblue said:


> opc's are oligoproanthocyanadins. A good antioxidant. It comes from grape seed extract.


Since we both are using grape seed to such good effect, how long have you been using it? Any particular positives you can attribute to it?Mark


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## wearyone

Hi Mark and Babyblue - I have been taking one 50 mg grape seed extract daily for years and it has never done anything for my IBS-D. May I ask how much you all are taking? The label says 1-2 caps twice daily so I just realized I am underdosing, but have always taken it for the anti-oxidant properties, not diarrhea. Never realized it might help the D! Wearyone


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## overitnow

Hi Wearyone,I use a blend called Provex CV that includes grape seed and skin along with bilberry, gingko, and quercetin. It also has bromelain and 2 fungals to quadruple absorption. The suggested dose of this is one cap (373 mg) per 35 lbs body weight for max cardio support. I currently underdose slightly at 4 caps per day (I am in the high 170s). When I began taking it, I only could afford a half dose. I have been using this for almost 10 years without any negative effects, so am not particularly alarmed by the high dosage.Obviously, you would want to discuss this with a knowledgable professional before cranking up your dosage, and results would have to have something to do with the cause of your condition. Still, I had no expectation of these results when I began taking it, I have used no other meds for the D or GERD, and it continues to be effective for me for almost 10 years. Mark


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## wearyone

Thanks ever so much for the info, certainly worth a try at least. I've come to realize through this support group that finding something that works for you is largely trial and error so I shall try it and see. Thanks! Wearyone


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## babyblue

Hi MarkI have been taking a 120mg/capsule with 95% OPCs for about 3 weeks. I take 1 capsule and 1 calcium twice a day, usually after breakfast and dinner. I've been feeling great. I've read such great things about the provex cv. I tried to order it. I think the opc has definitely helped me. I think not having the red wine has helped a lot too. My next test is to go out to dinner...


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## ImissCoffee

I just made this connection a few weeks ago, I'm glad to see it's not just me. I can drink white wine and zinfandel without a problem, but red wine is a big problem for me. Alcohol doesn't seem to affect me too much, but half a glass of red wine and I'm in pain.


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## starwoman

Hi MarkCan you tell me how long before you noticed an iprovment in the D, after you began taking the Provex?I am very interested in doing smething to relieve the D...........Chee







rs,starwoman


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## overitnow

Well, within 2 weeks I stopped fouling my robe with those surprise farts and found I could make it to the toilet which was in the next room from my home office. That was the first positive experience I had had in 10 years of this. Two months in my indigestion--which had been constant for some time--disappeared and I never had another case of reflux again. I started taking it in July and by September realized that my brain felt as though a curtain had gone up. Near the end of that month I was in charge of a large convention that had me on the floor from 8 AM until 10 PM for the weekend. (It wasn't that I didn't still have D; it was just that it was now under enough control that I could live with it, in spite of the stress that I was under.) In November I told my doctor I was getting better, although it was still several more months until it was completely controlled. I wish it had been faster; but there were always continual improvements. 9 years into it, it has been the one best thing I have done for my overall health. Others who have had similar results from it or similar compounds have all emphasized that patience is important; but I think you "know" fairly soon if it will help you or not.Mark


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## starwoman

thanks Mark.I have tried to email the australian branch of the Melaleuka company, and hope to hear back from them soon. I hope to get the same product as yourself. I am starting to believe it is a vasculitis problem (circulation). I was a heavy smoker in my earlier life.In the mean time I have purchased some Grapefruit seed extract tablets, and am taking Pomegranate juice. I have had this illness for over 45 years, so will be patient for a bit longer.Kind regards,Carmen


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## phillipm2

You know baby blue, i found that some red wines containing sulfites do bother me. I found a red wine (or may not be a red wine) called yellow tail from australia (purple bottle Shiraz) actually helps me some. My D is more solid than it was before and I dont know why this is but I have found it to work...


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## atlanticdare

My problem is usually white wine. I have a problem if I drink more than one glass usually mucus. Pasta is also a problem too things I love but really have a problem with. I don't drink red wine often so I don't know if it is just wine in general. I am sensitive to sulfites in general having a problem with dried fruit etc. What I am now stuggling with is a almost constant pain in the very lower left side of my abdomen it goes away for weeks than returns for weeks.


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## codered

Mark, Would you mind telling me what is the supplement you take (Brand name) ?Thank you very much,Rich


overitnow said:


> Back when I had active IBS/GERD, red wine--which I loved--just ate up my stomach. So go figure...I take a red grape based supplement (from the seeds and skin) that has stopped both of those problems and I can again drink red wine without effect. Clearly, the flavonoids in the supplement are more bio-useful than those present in the wine.It's so nice when you can find a simple addition or subtraction that solves these problems. Mark


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## PD85

Any alcohol at all just shreds my stomach to bits. Glad you figured out a correlation with your IBS.


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## overitnow

Hi codered. It is called Provex CV, made by Melaleuca, Inc. of Idaho Falls. They are a customer marketed membership company that sells directly to their members, so that can be too difficult for some people. Still, they did the research and product development for this over many, many years, with several reformulations to improve results, and have the clinical tests to show its effectiveness against cholesterol deposits. Since this thread was started I discovered an old study from the London Hospital that linked the platelet behaviour that is involved in cholesterol deposits--which Provex has been proven to control--with previously unknown platelet behaviour in the colon associated with inflammation. While I do not have IBD, normally associated with such inflammation, it is now being generally associated with IBS. Given that the flavonoids also stopped my GERD relatively quickly and permanently for 13 years, it is likely that this same platelet behaviour would be general throughout the GI system. Unfortunately, the team at the London Hospital did not look for this beyond the colon. In looking on the Google for the following reference, it appears that other supporting studies have been published since 1996, when this came out.http://gut.bmj.com/content/36/1/5.full.pdf (You will need to register for the free download of this article.)Best,Mark


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## Paulmcand

I am not sure if wine is produced the same way but I have troubles with bottle conditioned or cask conditioned beers. I've found that the unfiltered yeast added to the bottle or cask really does a number on the tummy the next day. I only bring this up because I was under the impression that done red wines have yeast sediment and are fermented in a similar way. I try to stay away from them but I just can't.


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