# Looking for Soup Recipes



## Guest (Nov 6, 2001)

Sorry, posted in error.


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## Heather Van Vorous (Oct 2, 2001)

Hi - Yes, cabbage can contribute to gas, as can other cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts). Cooking these vegetables until very tender, pureeing them into soups or spreads or dips, and combining them with soluble fiber can greatly minimize this risk.I'm posting a simple recipe for a sweet potato soup for you that should be helpful. You can add a little to cumin to it if you like. Cinnamon, cumin, and ginger are all good herbs for digestion, so they're not just tasty ingredients in this soup but beneficial as well. Is rice a grain that you can tolerate? It is very soothing and regulating for both diarrhea and constipation due to its high soluble fiber content, so I've posted a link for a rice porridge that is a wonderful staple for IBS.If you already have a favorite vegetable soup recipe, making it with no meat/dairy and little to no oil, then pureeing it until smooth, and this should make it pretty tolerable. Sweet potato soup8 cups peeled, chopped sweet potatoes2 large carrots, peeled and chunked1/2 teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ginger5 cups waterfresh lime juice and maple syrup to tasteSimmer until all veggies are tender. Let cool slightly. Puree in batches in blender or food processor. Return to pot, gently reheat. Add lime juice and maple syrup to taste and serve.Rice porridge http://www.eatingforibs.com/jok.htm


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## Heather Van Vorous (Oct 2, 2001)

Hello - Please don't feel that you're a bother because you have extra dietary limitations. Your health is too important to apologize for - if you need a lot of special considerations for what you can eat safely then so be it. You are well worth it, so don't feel guilty or as if you are putting other people out. Have you tried soy protein powders instead of whey? Whey is from dairy and that can often cause problems. Soy can sometimes be gassy, but it should be safer than the whey.The sweet potato soup is actually quite decent in protein levels - many vegetables are. Most vegetarians/vegans have no problems getting enough protein, though since you avoid all grains this could be problematic. This is another reason to try soy, which is a complete protein. The only sugar in the soup is what's naturally occurring in the veggies, and shouldn't be problematic. Fructose, or fruit sugar, can be, but you are probably already avoiding this. If you do go to fish I'd try a plain white fish like cod or halibut, simply steamed or broiled. This is usually very tolerable.How frustrating to have to deal with such a motility problem. Typically soluble fiber will really help this because it will gently stimulate and regulate motility, but it sounds like you have no luck with this at all. The insoluble fiber from vegetables (and whole grains, if you could tolerate them) should dramatically increase motility, but sometimes this is a problem in and of itself because your colon can overreact and have severe cramps (and gas and then diarrhea or worsened constipation) as a result. But blending the veggies into soups like you're trying to do should help a great deal.Have you tried drinking very strong peppermint, chamomile, fennel, or ginger tea? They are all smooth muscle relaxants, anti-spasmodics, and reduce gas as well. They can help quite a bit with the abdominal pain. Beans and lentils have both soluble (on the inside) and insoluble (the skins) fiber. They are usually much more easily tolerable when pureed or blended but you are so sensitive you might want to have them in small quantities only, and very carefully.This is probably old hat to you, but do you drink plenty of fresh water and try to get some type of activity/exercise each day? I know it's tough when you're in pain, but even gentle walking or stretching at home can help with motility and especially constipation. The other thing to try is yoga - you wouldn't believe some of the success stories I've heard from people with severe constipation who have tried yoga. I do hope you're feeling better soon. One thing that stood out a bit from your post was the fact that soy sauce bothers you - this on top of the problems you have with so many grains makes me wonder if you've been tested for celiac, a genetic autoimmune disorder that results in a gluten intolerance. Gluten is found in many grains but a surprising number of other foods as well, and celiac is often misdiagnosed as IBS.Best, Heather


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## Heather Van Vorous (Oct 2, 2001)

You really have been through so much pain and suffering, my heart goes out to you. I'm guessing you've seen a million doctors at this point but if you haven't I would urge you to try again to find a good gastroenterologist, perhaps at a teaching university hospital, and try to get some answers here. Your combination of symptoms, and the fact that they are simply non-stop, is not typical for IBS. The fact that you also have Graves, and that you have a constant craving for sweets, would also indicate that there may well be more going on here. I'm also very worried about the fact that simply drinking waters triggers burning, pulling, pain for you. I would want to make certain that you haven't simply been written off with a "motility disorder" when you need to have a lot more information from your doctors about what specifically they think is going wrong with your body and what they think can help. IBS has a history of being used as a catch-all diagnosis when underlying physical problems can't be found, even if the patient's symptoms do not match, and this is not an acceptable medical practice.The yogurt and pear breakfast would not be my first choice for IBS for a few reasons. Yogurt is dairy, and dairy is a huge trigger for all sorts of GI upsets due to its fat content, lactose, whey, and casein. Next to red meats dairy proteins are the most difficult for the body to digest. Pears have insoluble fiber in their skins, and a high fructose content, both of which can cause cramps and diarrhea. Their flesh is high soluble fiber, which is normally great for all IBS symptoms, but I wouldn't want to eat pears alone. However, you are having such awful reactions to so many foods overall that I'm at a loss for safe alternatives for you. The standbys of plain rice, white bread toast, bananas, plain noodles, etc. are options you've already tried unsuccessfully.The other aspect I wonder about is whether you've been tested by a medical allergist for food allergies. This might be coming into play on top of your IBS (or other problems) and muddying the waters.I do wish I had more answers for you.Heather


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## Heather Van Vorous (Oct 2, 2001)

Hi Lynne - Thank you for your kind comments. I do hope you are feeling better soon. For your questions:"I'm confused a bit about the white toast, bananas, rice and noodles for someone with major, severe consiptation because those are really binding/clogging and sticky foods and the type of food that helps people with diahrrea, aren't they? Or am I missing something?"This whole area confuses a lot of people. White breads, bananas, rice and noodles are high in soluble fiber. This isn't binding or constipating, it simply soothes and regulates the GI tract to a normal rate. So it will solve constipation as well as diarrhea. This is why soluble fiber supplements, such as Metamucil and Citrucel, are marketed as laxatives. They're not, but they do relieve constipation. So will soluble fiber foods. I've never quite figured out why the supplements are marketed only for constipation (and I spend a lot of time convincing people with diarrhea that the supplements will help, not hurt them). I'm equally frustrated by the fact that soluble fiber foods are generally thought of by people as just the opposite - good for diarrhea, bad for constipation. The foods work just like the supplements, and they'll help people normalize from either extremem. So I spend just as much time trying to convince people with constipation that soluble fiber foods will help, not hurt them. The one thing to remember with soluble fiber, suppplements and foods, is that they can take a week or two to really work well for constipation. They often resolve diarrhea within just a day or two, fortunately. But for chronic constipation (which many folks with IBS have been suffering from for years) they will not work overnight like chemical laxatives. They should eventually work, though, because that's what soluble fiber does to the gut. I'm not sure what cereal to recommend to you since you react to so many grains. Typically, oatmeal and cream of rice are great hot cereals, and rich chex or corn chex are good cold choices. But, they are all from grains. I definitely would not eliminate all fruit from your diet - it's too important for good nutrition. Applesauce is usually a good bet. Whirling fresh fruit into a smoothie (you don't need milk at all) can make it more tolerable because it purees the insoluble fiber. I can eat about 10 times more fresh fruit when it's blended smooth than if I tried to eat it whole in a fruit salad. Mangoes are usually well-tolerated, and bananas too.I am leery of the whey protein powder, simply because whey is a dairy protein, and dairy is so difficult to digest. Yogurt is typically the easiest dairy product for people to tolerate, but as you found even yogurt can cause big problems for IBS. So I'd be very hesitant about eating any dairy at all in your situation. One thing you might try is soy protein isolate powder. You should be able to get this in bulk at a health food market, which means you can buy just a tiny bit to try it. Isolated soy protein can be easier than a whole food soy product (such as tofu) if you are susceptible to gas or other problems from soy. You can even add it to the fruit smoothies - I do this all the time for dessert.I would try again to pursue food allergy testing through your health insurance. Even if your family or GI doctors aren't supportive, this is a legitimate medical field and there should be allergists within your insurance plan that you can see. You might be able to just start phoning them and asking if they do food allergy testing, and what this would entail, and if this doesn't sound like their area of concentration don't make an appointment, just try phoning someone else. Food allergies can quite literally kill people, so this is not a problem that should just be dismissed as minor if there is a chance that you are suffering from it.I hope that you are able to find some answers and some more dietary options that help you. - Heather


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