# My diet- which has really helped!!!



## Ems (Apr 13, 2004)

Hi all,I have been following my diet for 6 months and I feel alive! OK.. I get pain now and then, but no bloating and very few bouts of diarrhoea (only when I've been out drinking!).I have cut out wheat/ gluten. Most food companies show allergy advice on the back of foods so it’s easy to cut out. Most supermarkets in the UK stock a good selection of wheat-free alternatives i.e. wheat-free pasta, which you cannot taste the difference! Wheat is in nearly everything, so a lot of us have become "intolerant". There are many books available explaining this issue. I also avoid spicy foods, beans, lentils, pulses:-typical windy foods! High fibre veg and foods, rye bread etc, cause my symptoms to worsen.I also have soya milk in my rice pops for breakfast, but eat low fat real cheese. Therefore, I haven't cut out all dairy. Dairy can often cause sensitivities in people. Fat also, apparently makes your intestine spasm, so lean meats and low fat foods help.I personally can’t eat fruit. The fibre and acid leaves me in a lot of pain. I eat extra veg to compensate for the lack of vitamins. I have also found that high iron hurts my tum. I have sought a lot of nutritional advice and my diet contains twice as much vits as needed (except iron), so I do not take multivitamin tablets. I also find pro-biotics and bio-yoghurts give me cronick pain and diarrhoea. Coffee and strong tea also have this affect. Caffeine is diuretic i.e. makes you go to the loo. I drink peppermint tea; peppermint has been proven to help IBS. I drink about 3litres of water a day and take regular low impact exercise. Classes like yoga and tai chi help to relax and as we all know the more stressed we feel the worse our symptoms are!You may find by cutting out stuff for a while you may be able to re-introduce it back slowly. I am not a doctor, so you must seek professional advice or really research this topic before you dramatically change your life or eating patterns! I hope this helps!!Ems xx


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## dlt647 (Jul 30, 2003)

Hi EMS. I, too, have stopped eating all wheat/gluten products as well as all dairy. The dairy showed up positive in my allergy testing last year so I haven't had that in a while. I recently stopped eating wheat/gluten products and have noticed a huge difference. I buy gluten free products from my local health food store. Occasionally it bothers me that I can't just eat what I want, but most times I'm okay with it. I bought some gluten free cookies this week and didn't notice there was some dairy products in it. I also started taking calcium at the recommendation of my OB/GYN and had some significant gas and bloating. Once, I stopped, though, I'm back to normal. I have to stay away from anything this causes gas. I have the inability to pass gas very easily so it sits there causing discomfort. I have had many abdominal surgies over the years and think adhesions may be a part of this (from what I read adhesions can cause the inability to pass gas). Other than that, my constipation has pretty much gone away and the pain/bloating has subsided with this diet. I know you are supposed to be checked for celiac before starting a gluten free diet, but I didn't want to go through that. I just thought it was worth a try to go on this diet and, amazingly, it worked. That is all I care about. Good luck and glad to hear you are feeling so much better.


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