Monday, January 25th, 2010
Use our free guide to tune in today
At ‘Love Your Gut’ it will probably come as no surprise that we’re more than a little interested in gut health. And of course through our annual Gut Week campaign we try and share the knowledge and aim to get more people talking about their digestive health and seeking steps to improve it.
What I didn’t realise until very recently was perhaps how intuitive the digestive system is. Did you know that the gut is the only organ in the body to use all of the five senses to communicate with you? Some maybe obvious – you can feel the pain of a upset tummy or perhaps if you’re constipated, sometimes you can smell the gut or hear some of the sounds it makes. But do you always know what it means? Could you be sure that a sign from the gut is negative or positive and what you need to do to ‘digest’ and act on the information?
Fortunately there is a new book from Love Your Gut partner Yakult to help! The Gut Translator, is a colourful publication packed with insider information to help you decipher the complex ‘language’ of your digestive system, and understand exactly what the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings connected with your gut might indicate.
The free booklet also outlines some of the most common digestive disorders, dispels some common gut ‘myths’, and offers advice on maintaining good digestive health. And it’s available for free by clicking the link here.
So isn’t it time you tuned in to what your gut is telling you? It might be one of the most useful conversations you’ve had!
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Tuesday, January 19th, 2010
Getting the day off to a great start
How are those New Year resolutions going? If you’re struggling you’re not alone as I can profess from my own slight weaknesses and those around me. I have to admit that the recent bout of bad weather didn’t help things at all. Couldn’t get to the gym, struggled with the balance of not having too many comfort foods, its not been easy.
But one thing I did get into when the weather was cold was porridge. When you know you’ve got to go and face the wintery weather, it was nice to get warm food inside you and certainly one that was also good to get your digestive system stimulated in the morning.
Why is porridge so good? Well it has protein, B vitamins and slow released energy which is ideal to try and keep from snacking mid morning. But of course it is also full of gut friendly oats and the recipe below also includes some anti-oxidant rich dried fruit.
I know some visitors to the blog may have problems with lactose and therefore using milk with porridge might be a problem. But chatting to gastroenterologist Dr Naila Arebi last week suggested substituting milk for apple juice and then adding a range of fruits. I haven’t given it a try yet but I certainly will. And if you’ve got any great healthy breakfast recipes then please share them with us. But if you need to get some more healthy recipes then order your free digestive health pack today and we’ll send one out to you!
Porridge with prunes and apricots
Serves 2
Per serving
614 calories
12g fat
7g saturated fat
19g fibre
Ingredients
2 cups semi-skimmed milk
2 cups water
2 cups porridge oats
8 ready-to-eat prunes (snipped)
8 ready-to-eat apricots (snipped)
2 tsp brown granulated sugar
Extra milk for drizzling
Method
1. Put the milk and water into a saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. Add the oats and cook for 5 mins or as directed on the packer.
2. Add the prunes and the apricots to the porridge. Cover and leave for 1 min.
3. Pour into two bowls, sprinkle over the sugar and leave to melt – about 1 min. Serve with extra milk poured on top.
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Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
The Gut Trust is listening
On Tuesday and Thursday evening, I answer calls on the Gut Trust’s telephone helpline. The topics are extremely variable. All human life is there. Many callers are desperate and so often it can seem that their IBS is associated with what has been happening in their lives. Larry was a case in point.
It was a quiet night on the helpline. Just two calls to begin with. Then at just gone 8, Larry rang up.
‘Is confusion a symptom of IBS?’
I was hesitant. ‘It can be’.
‘Oh good. That makes me feel better. My doctor said it’s impossible.’
I didn’t respond. Instead I said, ‘Well, tell me what happens?’
‘Every time I eat something, I can’t think properly, I can’t focus, I can’t even drive my car. All foods seem to affect it, but recently I have found that if I mash up some potato with a bit of water, it is not so bad.’ .
There was no time to go into detail, so I told him that his symptoms reminded me of dumping. He knew what I was talking about. ‘When I had a barium meal a few years ago, they said they had never seen a stomach empty so quickly.’
‘So if a proper meal emptied that quickly, the rapid distension of the small intestine and the surge of insulin caused by rapid arrival of food could both result in faintness and confusion.’
‘But what can I do about it?’ he asked.
‘Try something to slow stomach emptying; a viscous polysaccharide like Guar Gum can make the food contents sticky and slow the rate at which they leave the stomach and are absorbed. Some drugs such as the anticholinergic, ProBanthine can also slow gastric emptying’
I felt satisfied, but he was cautious.
‘But my doctor doesn’t think it’s dumping.’
‘And you’re confused.’
‘Yes’.
‘Well, how long have you had the IBS?’
‘About 10 years.’
‘And it came on about the same time as the confusion?’
‘So was there anything that happened 10 years ago.’
‘The only thing was that my son got ME? He’s still living at home.’
‘I wonder if there’s a connection.’
I am Dr Nick Read and I am a gastroenterologist and a psychotherapist and use both sets of skills to try to get behind the symptom to find out what is going on. I recall the old adage, ‘It is as important to understand the patient with the illness as it is to understand the illness in the patient. Irritable Bowel Syndrome is an illness that does not have a specific cause or a definitive cure. Diet, lifestyle, infection, gut bacteria and stress, particularly stress, may all play a role in generating the symptoms. IBS is a holistic condition that requires a holistic remedy. Only by understanding both the patient and the illness can my caller and I find the most appropriate way of dealing with it.
The Gut Trust is the National Charity for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It works alongside the health service to inform, support and advise patients with IBS, their family and carers. The helpline is open every Tuesday and Thursday night from 7.30pm to 9.30pm on 0872 300 4537.
In addition to a free consultation on the helpline, members of The Gut Trust advice the helpline, members have access to our unique, fully comprehensive self management programme, a telephone helpline, free medical consultation, our magazine ‘Gut Reaction’, What’s New, our national network of self help groups, a can’t wait card and much more. To join The Gut Trust, visit our website (www.theguttrust.org) or call 0114 2723253 during office hours (9.30am to 4.30pm weekdays).
The Gut Trust is a partner of ‘Love your Gut’.
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Monday, January 4th, 2010
How can we keep our resolutions in 2010?
First of all, a very Happy New Year to all Love Your Gut followers. Hopefully the festive season was happy and restful and back into the new year – and new decade – with a bang.
Did you make any resolutions? Have you broken any yet? Well if you have it’s not a massive surprise as according to Yakult research carried out last year, 5 million Brits broke their New Year resolutions. Are we being unrealistic or are we starting too early?
Well a bit of both is the answer. Physically and mentally our bodies need time to recover from the festive activities and also going back to work can be a bit of a struggle. Experts actually estimate that the best time to start is a couple of weeks into the New Year.
According to the research, 52% of people confess to eating more than they do normally over the Christmas period, resulting in almost a third of us suffering from a digestive complaint.
Love Your Gut supporter and gastroenterologist Dr Simon Gabe says: “Digestive problems over Christmas are very common and can occur for a variety of reasons such as dietary changes, stress and gastroenteritis. Infections such as salmonella can and do occur from undercooked turkey, but it is more likely that symptoms suffered are due to a combination of dietary changes and stress.
So if our bodies have taken a battering over the Christmas period we need to ease them gently into the new diet and exercise plans we may have. Rushing into overdrive is only likely to force us into quitting, so we need to think about ways of making changes, small steps, bit by bit.
If you’re faced with a massive task, at work or college, looking at it as one massive task can be depressing and make you want to put things off. The same can be said with weight loss. You may want to lose a stone, but setting small, realistic stepping stones can help with that achievement. And don’t forget to reward yourself. If you’re getting up early to do extra exercise, allow yourself a lie in once a week too. You’ll know you’ve deserved it.
So what targets have you set yourself for 2010? I’ve set some health and lifestyle challenges and would be interested to hear what you’re doing and how you’re getting along. We’ve got about eight months until Gut Week so lets see what we can do between now and then! Good luck!
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