If you are reading this article, chances are you’re concerned about your gut health. Maybe you have gut health problems or maybe you have a chronic illness and, as you played Doctor Google, you stumbled across information about healing your gut first. Well, doctor, you are correct…you need to fix what’s going on in your gut first before you can heal the rest of your body. In this article, I will give you functional nutrition tips and intentional wellness tips for managing IBS, but these tips are also great for any chronic illness.
What is IBS
IBS is the acronym for Irritable Bowel Syndrome. It is a diagnosis given to those that have digestive cramping, pain, gas, bloating, constipation and/or diarrhea. Once more serious conditions, like Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, are ruled out, IBS is the typical diagnosis.
More often than not, IBS is not severe and can be managed with lifestyle and diet changes. I would venture to say that most people aren’t even diagnosed because it isn’t severe enough to go to the doctor, or it is random or cyclical and they aren’t sure when it will happen. But even if it isn’t severe, something is going on and you can be helped!
There are lots of possible root causes for IBS. You may say, but I’ve tried everything and nothing helps long term. That’s because some root causes are diet related, and some are mentally or emotionally related. You may eat the same meal on two different occasions. One time you were relaxed and didn’t have a care in the world. The other time, you were stressed out. Guess which time you will have digestive problems? Yep, the stressed out time. What is happening in your mind, is also happening in your gut. So if your mind is worrying about all the “what ifs”, your gut will feel it.
What Are Functional Nutrition Tips for Managing IBS
Functional nutrition is getting to the root cause of the problem to heal from the inside out. There are a lot of possible root causes for everyone. These three are some of the biggies that are very common.
Functional Nutrition Tip #1: Clear Out the Junk
Get the junk out!! If you can’t pronounce an ingredient, don’t put it in your mouth. The food industry has gotten away with putting lots of fillers, chemicals and preservatives in processed food. Even though an ingredient is GRAS (generally regarded as safe), it isn’t tested long term, and may not even be tested on humans, especially those that are sensitive to the extras. If you have an irritable bowel, you need to avoid the things that irritate it.
Functional Nutrition Tip #2: Increase the Real Food
Real food is food growing from this earth that is not chemically processed. Most of our diets should be real food. Unfortunately, most of our diets have become processed food due to convenience, the lack of knowledge of how to prepare food and lack of time. It’s easier to open up a package or go through the drive thru than it is to prepare a full meal. And snacks are always processed junk.
Functional Nutrition Tip #3: Wash It All Down
Sometimes IBS, especially constipation, is from dehydration. A lot of us stay dehydrated so getting enough fluid to move everything through is important.
What Are Intentional Wellness Tips for Managing IBS
Above are the functional nutrition tips I recommend, but lifestyle is also an important factor for managing IBS. Being intentional with your wellness habits means you are doing things on purpose and with a purpose. These are the non-negotiables for managing IBS.
Intentional Wellness Tip #1: Move
If you don’t move your body, everything stays stagnant. You have to move everyday to help your bowels move, to decrease stress levels, and to remove toxins.
Intentional Wellness Tip #2: Breathe
Like I mentioned earlier, IBS can be caused by mental or emotional stress. If you aren’t breathing correctly, you could remain in the sympathetic part of your nervous system and you will continue to have IBS.
Intentional Wellness Tip #3: Positive Affirmations
I cannot stress enough the importance of positive affirmations. Every cell hears your thoughts. If your thoughts are negative, your body will hear that and healing won’t happen. Make it a non-negotiable to talk nice to yourself.
Let’s Connect!
Do you have IBS or do you suspect you do but haven’t been diagnosed? What has worked for you? I’d love to hear your favorite tips or tricks. Respond to me with what works for you personally. And as always, please share this article if you know someone that might benefit from the information!
