While you likely know someone who suffers from Irritable Bowel Syndrome, the full extent to which the condition affects people's lives are rarely talked about. While those with minor cases of IBS can live their lives with relative ease, there are others out there who are completely overwhelmed by the syndrome.
One woman whose life was greatly affected by this problem is Bethany Ugarte, a
health blogger from
California. The 28-year-old revealed on her blog Lilsipper, which provides "healthy recipes designed for digestive health", that she has suffered from severe digestive issues for most of her adult life, with the symptoms putting her in an extremely dark place.
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"My symptoms weren’t just gas, bloating, constipation/diarrhea," she wrote on the blog. "They were BAD. I wasn’t digesting food properly, everything I ate was being eliminated whole (AKA: I wasn’t able to absorb the nutrients), I kept vomiting and burping up a sulfur smell (like rotten eggs), and my brain got 'foggy'. Yes, I would bloat and be uncomfortable, but that was the least of my problems."
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Bethany used to work for a vegan meat company, but eventually she had to resign due to her condition. On top of this, her marriage broke down and she suffered from depression during this gloomy period, all before she was even 25. Worst of all, she found that doctors didn't believe her when she complained, often putting her in the same category as those with minor bloating despite how bad a state her health was in.
Luckily, she came out of this dark patch by returning to a holistic doctor she had previously worked with, who got her back on track with what she ate. "He kicked my but back into gear and in nine months I felt like a new person," she said. "My digestion was healed, my Crohn's/IBS wasn’t as bad, and I was able to digest and absorb more nutrients again." She shared transformation photos on her blog and Instagram, showing how much progress she has made so far:
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Now her diet is free of gluten, peanuts, refined sugars and artificial sugars. She also avoids eating raw vegetables, most dairy products, processed foods, and otherwise
healthy products that can negatively affect digestion.
Fresh foods are her first recommendation, and even says that "If you want bread, you make it. If you want milk, you make it!"
"I know it sounds extreme, but it only has to be for a while to help calm things down, as preservatives can stir up things – and if there’s less than 19% of a chemical/ingredient in a food, by regulations it’s not required to list it in the ingredients!"
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She now swears by a daily dose of L-Glutamine to repair her stomach lining and a spoon of raw or manuka honey before each meal to encourage the production of 'digestive juices'. But a key part of her transformation isn't down to what she eats, but her mental state:
"Try to take 30 minutes every day to just 'de-stress', whatever that is for you. Make a list of things you enjoy doing (be selfish!) and make a goal to do at least one of those things a day."
Regardless of whether you suffer from any form of digestive disorder, taking a moment to de-stress sounds like a good idea and is worth incorporating into any of our days.
