Diarrhea is a problem that people don’t like to talk about so much. Constipation and gas fall into the same category. Unfortunately, digestion problems like these affect a large percentage of us. We tend to be quiet about things like abdominal bloating, intestinal bloating, or burping. We might joke about some of the foods that can cause these unpleasant feelings, but the specific digestive problems and symptoms are just not comfortable to discuss.
Here’s the thing. If we don’t address digestion issues, most of the time they don’t go away by themselves. I have personal experience. At a very young age, I was having problems in this area and 1) I was very uncomfortable discussing it with my doctor, and 2) it was affecting my life in ways I didn’t like. I remember when I was around 20, after suffering already for quite a few years, thinking that I didn’t want to live my whole life feeling either in pain or feeling sluggish.
After getting serious about finding a solution, I started doing some research. What I found was that it wasn’t so much that something was wrong with me. It was more like what I was eating, or not eating, was producing these nasty symptoms like bloating, constipation, and intestinal gas, that I didn’t like. Now I had to be willing to make some changes so that my body’s digestion system would function properly and I would feel better.
You hear the expression, “You are what you eat.” It is true. We don’t eat enough fiber. We do eat too much processed foods. We don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables. We do eat too much white sugar and white flour. We eat on the run a lot and most of those choices are not healthy.
There are good reasons to address these problems of digestion. The main reason is that if we don’t do anything about them, they compromise our good health. Certain digestion problems that increase inflammation in our bodies make our bodies unable to absorb the nutrients that we need to be healthy. If we aren’t getting important nutrients, we can get sick.
Inflammation is a huge issue today that is affecting people’s health. It is believed to be at the root cause of many illnesses, including diseases of the intestine and colon. Inflammation is associated with diet as well because it is the imbalance between Omega-3 (we do not get enough) and Omega-6 (we get too much) fatty acids in our diets that can cause inflammation.
The good news that I found, and for everyone, is that there are solutions. We can choose to eat better, including more fruits, vegetables, and fiber. We can choose to avoid processed foods, caffeine, sugar and white flour as much as possible. We can learn how to maintain enough digestive enzymes and keep the acid level in our stomach where it should optimally be. We can feed our bodies natural supplements including vitamins and minerals that we don’t get enough of from our food and that build good health.
For managing symptoms while we work on those natural solutions, there are nutrition choices that work very well for specific digestive symptoms. These include probiotics to balance and heal our digestive tracts, digestive enzymes to help us digest our foods, peppermint and ginger to soothe our stomachs, and pure fish oil supplements to get more Omega-3’s. I also used a natural laxative product that worked very quickly in regulating my digestive system and taking away the discomfort. I can’t say that I was surprised when I found out later how popular that product was, and still is, 25 years later.
For people with intestinal symptoms, life can be very unpleasant, and good health can deteriorate. On the other hand, when digestion problems are addressed, intestinal bloating, diahreah, constipation, and gas can all be issues that are no longer part of daily life. Nutrients start getting absorbed more effectively, we feel so much better, and our overall health improves now and for the future. Life is good.
You are completely correct using the saying … “you are what you eat” and most of us eat far too much in the way of processed and convenience (fast) foods. Years ago we made the choice to avoid white flour and minimize the use of white sugar in foods prepared around the house. Since there are few healthy alternatives (or at least low to moderate cost ones) when you are on the road, we often run into a challenge unless we pack our own. Living in an area with only moderately long growing seasons, we also run into issues with fresh fruits and veggies (since the packaged stuff is often processed as well), especially quality produce. Fortunately there are supplements that can assist “fill in the gap”!
Hi 5 folks – sounds to me you might have had Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)a chronic (long-term) disorder that affects the digestive system. It causes abdominal pain, diarrhoea and constipation, my daughter suffered with this and I have done research in this area before, although IBS poses no serious threat to health, it can have an adverse effect on a person’s quality of life. The exact causes of IBS are unknown. but taking the usual healthy steps with diets and exercise can bring relief with symptoms such as you have described the main diet one is keeping off white based foods…
All my best to you and your healthy choices
Phillip Skinner
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Vicki, we can control these unpleasant and highly uncomfortable feelings by our food and supplement intake. One thing about your post I really appreciated was mentioning that many issues are creates by what we DO NOT eat. That is an essential point to come to grips with. Many problems arise from processed foods. Many more from a lack of grains, fruits, and vegetables. A healthy food intake combined with supplements will eliminate most digestive problems. Thanks!