Suffer No More?

So if you've read my blog before, you might have read the post I wrote a while back about IBS. There is no real specific diet to follow for the disease (regardless of what some 'experts' will say) and sometimes I have wondered whether I have some other undiagnosed problem.

J and I went to Barnes and Noble tonight to look at cookbooks. Frankly, I became quite irritated with the lack of information about IBS, even though I have probably already read half the facts in each book before.

I used to browse the website helpforibs.com, but frankly, I find the information on that site to be complete bull. I picked up a book tonight written by the same woman that heads up the website, Heathe Van Vorous. Reading a page out of the book about eating out at restaurants, I wanted to rip the book apart. Heather's 'cheat sheet' was ridiculous. One of the first 'tips' she gives is to not order any red meat, chicken, seafood or dairy-based meal. Second, fill up on dinner rolls. Third, order a pasta or other bread-based meal. Fourth, bring your own herbal tea to wash it all down.

WTF??

Yes Ms. Van Vorous, I just want to be a big fat fatty who pops Dulcolax pills every night.

What in the Lord's name happened to eat right? Eating to be healthy? What happened to veggies and fruits? I did not see a mention of anything natural. There is a reason why God created food for us. Natural food. Broccoli is a big name in veggies when it comes to fiber, which helps you go. Strawberries and citrus fruits are great sources of Vitamin C. Milk and cheese are good for calcium. To use that calcium, eat some salmon or tuna for some Vitamin D.

Wow. That doesn't sound like too bad of a meal. Have a tuna or salmon fillet, a side of broccoli, carrots and a fruit 'medley' on the side and a glass of milk.

NO BREAD.

EMPTY CALORIES.

I was so angry with the IBS books that I looked for other cookbooks. I wanted to get a cookbook for healthy eating, but Barnes and Noble seemed to be out....

There were many books about eating for diabetes (no). And there were some for heart health (interesting, but no thanks). There were vegetarian and vegan books (again, no. I gotta have my seafood. And besides, I really hate onions and vegans seem to be crazy for the suckers).

So I took a page out of J's sister's book and bought a cookbook for gluten-free meals. Flipping through the book, the meals seemed to be really well-balanced and don't rely too heavily on 'fillers' such as with the IBS 'bread crazy' diet. There are recipes such as oyster hansen, 20-minute minestrone, and rosemary chicken. Sounds good to me!

I also bought a bargain book on salads. I am super crazy about leafy greens and some of the ideas in the book are super! Marinated beans and vegetable salad will be tried very soon.

My point of this post was to rant about how much 'mis-information' there is about IBS. Every sufferers trigger foods are different. I don't want another spastic colon attack, but I'm not going to live day to day eating peanut butter sandwiches and downing bread rolls at Longhorn. I'm not living under a rock and as long as I eat consciously and healthfully, my symptoms are reduced.