I'll tell you why. I've had digestive 'issues', shall we call them, for a good ten years. I don't know why they started (although I have my suspicions) and I've spent countless hours (probably more like years) and thousands of pounds trying to sort them out. I've been to countless GPs ("Ah, it sounds like IBS...", hence the name of the blog), specialists, nutritionists, Ayurvedic practitioners, acupuncturists, food intolerance specialists... you name it, I've tried it. And I've hit brick walls with all of them. Some things have helped for a while, but then the symptoms have started to creep back in. I've persevered through that in the hope that it's a 'getting worse before it gets better' thing - usually to discover that it's not. It just isn't helping. I've got excited at trying new things, only for that excitement to dwindle after yet another elimination diet doesn't shed any light on the situation.
Yes, I've considered that it MIGHT just be IBS, but I refuse to accept that I have to live with what I would term pretty debilitating symptoms ALL THE TIME. EVERY DAY. I don't believe that I need to suffer, and I am not the sort of person to just sit back and accept that I will be permanently uncomfortable for the rest of my life. Plus, I love food, so I don't want to feel restricted as to what I can and can't eat. So, what to do? Well, personally, I think I've found something that it really might be - I'm in the midst of exploring it but so far, fingers crossed, I am feeling better and more in control of my stomach, rather than it controlling me.
However, that is slightly by the by here, as the point of this blog is really to post about things that I've tried, what I've discovered along the way and recipes and alternative foods that I've found really helpful and delicious, whilst on the various diets that I've tried over the years in an effort to conquer whatever it is that is causing my problems.
What I hope is that other people who are suffering similarly (and I know there are lots) will find, if nothing else, a fellow shipmate with whom to sail this endless sea of differing opinions, health food shops and seemingly unrelated symptoms. I absolutely love cooking and exploring new foods etc, so I hope that for people who don't, I will save them some expense and disappointment by sifting out the things I think are 'free from' and yet still delicious. The alternatives that work and the ones that don't. The substitutes that taste like cardboard and the ones that are surprisingly good. I will separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak... ah, wheat... more on that later!
If you are someone who suffers from digestive discomfort - or who just wants to cook healthy, delicious food - hang out here! Share your experiences and your recipes! If we were in High School Musical we could burst into song about 'all being in this together...' - yay! Let's enjoy food and not let it be an enemy!
(I just want to add that although I feel like I know a lot about nutrition and food, I am not a doctor. I am not a certified nutritionist either, and any advice I offer is based purely on my own experience and should not be taken as gospel. I just want to write about delicious yet nutritious food that I love to prepare and eat in the hope that it other people might enjoy it - particularly those who are on a restricted diet of some sort or another. I would always urge anyone having persistent problems to visit their GP and get a professional opinion.)
NOM!
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