BY CLAIR WHITTY
When we think of diarrhoea, we might think of it more in relation to illness or to food poisoning, but most of my experience has been talking to customers at the shop where it is related to the food we eat.
Many of you will have been to your GP and maybe had tests done only to be told that you have irritable bowel syndrome. This can be a disappointing diagnosis as you feel that you have no answers, but it is actually a great answer as it means that there isn’t anything medically wrong. Now the difficult part is trying to figure out what food is causing the problem. And this can often be because you say to yourself, my diet is the same, I have introduced no new foods.
I believe that stress, busy lives, and anxiety can impact our gut, plus, the older we get the more our digestive system changes. We certainly produce less stomach acid and digestive enzymes as we age and this will have an impact on the foods that we eat. Our ability to digest them can change which can lead to problems like diarrhoea or commonly constipation too.
Common culprits are wheat, dairy, and gluten, coffee, alcohol, but any food can be a trigger. It can be a combination of food types eaten together or it can be too much of the same food type eaten on the same day. Take a look at your food intake and do a food diary for a couple of weeks, this will help you to see if there is an overload of certain foods, for example wheat. Or maybe it only happens when you eat a particular food, or the day you had brussels sprouts or cabbage, these are common triggers too. If your diarrhoea is associated with particular foods, the good news is that you might not need to avoid them altogether, reducing the amount and the frequency may be enough.
An excellent supplement for those of you who experience looseness or diarrhoea to try is Natures Aid OptiGut D. It’s gentle blend of good gut bacteria and gut supporting nutrients that may help calm your gut. There is nothing worse than having to plan your next trip around where the nearest toilet is.
Hopefully these tips will help you get back on track.
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