| With all the different diet advice you hear, it can | | | | If you have sensitivity to gluten, your body may |
| be hard to know just which foods make you feel | | | | react with symptoms of either diarrhoea or |
| better and which foods lead to discomfort and | | | | constipation, along with cramping and excessive |
| illness. We feel safest when we make our choices | | | | bloating in the abdomen. This set of symptoms is |
| based on the food pyramid suggested by the | | | | known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome or IBS. IBS |
| FDA and recognized nutrition bodies, but | | | | does not cause serious disease, which is good |
| sometimes even when we choose foods from | | | | news, but it can certainly make your daily life |
| this trusted source, our bodies don't respond well. | | | | uncomfortable and inconvenient. Changing the way |
| If you have been noticing digestive troubles, it | | | | you eat is often the best treatment for IBS - and |
| could be your body has sensitivities to certain | | | | it often involves removing wheat products from |
| foods. While not as serious as allergies, food | | | | your diet. Although the fibre in wholegrain bread |
| sensitivities can definitely leave us feeling less than | | | | products is usually very helpful to the digestive |
| our best. One of the most common culprits in this | | | | system, it is often one of the most common |
| area is wheat - or more specifically the gluten | | | | triggers of IBS. Other forms of grain that are |
| found in wheat. | | | | frequent offenders for those suffering from IBS |
| We all have individual immune systems and they | | | | include bran, oats, barley and rye. Dairy products |
| operate slightly differently. Our immune system | | | | such as milk, cheese and cream can also trigger |
| produces white blood cells and antibodies to help | | | | IBS. |
| us fight off illness and resist infection. Our immune | | | | Many people find when they eliminate gluten from |
| system acts as a "radar" of sorts and constantly | | | | their diet, their IBS symptoms disappear. They |
| seeks out foreign substances that might make us | | | | may actually begin losing weight as the body |
| sick. If your immune system is highly sensitive, it | | | | starts eliminating the bloated fluid it has retained |
| may over-react to certain foods. This sensitivity | | | | from the IBS. In time, some people can begin |
| can be caused by changes in the white blood cells | | | | slowly adding wheat products back into their diet, |
| or antibodies, which aren't detected in other ways | | | | with no further adverse effects. |
| and only become obvious through the adverse | | | | If you struggle with regular boats of diarrhoea, |
| reaction to certain foods. When the body | | | | constipation (or both) accompanied by bloating and |
| becomes hypersensitive to certain nutrients, it will | | | | cramping, you may be suffering from IBS. Talk to |
| try to get rid of it through the digestive tract. | | | | your doctor to rule out more serious possibilities |
| Gluten is a protein found in wheat and it is often | | | | and then consider eliminating wheat gluten from |
| mistakenly identified as a foreign body by many | | | | your diet. You may find yourself feeling better in |
| people's immune system. Interestingly enough, the | | | | no time. You can also read more about |
| mis-identification of gluten as a toxic substance in | | | | overcoming IBS in the book No More IBS which I |
| the body can be a temporary problem and may | | | | co-wrote with Dr Alan Stewart, and is published |
| even disappear once the system has been | | | | by Vermilion. |
| flushed out. | | | | |