Thursday, July 14, 2005

I Promise This is the Only Post EVER About IBD

Quite a range of topics, today.

Yes, I have some form of IBD, otherwise known as Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Yes, I also know that saying "irritable" and "bowel" together is funny. No need to feel guilty. I laugh every time I type them.

If you're lucky enough not to have this, here's a really brief description: if you eat too much, or too much of the wrong thing, or any one of a hundred other things that you can't quite pin down, your stomach is going to make you feel miserable. Really miserable. Burning, pain, constant discomfort.

Yes, eating fiber helps, but I can only stand so many helpings of Colon Blow cereal. It's like eating a freaking pine cone.

I've pretty much gotten used to the whole thing--it is what it is--and just try to be careful about what I eat. Failing that, I just grimace for a few days.

Then I read a sidebar about IBD in Consumer Reports a couple of months ago. It said that several recent studies indicated that eating yogurt with active cultures significantly reduced the occurrence and severity of symptoms in people with IBD.

That seemed pretty easy to try, so I did. It's been about six weeks (I eat it every day now), and I've noticed a huge difference in how I feel. Huge. What a pleasure to not walk around with my stomach hurting for days at a time. So if you have IBD, or stomach problems in general, and whatever you're doing isn't controlling the symptoms effectively, you might also try eating yogurt with active cultures. Just read the label--everyone who uses active cultures will indicate it on the package. You don't need to eat a huge amount (one serving is plenty), and it might make a big difference.

I know--if you don't have IBD you're wondering why I even bothered to post this. Believe me, if even one of you guys benefits from this, it was worth it. It's a miserable little problem to have.

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