Here is part of my book, which is being published on June 28th. It will be possible to order
from my website or from Amazon, though it will be cheaper from my website. £11.99 from Amazon,
£10.00 from my website. Pre order from the website will be available soon.
Chapter 4: Gastro-intestinal and digestion
It is a miserable existence for someone whose life is ruled by their gut. Pains, cramps, bloating, rushing to the toilet, all affect their quality of life.
If you are or your child are suffering from digestion symptoms, and these can include infant colic, tummy aches, bloating, wind, loose stools, diarrhoea, urgency, incontinence, constipation, indigestion, reflux, nausea and vomiting, avoiding the foods or drinks you are intolerant of will help your symptoms.
Many adults with the above symptoms are given a diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome. It sounds like a bona fide diagnosis, but means very little apart from ’your bowel is irritated by something’. If your bowel is being irritated by a food or drink, it is very likely to be one you frequently consume.
You will almost certainly have tried to work out what your problem foods are. Because of symptoms suffered after certain meals, you may have decided that all kinds of things, maybe vegetables, fizzy drinks, red meat, rich meals, fibrous meals and acidic foods are aggravating your tummy.
Frequent consumption of a staple food or drink is usually the cause, but the sufferer assumes the food most recently eaten is the culprit.
The frequently consumed food upsets the gut, and then it seems anything the person eats is a problem, making them windy, bloated, giving them pain, abnormal stools, reflux or indigestion. Sufferers start to avoid anything that seems linked with the timing of their symptoms and consequently exclude an ever-increasing number of foods from their diet. Their daily menu becomes unhealthy, bland and boring, and they can end up creating new intolerances.
Even if you have a diagnosis of hiatus hernia, ulcerative colitis, colitis, diverticulitis or Crohn’s disease, a change of diet can seriously improve things for you.
Case Study
Jodie a 28 year old beauty salon owner, came to me for a food intolerance test following a recommendation from a friend. Her main problems were tummy related, but she had some other symptoms which could have been linked to food intolerance. She complained of daily bloating. This bloating was extremely uncomfortable because her tummy swelled to such an extent on some days she looked six months pregnant. Flatulence was a major problem for Jodie, particularly later in the day. Her stools were always loose and occasionally she suffered diarrhoea. When she had diarrhoea, it was preceded by pain, and associated with a very urgent need to get to the toilet. Jodie had seen her GP several times during the previous ten years. Eight years previously she had been referred for a colonoscopy, but nothing abnormal was discovered. Consequently, she had been diagnosed as suffering from irritable bowel syndrome.
The other symptoms that Jodie presented with were fatigue, lethargy and joint pains in her fingers, wrists and elbows.
Jodie was suspicious of wheat, because the bloating started after lunch. She usually ate a sandwich or a wrap at lunchtime. Her diet contained very few vegetables, because she thought they were a trigger. Her GP had advised her to avoid vegetables, fizzy drinks and anything that seemed to make her more windy. I explained often with tummy issues, the person perceives that certain foods such as vegetables, spices, a rich meal, a fatty meal or a big meal can affect them, but once the underlying problem food has been excluded from the daily diet, the person can cope with the foods about which he had suspicions.
So we got down to her testing and discovered that Jodie was intolerant of
- cow’s milk products; and
- dark brown food colouring E150 –E155
Jodie used cow’s milk on cereal every morning, in two cups of tea and two cups of coffee daily. She ate cheese most days, and ate at least one yogurt a day. I explained to Jodie that people become intolerant of foods they tend to eat or drink most frequently. She quickly realised that cow’s milk products were the food group that she consumed more often than any other food or drink, on average 7 – 8 times daily.
Dark brown food colour is in cola drinks, gravy and stock cubes mainly. Jodie had noticed that she felt even worse after a roast dinner, but thought it was because it was a large meal, or because the vegetables had made her windy. When she felt worse after a diet coke, she presumed that it was because of the bubbles.
| Why these foods? | Cause |
| Cow’s milk products | Frequency of use |
| Why then? | Trigger |
| Starts the pill age 20 [symptoms started] | Hormonal |
| Recent work stress [symptoms worsened] | Stress |
Jodie agreed to avoid these foods, and after a week she was feeling much better. She suffered a few headaches in the first few days because of withdrawal symptoms, but her tummy settled down. She had much more energy and was no longer lethargic. Her joint pains completely disappeared. The only hiccough she encountered was when she ate goat’s cheese. Her tummy became very bloated again. She assumed, following an email conversation with me, that she could not tolerate any animal milks, cheeses or yogurts.
After three months exclusion, Jodie gradually reintroduced her problem foods. Now she eats cow’s products again, but tries not to have more than two items daily.
The table below details the most common food intolerances of the 345 adults and 96 children who suffered tummy symptoms in my 2015 survey.
| Food | Percentage of adults | Percentage of children |
| Milk | 37 | 82 |
| Cocoa | 41 | 46 |
| Coffee | 33 | 0 |
| Orange | 31 | 50 |
| Yeast cheese yogurt | 38 | 0 |
| Tea | 29 | 0 |
| Some form of alcohol | 11 | n/a |
| Sweet artificial
flavours |
15 | 20 |
| Apple | 11 | 31 |
| Monosodium glutamate | 9 | 10 |
| E150 [caramel] dark brown food colour | 14 | 7 |
| Aspartame | 3 | 11 |
| Soya | 3 | 10 |
| Sunflower | 7 | 5 |
| Wheat | >1 | 0 |
Points to note
- In children with tummy symptoms, cow’s milk products are a cause in 11% more cases than for all other symptoms
- Orange intolerance in children with tummy symptoms is 4% higher than for other symptoms
- In adults, coffee is 4% more likely to be a cause of tummy problems, than it is for all other symptoms, whereas tea remains the same
- More children with tummy symptoms, 20%, react adversely to sweet artificial flavours compared to 12% of children with other symptoms.
For all of you who have been to me for a test, do remember the fact that as you go through life your symptoms can change. If your IBS used to be caused by coffee, and you stopped drinking coffee for three months as I suggested. Should you start having too much coffee later on [typically more than two daily], the symptoms you get might change to another manifestation of food intolerance, for example headache, eczema, catarrh or joint pain.
Health and happiness to you!
Book cover
Mary