Patients diagnosed with the medical condition IBS often complain of experiencing a wide range of distressing symptoms. Reporting the acute or first stage of symptom development as being intestinal pain, bloating and gas with constipation or loose stools. Stomach symptoms at the second stage may involve indigestion, heartburn and acid reflux. Whilst the third or chronic stage symptoms may include all of the above plus headaches or fuzzy heads, fatigue and low energy, joint/muscle stiffness, skin conditions, weight gain/loss and sleep problems. This patient described broad range of inflammatory linked symptoms affects every-day functioning of the body and general health and wellbeing of the individual. To help reduce inflammation symptoms and increase wellbeing the holistic approach of complementary therapy has proven time and again to be safe and effective. Where to start ? and What to do ? The Where is the digestive system. Consider an appointment with a complementary practitioner to look at your Diet and Lifestyle. I offer Nutritional advice to change what and how you eat and by encouraging positive behavioural change the benefits may be life changing. The What ? will be provided during the hour long consultation by taking a case history and discussing your lifestyle, stress levels and symptoms and the practical steps needed to improve your digestion. We will discuss how other therapies might be helpful and formulate a strategy to move forward. You will be given with an individually designed healthy eating plan. Each individual plan will be informed from discussing: How to conduct a restriction diet safely over 4 weeks to identify food intolerances. How to avoid dehydration and malnutrition. How to keep a food diary. How to produce a nutritionally balanced meal. Discussing the role of proteins, amino acids, carbohydrates and sugars, fats and fibre and what constitutes a healthy Vegetarian or Vegan meal. How to supplement the diet using vitamins, minerals, pro-biotics and digestive enzymes. Identifying what may or may not be helpful. How to interpret food labels. Identify the difference between chemical and natural food additives and understanding levels of Salt, Sugar and Fats in processed foods.
You will leave the consultation with an individually designed eating plan with instructions on how to proceed safely with a 4 week restriction diet. A list of suggested foods to avoid and information of replacement foods. Instructions on a phased re-introduction after 4 weeks of the avoided foods and suggested diet supplementation if needed. During the 4 week restricted food period you can contact me via my website or email direct with any requests for help, guidance or queries. Methods used during the consultation may include Vega Test. Iridology. Homoeopathy. Kinesiology. During the consultation confidential information of a personal nature may be disclosed this will be written down and stored in line with data governance guidance. I am bound by professional codes of conduct/practice. I do not diagnose clinical or medical conditions. None of the above described treatment is designed or intended to take the place of a GP consultation. It is a simple task to monitor what you eat and to note the changes ( a food diary) for a set time. Patient reported changes in symptom frequency and severity help to build a body of evidence to support my theory that food intolerances are one of the primary factors responsible for IBS. It is only by evidence gathering that we ( therapists) might answer the critics who cite double blind clinical trials as the only validation of a therapy or method being effective. Other holistic methods to help IBS will be discussed in Part 2.