For anyone who has ever suffered from symptoms for which there seems to be no cause and finally, through testing and examinations, has found the cause and heard the name and the diagnosis, suddenly, there is light at the end of the tunnel. For myself, the name IBS as a diagnosis gave me hope—a diagnosis meant treatment and healing. However, to heal, the doctor should educate the patient on awareness and complete knowledge of that treatment. None of my doctors educated me about IBS, my symptoms, or how to become healthy again.
Are the names of food sources also important to our health? If we are educated to the names of those foods we choose and if we understand how they impact our health, is that important? Here I will speak specifically to dietary fiber sources and the roles they play in my gut health. Many whole foods contain dietary fiber.
Why is it vital for someone with IBS to be aware of the two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble? As I have discovered, it takes more than just a simple list of foods such as bananas, wheat bran, or rice. It takes an understanding of how both types of fiber affect IBS.
By the time I was diagnosed, I thought I had done all the research on foods that I needed to become healthy. Research is a wonderfully empowering modality for discovering truths, solving problems, and answering questions. So, since the list I was given did nothing to solve my painful irregularity, I delved into foods specific to an IBS diet and became educated as to how to heal myself. What I found was a website full of valuable information about foods, how to eat for IBS, and education on the digestive process and how it is affected by fiber.
I remember my mother telling me to “eat your roughage”, as a way to stay regular. Foods such as fruits, vegetables, bran, and whole grain foods. All were wonderfully healthy, natural, whole foods. Raisin Bran and Grape Nuts cereals were staples in our house. Almost every night we had a fresh salad with dinner. However, most foods my mother referred to as roughage contain insoluble fiber.
People diagnosed with IBS suffer from symptoms that are affected by the digestive process through the colon. The colon has five parts that work to process food waste and move it to your rectum and beyond.
For those not diagnosed with IBS, the digestive process causes the colon’s muscles to contract and move food to the rectum. During this process, the colon absorbs water and nutrients to create the stool that passes in a bowel movement. For those with IBS, colon motility patterns are irregular, resulting in muscle contractions that do not function properly. This also results in what can become painful irregularity, either as chronic constipation or diarrhea. IBS is called irritable bowel syndrome, because the nerve endings in the lining of the bowel are unusually sensitive, and the nerves that control the muscles of the gut are unusually active.
The pain experienced by those diagnosed with IBS comes from spasms in the colon, which are the result of the dysfunction of the colon. In fact, IBS used to be referred to as spastic colon. According to many medical professionals, both soluble and insoluble fiber aids in digestion. However, they act much differently in the digestive process as they pass through the colon, especially for those diagnosed with IBS. That being said, there are benefits to both types of fiber.
The list of fiber foods I received from my doctor greatly emphasized insoluble fiber. However, it wasn't as simple as increasing my fiber intake. The list I was given didn't make me healthy. So, I became educated after finding help on the IBS website. Its author, Heather Van Vorous, states that she believes she had IBS from a young age. When I read her story about her experiences, I gained trust in her because she spoke from that place of experience, and I doubted my GI doctors understood.
At the point that I found this diet, I was angry with the lack of help I received from my doctor. And I was desperate to find a way to make myself healthy again. I read and researched everything she put on her website. What she offered was a way to use whole foods not just to survive but to live with IBS. I saw it as a glimmer of hope to be able to heal and get back to living my life to its fullest. At the time, I held little hope for any medication that could treat me or any doctor who would help me. So, I implemented that diet.
It's important to know and understand the impact of all foods on our health and for all of us to know the names of the foods we eat that can and will heal us. For me, it was extremely important to learn how soluble fiber is much more important in a diet for IBS. I found her educational information about how the colon is impacted by both fibers to be very compelling. This one page I am sharing was the most important information I'd ever read. I became healthy within one week of implementing this into my lifestyle. She also includes information on insoluble fiber.
After I became healthy again, I realized that I had the power within myself to bring about healthy changes in my life. And I believe that it is possible for all of us in this great country to do whatever we can to make ourselves healthy. When we feel as though our doctors don't think we have any understanding of our own bodies, and when they fail to properly educate us about our health conditions, we can take our health into our own hands.
I firmly believe that we can all find ways to better health if we just look. The answers are out there. It is so important to question what our doctors say when necessary and to use the fine art of thinking for ourselves. All of that can take us far in knowing what to avoid putting into our bodies, and what will heal us.
