Wendy Leung: Is everyone with IBS lactose intolerant?
Watch the video to find out why this question's irrelevant and what you really need to know
about IBS and dairy.
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If you're having trouble giving up cheese, by the end of this video, you'll understand
why it's so important to do it, in order to really get better.
I'm Wendy Leung: Holistic Health & Happiness Coach, Licensed Acupuncturist, and Powerhouse
IBS Conqueror, and I was just as confused as you are about the types of foods I could
eat with my IBS.
I teach my clients how to navigate their diets, and now I'm sharing with you, too.
So now that we're past the holidays and into the new year, everyone's thinking about how
to be healthier.
New fitness routines, healthier eating, New Year, New You, right?
But if you're still struggling with your IBS, then it might just be same old, same old,
because nothing's changed, and your symptoms might even be even more flared up than ever
after holiday social anxiety and unhealthy eating.
What's the best way to get you back on track?
Well, today we're going to tackle a food group that in North America we've been trained to
learn is healthy for you, but that causes major IBS issues.
Dairy.
Does your IBS attack whenever you eat dairy?
Let me know by dropping a yes or a no in the comments below.
If you grew up in Western countries, then you'll remember commercials promoting healthy
milk and cheese on the TV and on the radio.
Dairy even has its own food category in the US, UK, and Canadian food guides.
And we know that there are politics involved in how these guides are created.
But in this video, I only really want to focus on how dairy affects your body and your health.
Dairy can be an issue for many people, not just those with IBS.
A lot of people are lactose intolerant, which means that their bodies can't break down a
sugar called lactose that's commonly found in dairy products, and when they eat lactose,
they trigger gut symptoms that are similar to IBS: diarrhea, bloating, pain, nausea.
But if you aren't lactose intolerance, why is dairy still bad for your IBS gut?
From a previous episode, you might remember me mentioning that our digestive system is
like a campfire.
In order to keep it running, we need to feed it the right fuel.
The wrong fuel will cause it to flare up, slow down or even get put out all together.
I mentioned last week that from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective or TCM for short,
different foods have different properties.
Some foods are hot, some are warm, some are neutral, some are cold, some are damp, and
some are dry.
And depending on your own body's needs and your own body's constitution, some of these
foods will be good for you and others will not.
Now, people with healthy guts can seem to eat all sorts of food without any issue, and
that's because their digestive system is strong enough to rebalance itself before anything
bad happens.
But if you have IBS or IBD or any other digestive condition, you need to be especially careful
to eat the right foods in order to avoid triggering painful attacks.
In TCM, dairy isn't just a cold property food.
It also causes extra sluggishness we call damp and phlegm which slows down your gut
and makes it even harder for it to do its job.
And that's when you start seeing symptom flare-ups, like pain, bloating, and poo problems.
Here's a question that I often get asked.
What about yogurt?
Western nutrition says yogurt is good for your gut when it has probiotics to help promote
digestion.
But in TCM, the same rule still applies.
Yogurt is still cold and it's still damp producing.
So any benefit that you might see from the probiotic is canceled out by the flare-up
that you'll get from eating the yogurt itself.
Now, most of you are already aware that dairy majorly flares up your gut, but for those
of you who think that dairy doesn't affect your IBS, I want to share an interesting story.
One of my clients used to think that dairy didn't affect her IBS symptoms either, but
as her IBS improved and as she tracked her symptoms, she made an interesting discovery.
She realized that in the worst of her IBS crisis, it didn't matter what she ate because
her symptoms would flare up all the time, whether she ate well or not.
But as we worked together and as she started getting better, she stopped having constant
symptoms all the time, and it was like a fog cleared.
Now, she was actually able to clearly identify her food triggers, and she noticed that immediate
correlation between eating cheese pizza and feeling extra crappy afterwards.
Interesting, right?
So if not dairy, then what can you eat to make sure you're still getting the right nutrients
to feed your body?
The best fuel for your digestive fire is warm, simple cooked foods.
These foods are easy for your gut to process and turn into nutrients.
In the episode called IBS Foods to Eat, I went into a little more detail about what
this means.
And if you missed that, then you can catch up on it right now.
If you want a little more help knowing what foods to eat, sign up for my newsletter, and
I will send a mini recipe book right to your inbox.
The link is in the description box below.
And if you're sitting in IBS crisis, just like my client was, with no clue how to figure
out your IBS food triggers, because your IBS symptoms are constant and flared all the time,
make sure that you check the link below, too, for my Conquer IBS Reignite Your Life Coaching
Program, where I guide you through the process and I teach you everything you need to know
to put your IBS behind you for good.
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Drop a comment with the word helpful, and let me know what your biggest takeaway was.
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that IBS is not a forever thing, and I can help you guys beat this together.
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