While food is not everything when it comes to conquering IBS, it is a fundamental part of the solution.
The food we eat either increases or calms the inflammation that causes issues like pain, fatigue, bloating, constipation or diarrhea, skin issues, weight gain or weight loss.
Some foods are inflammatory for everyone, like gluten, dairy and sugar. And in some cases soy, corn, peanuts, nightshades and grains may be problematic.
Then there are personal food sensitivities that can develop because of a leaky gut. For people who have done an elimination diet of the foods above without symptom relief can do food sensitivity testing to see if there are other foods driving inflammation.
I offer at home food sensitivity testing to my clients and found that I was sensitive to ginger, blueberries and avocados. These are healthy foods that were randomly tagged by my immune system as problematic because of my leaky gut.
My gut was leaky because of infections like h. pylori and candida, toxic mold exposure, as well as eating gluten about once a month.
While my treatment involves detoxing and mold and eradicating h pylori with herbs, I am using food to manage and balance the candida overgrowth. Candida thrives on excess sugar.
Balance and moderation
It is important to eat carbs in moderation and to balance blood sugar to tame inflammation. While you don’t need to be extreme and deprive your body of natural sugars, moderation is the key.
Most of the recipes in my treat cookbook uses no more than one tablespoon of sweetener per treat.
Many Paleo recipes that are presented as healthy typically use half a cup of sweetener per recipe, which translates into 8 tablespoons of sweetener (usually maple syrup and honey). That’s way too much.
Cutting sugar down significantly and eating it in combination with fat, protein and fiber will balance the blood sugar spike.
Balancing blood sugar will tame inflammation and support the liver and the adrenals, which dictate our body’s stress response and stress tolerance, energy, detox function and digestion.
Restricting carbs completely can also stress the hormones, adrenals and thyroid.
My cookbook teaches people how to moderate carbohydrates. By removing the grains, drastically cutting down on the sugar and adding anti inflammatory ingredients such as turmeric, collagen, coconut and cinnamon, you can enjoy treats without derailing your gut.
Coconut products, for example, are extremely anti inflammatory due to their antimicrobial properties.
Cutting out processed foods and treats is another important part of healing with food. Chemicals and industrial oils not only fan the flames of inflammation but also stress the liver.
The liver produces bile, which is crucial for digesting fats, carbs and protein, as well as preventing bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine.
Seasonal eating and detox
Our bodies naturally detox in spring and summer to let go of the winter weight that kept us warm. Eating lighter food like greens and fruit help the liver do its job.
I’ll be coming out with a spring and summer treat cookbook of mostly no- bake treats that help the body detox.
I’m gifting this spring and summer cookbook to anyone who buys the fall and winter cookbook before the new cookbook is released.
Having both will provide more than 100 seasonal treat to cover year-round cravings and help with holiday celebrations. The Thanksgiving and Christmas season is particularly hard on the gut, without healthy substitutes.
Many of the recipes are SIBO and candida friendly with ingredients that fight bacterial infections and parasites.
I use no more than 1 or 2 tablespoons of sweetener in any treat, while some treats have no sweetener and others are fruit sweetened.
There is a lot of misinformation on the internet about extremely low carb candida diets that eliminate fruit.
Going too low carb (like the Ketogenic diet) does not eliminate candida either. Candida can feed on ketones, which are produced by the liver to break fat down into sugar.
Candida is best addressed by rebalancing the biome, and getting rid of other gut infections, so that healthy levels of good bacteria will police the yeast and keep it from overgrowing.
The GI Map is one of the best tests I have ever used to determine what other gut infections could be driving candida overgrowth.
Eat smart and enjoy yourself
I wanted to share one of my favorite recipes from my new cookbook, for raw no-bake carrot cake.
In fact, I have a whole section of carrot-based desserts in the cookbook. Carrots are amazing for detoxing the liver and balancing hormones.
I’ve seen the complete deprivation of carbs or treats backfire on some of my clients. When willpower erodes they binge on gluten or sugary treats.
I wrote my cookbooks to prevent that. As a digestive health coach who has worked with hundred of clients and on my own gut, I know the food struggle is real. And depriving yourself of pleasure from food can be downright depressing or create resentment.
The recipe I share below has Low FODMAP substitutions.
I don’t like to give generalized advice because we are all different but this applies to everyone:
DON’T BE AFRAID OF FOOD, FIND THE RIGHT FOOD FOR YOUR BODY.
Eating the right foods, in the right combination at the right time of year will calm your body down and do wonders for your spirit. Pleasure is an anti-inflammatory emotion.
The spring and summer edition of Treats That Heal offers breakfast options, savory summer dishes, frozen treats, a handful of baked treats and energy, hormone and gut balancing options. Here’s a sample below.
Enjoy!
Raw carrot cake
A combination of shredded carrot, apple, cinnamon and coconut make for a no-bake carrot cake that’s healthy enough to eat for breakfast.
Protein from nut/seed butter, fiber from fruit and veggies and good fats from coconut create a balanced treat that won’t spike blood sugar.
I wanted to make a raw dessert that uses no dates, so this can easily be made low FODMAP by swapping pureed pineapple for pureed apple.
What’s healing about this treat?
Carrots are full of safe, low FODMAP fiber that assists in digestion. They are also bursting with vitamin A, which acts like an antioxidant and supports eye health. Carrots help the liver cleanse estrogen from the blood and balance hormones. And what a delicious way to do it.
Note:
You can make this into a loaf or individual muffins. I made both from one batch of dough.
The texture is soft after chilling, if you want it more firm, add another ⅛ cup to ¼ cup of coconut oil to the recipe below.
Also, if you have trouble digesting raw veggies, saute the carrots in coconut oil before adding.
Ingredients
½ cup of nut or seed butter (I used sunflower seed butter)
¾ cup of applesauce (from one peeled, cored apple)
1 cup of finely shredded or grated carrot (2 to 3 peeled carrots)
⅓ cup of coconut flour
¼ cup of liquid of choice (almond milk or coconut milk work well)
½ teaspoon of cinnamon powder
Optional: ¼ teaspoon of cardamom
¼ cup of melted coconut oil (double for a firmer texture)
½ cup of melted coconut butter
1 tablespoon of maple syrup (or honey)
Optional: ⅓ cup of dried fruit, rehydrated in hot water
Optional: for added protein add a tablespoon of collagen
How to
Peel and slice carrots and run them through a food processor until they are finely shredded. Remove 1 cup of carrots and place in a mixing bowl.
Peel, core and slice a large apple and run it through a food processor or blender until it is finely chopped or pureed.
Add the homemade applesauce to the shredded carrots in the bowl.
Mix in cinnamon powder, cardamom powder and collagen, if using.
Add in a tablespoon of maple syrup (or honey).
Add ¼ cup of liquid of choice. Nut milk or coconut milk work well.
Add in nut or seed butter and coconut flour and mix well.
I used a fork to mix everything together.
Melt coconut oil by submerging the glass jar in boiling water or melt in a pan. I added ¼ cup of coconut oil to the batter for a texture that was very soft and pliable. If you want a firmer carrot cake add an extra ⅛ cup (2 tablespoons) to ¼ cup of coconut oil.
Melt the coconut butter by submerging the glass jar half way or three quarters of the way in a pot of boiling water. Or scoop it out and melt it in a pan. The coconut butter is melted when it becomes pourable.
Mix ½ cup of coconut butter into the carrot cake dough.
If you want to add dried fruit, soak it first in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes, then drain the water before adding the fruit.
Some options are dried cranberries, chopped dates or raisins. I used dried goji berries, mulberries and golden berries.
You can transfer the dough into a bread pan or brownie pan to make a loaf-shaped treat.
I divided the dough between a small loaf pan and 6 muffin tins.
Silicone pans and muffin tins will work best with this treat as it will be easier to remove.
Refrigerate for 4 hours or put in the freezer for an hour.
Carefully slice and enjoy. Keep treats refrigerated. Should last for 3 days.
You can top these with carob fudge or DIY chocolate sauce for an extra treat.
Angela Privin is proof that IBS is NOT an incurable disease or a disease at all. IBS is a body out of balance. It’s an invitation for change. After solving her own IBS mystery more than a decade ago Angela trained as a health coach to help others.
Angela uses both science and intuition to help people figure out what’s out of balance in their body. She works with lab tests, dietary changes, supplementation and nervous system rebalancing. Get help rebalancing your digestive system and solving your IBS mystery here.
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