A long overdue food-related post

As I mentioned in a previous post, the reason I haven't talked about food in a while is because I was going through a rather intense elimination diet to help pinpoint my IBS triggers. I kind of lost the joy of food last year as I attempted to seek out the things that continued to make my digestive system attack itself. Food was strictly utilitarian until I could figure out what was making me so sick all the time.

I'm happy to say that I've finally started to pinpoint the things that were causing me problems, but more importantly, I know better how to manage my eating so that I can indulge in an amazing meal every now and again as long as I practice more restraint in my every day eating habits. For anyone battling IBS and are beginning to feel hopeless about your condition (I know I was), I highly recommend seeking out a nutritionist who can help you with the Low FODMAP diet. It's not a cure or a magic pill, but it is incredibly empowering to understand your body better. I am so thrilled with how much hope this experience has given me.

So, one of the glorious things I've discovered about this diet is that even though lactose is considered a no-no in the beginning total elimination phase, most hard cheeses have virtually no lactose in them, so I was able to indulge in cheese every day with no problems. That was truly my saving grace. I pretty much don't drink milk anymore because it is a huge trigger for me, and have finally discovered a dairy free milk I can tolerate: rice milk. So much so that the other night I mixed it with some Kahlua and couldn't tell the difference between rice milk and regular milk. ;)


I also was told of this delicious, refreshing Low FODMAP salad from the very awesome Raina Telgemeier: pineapple, bell pepper, green onion, with your favorite herbs (I used mint and cilantro).


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Unrelated to above, last night my husband and I watched The Hundred-Foot Journey and wow! If you are a foodie, that movie is a must-see. It's actually one of the few movies I enjoyed more than the book. I think this is because Helen Mirren played Madame Mallory so much better than the one-dimensional character the narrator made her seem when I listened to the audiobook. Helen Mirren brings out more dimensions in her character than what I experienced listening to the book. Not only that, but you leave the movie feeling absolutely famished. :)

 It probably goes without saying but Chef  is also another must-see movie for foodies. The food porn in it is definitely meant to titillate the senses for sure! Watching both of these movies recently has helped to remind me of why I am a foodie in the first place: because good food is such a rich, sensory experience. As a writer and lover of words, I get excited over the prospect of not only tasting delicious food, but being able to describe it.

Why I haven't talked about food in a while

For a blog about food, books, and travel, I've certainly been neglecting everything but the books lately. The reason I don't always talk about travel is because I don't always get to travel as much as I'd like. But food is another story...

I have suffered from IBS a majority of my life. It started when I was in 7th grade and has manifested itself in different ways over the years. I haven't had it so severe though that it has impacted my day to day life... until recently. My lowest point was this past June when I was on vacation with my husband and some dear friends in Northern California, a culinary wonderland, and I barely ate the whole time because I felt so horrible. That was the moment I knew something had to change -- and I started with changing my doctors. I decided I was tired of going to doctors who would only prescribe some medication or, to appease me, test me for something, tell me the results were negative, and then never follow-up. I decided to go to a place where doctors are in-the-know because research is happening all the time: a university health system.

My new gastroenterologist put me in touch with a nutritionist and for the past 8 weeks I have been on a low FODMAP diet. FODMAPs are different types of sugars that are not absorbed well in the small intestine and for people with IBS, this is what causes so many of our unfortunate gastrointestinal symptoms. I have to admit that when I first heard about this diet I was dubious. I had been living with this disorder for so long and dealing with my fear of being in an inopportune place when an attack came that I just assumed that this was my lot in life. While no means a cure, I have discovered that I now am understanding my body better than I ever have. I am finally understanding which foods trigger my symptoms and how I can better manage what I eat so I don't have to worry about whether or not I can go somewhere after dinner for fear of having an attack.

I am so grateful to my doctor and nutritionist at the University of Michigan and I highly recommend giving this diet a try if you suffer from IBS -- though I wouldn't suggest going it alone. Being under the care and guidance of a nutritionist has helped educate me on how this process works. And the process is ever-evolving, which is why I am so happy that I now have a doctor who cares enough to follow up with me rather than just testing me for something, telling me nothing's wrong, and then never attempting to seek further answers. So for those of you out there who are suffering from any kind of health ailment and the doctors aren't giving you answers, I say to you: find a doctor who will keep fighting right along with you. It makes a world of difference.