My body remembered me, loudly, that I have Irritable Bowel Syndrome – IBS. Two painful Saturday nights in a row. Last night’s episode was very long (maybe the longest I experienced so far) and pretty painful. Both times, it’s totally my fault. 75% of the time, maybe, I experience it the day I make the grocery. Treats I overconsume and bang. People with IBS should avoid big meals and too much fat at once. So it’s totally my fault. I don’t remember any crisis without overeating.
But I also realized that some of anticancer and low-carb food are not compatible with the kind of diet people should have. That’s the paradox of IBS. Healthy food can (could) harm me. But way less than going through a whole bag of cookies after a big meal.
I should eat with care red meat (had Saturday), nuts (had Friday night), chips (had both last Saturday nights…), cabbage (had a whole one through the week)… Chips seem to be involved in most of the episodes I experience but most often AFTER I already crossed the line. Otherwise, I would never eat chips…
The most ironic part of an IBS diet involves problems with very health food with insoluble fibers. Things like beans, apples, grapefruits, oranges, spinach, lettuce, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, cucumbers, fresh herbs… These can be eaten but with care and preferably not on an empty stomach. In the other side, most of the recommended food has a high glycemic index.
But what I remember of my past crisis over the years mostly involves fat. So, by avoiding overeating and managing the fat I eat, I can possibly eat everything I want.
I do however have to rethink the whole picture by giving less space to low-carb and anticancer food. I don’t know if I ever going to have cancer. I know however I am lowering the risk by becoming fit instead of fat.
Fish, soy, oat, beets are still recommended in both sides. I guess I really have to try soy…
But, another paradox, I suspect that losing weight stresses my body enough to raise the risk of a crisis – even if the main risk there comes from a day of excess after many days of efforts. So, that’s not a reason to stop losing weight, 15 pounds since the beginning of the year.
I think losing weight is my #1 stress source right now. I don’t consume much negative energy in any field these days.
What I wonder is if my creativity is a factor. Would writing prose help? Is there a conflict between the two sides of my brain (I want to create vs. what for ?)? Does poetry fulfill my creativity needs? Is it mostly about some kind of cathartic experience? Letting some dark areas out?
Anyway, that’s still that hamburger and cookie bag combo I mostly cursed last night, not lack of creativity.
As I had some time to google last night and some motivation to find a way out of this (IBS can’t be cured, only avoided), I learned about visceral osteopathy. I don’t like the picture but I think I’ll seek someone to play with my viscera…
Let’s just hope I learned my lesson with dumb overeating.
