The True Power of Good Nutrition – Case Study November 2007
This month’s case study is ‘Jane’ who came to the Clinic with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
Jane’s story:
I had always had what I would call ‘normal’ bowels and a healthy digestive system until 2 years ago when I changed job and worked as PR consultant putting in incredibly long stressful hours in the City. I would have diarrhoea at least once a day which would be debilitating because of the pain and it started to rule my life because I always had to be within reach of a toilet which was incredibly difficult if I was travelling or out away from home or the office.
To start with it was difficult at work having to rush away from my desk during the day and it wasn’t the easiest thing to talk about with my colleagues. However, I confided in a couple of people, making it slightly easier for me.
After a year of suffering I decided this wasn’t normal and went to see my doctor who said it was just ‘irritable bowel’ and it was all in my mind and stress related. I went away feeling very upset and that I really hadn’t been listened to. He prescribed me a drug to stop the diarrhoea but I knew this was only masking the underlying problem. I took the course of medication for a month but had such bad cramps and bloating that I decided to stop taking it. I went back to my doctor and he referred me to a gastroenterologist (reluctantly!). I had an endoscopy and colonoscopy which both came back ‘normal’ yet I knew it was not normal to have such chronic symptoms.
I was talking to a colleague at work who mentioned that she had been to see a nutritionist Therapist for her digestive problems. She had been experiencing constipation and bloating and within a month she was a different person. She gave me the number of the Dr Marilyn Glenville Clinic and I phoned straight away to book my first appointment.
Before booking, I spoke to a nutritionist at the clinic to make sure it was something that could be helped with nutrition. She explained that my symptoms came under the ‘umbrella’ of irritable bowel syndrome and it was certainly influenced by diet but stress could exacerbate it. She briefly mentioned the common trigger foods that I may have to cut out and although it sounded hard I was desperate to feel well again so I booked the appointment.
My first consultation was one hour and the nutritionist took a very detailed medical history and went through my ‘typical’ diet – something that the doctor never did because he said that it was nothing to do with food. She explained IBS differs from other bowel disorders like Crohn’s and Colitis in that there is no underlying detectable pathology (i.e. nothing shows up with routine medical investigation) that is causing the digestive symptom or discomfort.
However as the name suggest there must be something that is causing an irritation to the bowel wall or else the symptoms would just not exist. Commonly acknowledged foods that irritate the intestinal wall include dairy products, coffee, alcohol, wheat and citrus fruits. Well, this was my diet! I drank a couple of cappuccinos to get me through my stressful working day and lived on sandwiches and biscuits washed down with orange juice!
The nutritionist talked about stress and how it impacts on digestion. When the body is under stress the energy available to the digestive tract is compromised so the release of digestive enzymes (these are naturally produced by our body to help digest carbohydrates, fats and proteins) is impaired and food is not digested properly and this results in diarrhoea and bloating.
It all made so much sense because stress definitely made my symptoms worse – almost like an ‘exam tummy’ churning around. I thought this was something I just had to live with because of the nature of my job. From my experience, stress and IBS became a vicious cycle because my stress would trigger my symptoms and my painful bloating an diarrhoea made me more stressed and so on.
Before putting me on an exclusion diet, the nutritionist explained that it would be useful to perform a food allergy test. This was a full blood test, which analysed 217 different foods and food additives that can cause ill health. The test results came back showing a strong reaction to wheat, dairy and citrus so she recommended that I avoid these foods for the next 4 weeks and keep a diet and symptom diary. This really helped keep me on track and focused. I had to cut out all bread, pasta, biscuits and cereals and of course my milky cappuccino and cheese. However, much to my amazement I found some great alternatives and all from the supermarket which made my life easier. Even eating out at restaurants I became aware of so many wheat and dairy free options. I suppose until you have to avoid certain foods, you don’t look to see what else is out there.
The nutritionist also prescribed me some basic vitamins and minerals to boost my immune system plus specific gut support in the form a probiotic (BioKult) to boost all my ‘friendly’ bacteria that live throughout the digestive system and digestive enzymes which I had to take specifically every time I ate to help digest the food and reduce my bloating.
Within 4 days my diarrhoea had stopped and consequently I no longer had a painful bloated stomach. For the first time in years I wasn’t constantly thinking about having to find a toilet and my commute to and from work was stress free. My clothes felt comfortable at the end of the day and I didn’t look 6 months pregnant as I often did before I went to the clinic. I couldn’t believe how such common foods could cause such debilitating symptoms. For the first time I was actually enjoying my food and taking a real interest in what I was putting into my body rather than just stuffing a sandwich down every lunch and relying on that coffee fix to get me through the day.
I had my follow up consultation 4 weeks later and the nutritionist recommended I continue with the same diet for another 8 weeks and then we could try reintroducing one food at a time. She explained that I may be able to eat these foods in moderation in the future, but for the moment it was important just to keep the digestive system calm and not stress it with foods that it was trying to ‘fight’. This made so much sense, plus I was motivated because I felt so well so naturally wanted to continue.
Marilyn’s comments:
This is a good example of how powerful the nutritional approach can be in changing someone’s life almost overnight, just by making some simple dietary modifications. Jane like many others in the UK eats a diet that contains a lot of wheat and dairy. It is all too easy to grab toast for breakfast, a cheese sandwich for lunch and have pasta and cheese for dinner. Bowel symptoms, whether they be diarrhoea, bloating, wind or constipation is our body trying to tell us that something is irritating our digestive tract. If you are about to exclude major food groups it always best to seek advice from a qualified nutritionist to make sure that you’re substituting with healthy alternatives so you don’t miss out on any valuable nutrients.
All too often we hear patients tell us how their doctor has made them feel like their symptoms are in their head, particularly when routine medical testing shows there is nothing ‘physically’ wrong like Coeliac disease or colitis. Listen to your body and if your bowel pattern changes and more serious bowel conditions have been ruled out, take a closer look at your diet as it could be something you eat everyday which you may never have considered!
If you are interested in having the test mentioned here please call 0845 8800915.