Hello Friends,

I recently joined this list and have been reading
through the archives. I didn't intend to post so soon
(I'm such a lurker), but saw this topic in the June
2002 archive and just had to respond.

In my opinion, IBS is very definitely related to and
caused by diet. I offer my own little anecdote:

For the last ten years I have had IBS, though I didn't
know it had a name until a few years ago. For the last
two years I followed a high-fiber diet recommended by
a GI doctor. For a while I thought this was working,
but eventually had to admit that it was simply
changing how my symptoms presented. (I won't go into
icky details). It certainly wasn't improving, and may
have been getting worse.

I have been interested in Paleo nutrition for
approximately three years, but was never able to stay
on it perfectly, so I gave up quickly (silly
perfectionist).

Considering how high-fiber was failing me, I recently
noticed Neaderthin sitting forlornly on my shelf and
began thinking... My first IBS problems began in
college when my diet was nearly exclusively composed
of bread, pasta, rice and beans. I definitely followed
a low-fat vegetarian trend at that time. It made sense
that if the bread & pasta diet was the start of my
problems, perhaps an opposite diet might solve them.

July 1 2002, I started following one simple guideline:
Meat & Vegetables at each meal - No Grains. I even
stopped taking my fiber pills. A few weeks later, I
picked up a copy of Life Without Bread, for its
chapter on gastro health. I then lowered carbs but
continued with dairy.

Well, so far (keeping fingers crossed), in that 1 1/2
months, my symptoms have nearly disappeared. In the
body of Charlotte, that's pretty darn good.

I continue moving toward a low-carb paleodiet. I'd
like to reduce or eliminate dairy. I still get
terribly overwhelming cravings at times. I fell off
the wagon just this week, but I'm trying to be gentle
with myself. I can't be perfect. Right now, trying to
think about fat types, dressings, and the myriad of
details is simply too much for me. I hope that I can
just focus on the simple guidelines and in that way,
make this a permanent lifestyle. In the long-run,
practice will make perfect. :)

Thanks for reading. Perhaps, after all, that was to
long to be an anecdote.

Charlotte


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