Helping my sensitive gut

A sensitive gut runs in my family as does dyspraxia in differing degrees; slow transition and the need to eat carefully. I have IBS-C and my gut needs to be carefully balanced. The things that upset it include sugar, alcohol, anxiety and when I eat too many different foods in one meal,

Take Sunday, it was a birthday and the close family went out for a meal at Miller and Carter on Parbold Hill. I was enjoying a fillet steak with baked potato; then I ate their signature onion loaf and that made me feel sick. It is apparently gluten-free but I’m thinking it may have dairy in it. I did have half a cider and maybe that contributed. I didn’t eat for the rest of the day.

My secret weapon when my stomach is off is to have a Biomel shot which has live active cultures in dairy-free coconut milk. I find it’s best to have it before I have eaten as I can feel it coating and soothing my stomach. I’ve taken many probiotics over the years with variable impact but I notice a difference with the liquid shot. Information on the website is clear: https://www.biomel.life/products

I also use inulin powder in water which is a prebiotic soluble fibre. If you stir it and leave it for five minutes then it becomes clear and it’s easier to swallow. It’s important for me to balance my gut with prebiotics and probiotics. After I finish taking a batch of these I tend to have a break and see how I feel. I feel they become less effective if I carry on.

The key thing that really affects my gut is anxiety. When I am going through a difficult time with IBS then I become over-focused on every little internal gurgle or rumble. I carry a lot of tension in my gut. Although I’ve had the HeartMath emWave2 portable device for a few years I resisted using it; as I found it hard to relax to an order.

I have now started using it once or twice a day and I can see that relaxing helps my gut. When I am stressed my gut is tense. The emWave displays the heart’s rhythm which reflects your emotional state and helps you to learn how to move into a more coherent state. I am learning that by breathing more slowly and letting go of tension, my heart rhythm pattern becomes less chaotic. The visual feedback helps me calm. There are good resources on the website:https://www.heartmath.co.uk

I recently found a blog ‘The Sensitive Gut’ and their blog post about the link between dyspraxia and the bowel. I visit this site when I want to check something out and I’ve just bought the Sensitive Gut cookbook – watch this space!