Firstly, it’s important to recognise that IBS is unique to each person who has this diagnosis. Symptoms, and the reasons for these symptoms, vary from person to person that’s why the standard ‘one size fits all’ treatments tend not to be very effective a lot of the time.

These symptoms are very real and disruptive to everyday life BUT thankfully there is plenty that you can do to help your situation. With that in mind, here is a rundown of some common areas we need to consider when we look at the cause of IBS symptoms, and how to go about addressing it. 

It’s important to note that these are only four out of a whole array of different areas to consider. 

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

Parasites in IBS

You might also have parasites present in your digestive system.  This is not normally as horrifying as it sounds, I can assure you, although these parasites can give rise to all sorts of unpleasant digestive symptoms.

If you’ve been eating a diet high in sugar, lots of white carbs or alcohol, for example, this may also have been feeding the bad guys a bit too much and allowing them to overpopulate.

Have a look here for more information on having disrupted gut flora and the symptoms this may cause.

 Can food sensitivities cause IBS?

There could also be some food sensitivity going on and people who come under the IBS umbrella tend to find their symptoms are a lot better when following a low FODMAP diet. FODMAP stands for Fermentable Oligo-, Di-, Mono-saccharides And Polyols.
This simply means that foods which are ‘high FODMAP’ contain starches which are a bit harder to digest than others. So avoiding them – usually just for a short time whilst you heal your gut – can prevent pain, bloating and all the other symptoms you may be experiencing.

Gluten and dairy tend to be the main offenders here, but there are other fruits and vegetables which contain high levels of FODMAPs and can cause IBS symptoms.

Undertaking a low FODMAP diet really should only be a temporary measure whilst your gut heals. It’s OK to be avoiding one or two foods long term, but IDEALLY the aim is to get you enjoying as wide a range of different foods as possible. This is so much more likely to happen once your digestive system has had a chance to heal.

We’re just over a week into the new year and there are January challenges everywhere! Dry January. Veganuary. 21 Day Sugar-Free Challenges and countless weight loss groups to join. BUT are they always the best thing for you if you need to de-stress and get into the habit of putting yourself first in 2025?

Undoubtedly these are all great goals to aim for, but if you’re already feeling very stressed and overwhelmed they’re probably not the best place to start.

Just to be clear, I’m definitely not saying that minimising sugar and alcohol in your life is a bad thing – OF COURSE THAT WOULD BE GREAT FOR YOU!  But if it’s stressing you out, or not making you feel good, then unfortunately it’s just adding to your overwhelm. If that’s you, you’ll probably find starting in the spring or summer suits you better.

Stress and Gut Health

As you probably know, the link between gut health and stress is huge. You can read more about that here. So adding more pressure with unrealistic goals probably isn’t going to be very helpful for you. And what’s going to happen when you ‘fail’ or ‘fall off the wagon’ by the middle of the month? It’s not going to do much for your confidence and stress levels, and won’t be the best way to start considering your own needs first in the New Year.

So, I thought I’d go in with a different kind of January challenge. How about a ‘Put Yourself First and Start to De-Stress Challenge‘?

Here are four really simple strategies you can easily start to implement today, to carve out some space for YOU in your life.

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

No screens in your bedroom

A tricky one I know! But really try and aim to switch your phone off a good hour or two before you go to sleep.  This will really help you sleep much better.  And if you’re not tired you’ll be much less prone to stress.

When you think about it, there’s not usually anything that needs your urgent attention late in the evening which can’t wait until the next morning.  People don’t usually expect you to reply to them immediately if they email you outside work hours.

The other thing is that the light emitted from phones and gadgets – blue light – has been proven to disrupt sleeping patterns. So you’ll be doing yourself a huge favour, and definitely putting yourself first in 2025, if you can keep your phone out of your bedroom.

Walk in fresh air every day

No matter how busy you are, aim to make it a habit to step outside for a breath of fresh air each day. Doing this, even for short increments at a time, provides you with many health benefits—both physical and mental.

Research suggests spending time outside helps you sleep better at night, lowers heart rate, reduces stress levels, boosts mental health, and stimulates the immune system.

So if you’re always really, really busy think about where you can squeeze in a quick walk. Maybe walk to do the school run, take a walk at lunchtime (in a leisurely way, not racing about) in a relaxing environment like a park or next to a river, if you’re lucky enough to be near one.

And it’s not just a case of doing these small things once or twice, it’s important to get into the habit of doing as much as you can to create space for YOU every single day. It’s the constant repetition of many tiny habits, which together soothe you and make sure you’re at your optimum—emotionally, physically, and mentally.

Of course there are millions and millions of things you could do to look after yourself, put yourself first and create space in your (probably) very hectic life. 

If you have IBS, bloating, heartburn, or are prone to indigestion then these five tips should help you survive Christmas without feeling like you’re missing out.

Tip #1 – How to avoid digestive symptoms over Christmas – keep anxiety under control

Accept that you probably are anxious and stressed, even if you don’t feel like you are in the moment. It’s usual not to feel like you’re stressed while you’re stressed, but you may well recognise it as such afterwards.

Anxiety, worry and digestive symptoms such as IBS unfortunately often go hand in hand. Your gut and brain are always talking to each other – you can read more about that here – so it’s very important to avoid anxiety as far as you can.
Unfortunately Christmas and all the running around shopping, wrapping and cooking can cause even the most laid back people to become stressed – so make sure you ask for help when you need it, if you want to avoid aggravating those IBS symptoms.
When we experience stress (and it doesn’t have to be excessive) we tend to produce less stomach acid and digestive enzymes, and it also has a negative impact on our friendly gut bacteria. This can result in uncomfortable digestion and excessive bloating and gas.

If you don’t already, a crucial part in overcoming gut symptoms is learning to manage stress with techniques such as meditation and yoga. If you’re already in the habit of practicing these, then remember to fit them in over the festive season too.
Read more about managing stress and anxiety here.

Christmas IBS survival tip #2 Eat mindfully

This leads us nicely into tip number two – eat mindfully.  It’s necessary to get your body into the right mode for eating, especially if you’re sitting down to a large meal, larger than you usually eat. You need to smell your food and relax to get those digestive juices flowing nicely.

A good way to do this is to take some time before eating to do some simple breathing exercises.

Here’s a good one –

Breathe in for a count of six
Hold for a count of six
Breathe out for a count of six

Repeat this several times until you feel yourself begin to relax.

If you’re feeling stressed and eating lots more than you usually would, you may not be producing sufficient levels of digestive enzymes to properly digest your food. This is where apple cider vinegar may help you – add a tablespoon of ACV to a glass of warm water before meals to help stimulate your digestive system.

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

Tip 4 – keep hydrated

Water is vital for your digestive system, it really does keep everything lubricated and moving along nicely.  It also helps you avoid constipation.

The temptation is always there over christmas to consume too much alcohol – this is very dehydrating and the dehydration will wreak havoc with your digestive system.

You need plenty of water on board to ensure your gut can make all the digestive enzymes and acids it needs to.

Keeping hydrated will also help your liver to detoxify if it is getting over burdened.

When you do drink alcohol, make sure it’s a good quality wine and drink less of it – avoid anything too sugary.  Aim to alternate an alcoholic drink water to keep things moving along nicely.

I hope that helps you survive this year’s festivities and I hope you have a great Christmas!

If you find your digestion’s feeling bit off, maybe with bloating, nausea or aches and pains, you could do a lot worse than to make sure you have plenty of herbs and spices at hand in your kitchen cupboards.

There are literally hundreds of herbs and spices to help with day to day tricky gut situations.

Some herbs will support your body in producing bile – a digestive substance produced by the gall bladder which helps you digest fatty foods.

Also, many of these herbs and spices will soothe the gut wall and ensure your gut is functioning correctly to get any pesky excess gas out of your system.

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

However they do their job, you can be assured that the following herbs and spices will support healthy digestion, allowing the gut to function as it’s supposed to.

And apart from all that they taste amazing too!

Here are four of my favourites –

Chamomile

My favourite herb of all time and so handy – I have a box of chamomile tea in the kitchen all the time as I use it for sleeping and relaxation.

A lesser known benefit of chamomile is as a great treatment in case of any stomach aches or bloating – it works so well – sometimes I just have three small cups of chamomile tea, one after the other, and it nails most minor digestive complaints.

It’s also been proven in animal studies to be anti inflammatory and reduce diarrhoea, and also to inhibit the development of stomach ulcers – amazing!

Cumin

Cumin is great for indigestion and actually revs your digestive processes up by increasing the activity of digestive enzymes.
Again, cumin will increase the production of bile so it’d be a great idea to include some of this if you tend to feel uncomfortable after eating fatty foods.

People with IBS have even reported improved symptoms after taking cumin as a supplement.

You might have noticed that a lot of these spices are traditionally served alongside notorious foods which commonly aggravate digestion, such as beans and lentils – think chilli and dhal.  

There is a reason for this, they do actually help your gut to break down these harder to digest foods. 

So there you go, four essential herbs and spices to have in your cupboard to support your digestion day to day – enjoy them as teas or in cooking!

When foods are referred to as ‘organic’ it means they have been produced without the assistance of any artificial pesticides, fertilisers, antibiotics, hormones or chemicals. And that they’re not genetically modified. As far as pre-packaged foods are concerned they must not contain any artificial additives at all, in order to be labeled organic. The ingredients that they are made from must also be organic. But is organic food really better for you?

As well as being better for your health, organically grown crops are much better for the environment as they use natural fertilisers like manure to nourish the plants. Because of this, organic farming methods tend to improve soil quality rather than deplete it.

How else is organic food beneficial to health?

Studies consistently show that organic produce in general contains much higher levels of antioxidants, as well as micronutrients such as vitamin C, zinc and iron.

In fact, antioxidant levels can be as much as 69% higher in these foods.

There was one study which discovered organically grown berries and corn contained 58% more antioxidants and as much as 52% more vitamin C.

So this is well worth bearing in mind.  You could be looking at eating the equivalent of 1-2 extra portions of fruit and veg, if you choose organic options!

How can this happen?

Organic plants don’t rely on artificial pesticides for protection. Instead, they produce more of their own protective compounds – antioxidants. All this goodness then gets passed onto us.

Although some studies show that organic food isn’t necessarily better than non-organic, and that there’s no benefit to eating organic at all, these studies tend to look at how harmful one pesticide or chemical is, in isolation. The thing which hasn’t been fully studied is the cumulative effect of all the chemical fertilisers, antibiotics and so on.  They’ll usually show up as safe in trials – but that’s when they only test one in isolation.  If you’re eating several different foods in a meal – by and large you will be – who knows what the effect of all the pesticides mixed together will be.

If you’re worried your diet is impacting your gut health, I’d highly recommend downloading my online course The Ultimate Gut Health Programme to help support both your digestive sysem and hormone health, whilst avoiding triggering symptoms.

It’d be impossible to include all you need to know in one blog, but the programme will have all you need to know to ensure you’re soothing your digestive system, whilst eating delicious and filling foods.

How about organic dairy?

One food group I’d definitely recommend buying organic is milk and dairy (if you tolerate it)

Not only do organic dairy products and meats contain higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids, they’re also higher in micronutrients such as vitamin E and iron.

A diet rich in omega-3 fats is associated with a huge array of health benefits, including improved cardiovascular health and less inflammation.

Watch out for ‘organic’ processed food

Pre-packaged, processed food and fizzy drinks are not ideal, whether they’re labelled ‘organic’ or otherwise. These foods tend to be very high in sugar. Organic sugar is still sugar and has the same effect on the body as any other type of sugar. They’re also likely to be high in trans-fats and salt.

On the plus side though, if you do occasionally choose to eat these foods you can be sure they don’t contain any chemicals or additives.