If you have a recurring upset stomach, chances are you have heard of IBS. IBS stands for Irritable Bowel Syndrome, but it could just as easily mean “We don’t know exactly what’s wrong with you.” The sad truth is that general practitioners gets little to no nutritional training in medical school. As a result, they often don’t speak to the tie between what you eat and how it makes you feel. But come on! If your stomach hurts, shouldn’t you look first at what you are putting into it? So if you have been diagnosed with IBS or at least things are leaning that way, I suggest trying an elimination diet. There are few different ones out there, but I like the Top 8 Elimination Diet. It removes the following foods for 6 weeks.

• Gluten (Wheat/Rye/Barley etc)
• Dairy (Milk/Yogurt/Butter etc)
• Eggs (The chicken kind)
• Tree Nuts (Almonds/Walnuts/Pecans etc)
• Peanuts
• Soy (Tempeh/Edamame/Tofu etc)
• Fish (all fish)
• Shellfish (Shrimp/Mussels/Crab etc)

On this diet, your food choices become extremely limited. After all, the purpose is to reduce the types of food you consume so you can find out if something you’ve been eating is making you sick. Fortunately, There are a lot of free meal plans online to make this easier. It will be a difficult undertaken for sure, but it could change your life! Use this time to really focus on your health. Read every label and lower your exposure to all inflammation inducing ingredients (If you can’t pronounce them or don’t know why they would be added, don’t eat them!) And, don’t just get a bunch of dairy free packaged food or gluten free cookies. Focus on real food. Whole foods are best. Fresh fruits and vegetables, whole proteins like chicken, beef, pork or beans and legumes. Seeds for snacks. Naturally gluten free grains like quinoa, oats, corn, rice are all great alternatives to wheat.

After six week, start adding foods back to your diet one at a time and observe how you feel. Consider keeping a food journal. If you eat something and then you feel terrible, you’ll know that it is one of the culprits. Remember, it’s not always a stomach ache that’s signaling a food sensitivity. The symptoms can range from bloating and gas, to achy joints, to skin issues like eczema or acne. Or, brain fog and emotional reactions like sadness or apathy. Once you know, you can modify your diet accordingly. The foods that you react to need to stay out of your diet long enough to let your gut heal. Yes! Your gut can heal! And, you may be able to return to the favorites you had to let go of once it does. The first time I did it I went from being sick constantly and looking 6 months pregnant to feeling like my self again. It’s worth a shot right?

Written by Kat Kilpatrick