Possible solution to IBS worked for me!

But I dont think there is a generalisation for sufferers as everybody reacts differently to their internal chemical composition.

What most of us cannot comprehend is how IBS can be abatted for long periods then suddenly to become troublesome on the same diet. Unfortunately, doctors seem not to take anything seriously thats accompanying a negative test report. I have very little faith in the medical profession. You get your 15 minutes then out you go.

Oh no...you said 'no special diet of 5 a day veg and fruit'. Believe me, nutritionists recommend 6 - 10 fruits and veggies per day as a basic diet. It is not a special diet at all. Consider this:

Breakfast: berries and an apple...maybe as a smoothie in a blender with milk or better still, almond milk. I add protein powder.

Lunch: a sandwich with GREEN lettuce in it (not iceberg which has no nutritional value). Carrots and celery sticks, red pepper which is very digestible and cauliflower in a baggie. A ripe banana for dessert.

Dinner: a piece of meat the size of a deck of cards, broccoli, beets (from a jar) with a beautiful salad of GREEN lettuce with sliced radishes and cherry tomatoes. 

What you add to that is fine....but this is considered a normal, basic diet...not special. And I will bet that our great grandparents ate this 'normal' way because there was no frozen, processed, prepared foods, junk food, fizzy drinks, crisps and greasy take out back in the day. I think we have lost our way...and our digestion is paying the price.

That is very interesting. I am about your age, 65 actually, and I have a bit of arthritis. I should do an experiment on myself and eat a lot of veggies from the nighshade family and see if it acts up. I should ask a friend who has painful osteoarthritis throughout her body, to eliminate nightshade vegetables from her diet to see if it makes a difference.

One thing for sure that suddenly gives me pain in ONE joint...each and every time is the following. I get in my car in the spring and put on the air conditioner...and there is a definite smell of mold in the car. I keep driving but within about 10 minutes, ONE joint suddenly becomes very tender and aches...a lot!  It has happened to me on 4 occasions. I wouldn't be surprised if mold aggravates or causes arthritis. In my case, it sure happened. After a day or so, the symptoms simmered down. Very odd... Come to think of it, my arthritis friend lived for years in an old house with a damp basement... That is probably the case for 90% of Britain. 

My naturopath (who is also a licences pharmacist) himself takes something...whose name I can't recall at the moment, something that increases the production of enzymes because he says that as we age, our production of them decreases. 

Yda I went to see  him (he's 67) and he told me that he takes DHEA to keep young. It slows down the aging process...apparently. He told me that i would notice the difference in my energy level right away. I took my first 'dose' yda and we shall see... I read about the side effects which I ALWAYS do for anything I put in my body and there are positives and negatives. I will take it and see how I feel. 

I have to admit, I take about 12 supplements per day. Omega is a must...but it's hard to digest so I take it as Barlean's fish oil. It is absolutely delicious!...and expensive. 

None of us wants to age but since we have to, it would be good to age gracefully and in good health. My aim is to never have to take any medication. Most medical conditions can be managed with lifestyle changes and that's the route I take. 

Thanks for the nightshade idea. i will definitely follow up on it.

Robin (female)

Montreal, Canada

may I ask if you eat so much veg and fruit why so many supplements which should all come from your food except fish oils 

, But the amount of veg fruit you need depend on your age sex and amount of activity you do.And you need a certain amount of carbs.

The reason for supplements is that unfortunately with so much of our 'fresh' food coming from far away places and picked under-ripe, the nutritional value is depleted. I read that a tomato from the 1950s had more than double the nutritional value of a tomato today. They are bred differently today; not for flavour or nutritional value but for toughness so that they make it to market intact. Profit is the bottom line. In winter, it's worse because most of our produce comes from the south.

The fruits and vegetables right off the farm in summer, of course are much more nutritious.

There are carbs in fruits and vegetables and certainly one can eat some bread, pasta, rice and potatoes...but we should be eating far less than we do because it takes the place of vegetables. 

Nowadays we have to contend with chemically sprayed foods and those that are genetically modified (GMO food such as all corn based products) and hormones are injected into the beef (7 different hormones) that feed cancers if you already have it. There are antibiotics in the chicken. There is no end to how big business is interfering in food production...for nothing other than profit. We drink water fill of drugs from people's pee (the water filtration plants can't remove it) and we breathe polluted air and absorb chemicals in lotions and makeup.

I try not to think about these toxins bombarding us on a daily basis or I'd lose my mind...so I just do what I can do and that is to take supplements to boost my immune system. I can't always buy organic or avoid all these contaminated foods. We live in a climate where the sun doesn't  shine on a daily basis all year round, on our skin (so we need vitamin D supplements which experts tell us protect us from cancers, MS etc..). Scotland is the country in the world with the highest rate of MS...and it is probably the country with the least sun. The Inuit eat whale and seal meat so they get their omega 3 and vitamin D....but there isn't much of that in haggis! 

LIke probably half the population over 50, I am slightly vitamin B12 deficient so I take that under my tongue.I'm no saint. I am not a big fish eater so I take my omega fish oil in my morning smoothie. I have a weakness for bread type foods and it takes a lot of will power to resist eating them. And that's another reason to fortify my health. 

So, there we have it. Lifestyle recipe: walk every day, drink plenty of water...and a glass of red wine every day. Eat well, digest well, and live a long and healthy life!