Juicing is an excellent way to supply your body with plenty of vitamins and minerals, something that IBS sufferers, particularly those with IBS-D, often struggle to do. Those of us with IBS often have very limited diets because many foods are too fibrous for us to digest, or trigger IBS attacks for a variety of other reasons. We end up avoiding many of the fruits and vegetables that our body needs to fight off infections, strengthen our bones, grow healthy hair and nails, keep our organs healthy, and even remain mentally stable. (Yes, nutrients contribute to mental stability and an overall positive mood!)
I've personally had IBS-D for seven years, but I've only recently started juicing to try to conquer the specific nutrient deficiencies, anemia and overall malnourished condition that I have developed as a result of my IBS. Not everyone with IBS becomes as malnourished as I have become, but many IBS sufferers have at least some specific nutrient deficiencies and many of us have difficulties digesting certain (if not all) supplements.
That is why I would suggest juicing to help IBS sufferers widen their diet and their intake of nutrients. Unlike simply blenderizing your fruits and vegetables, juicing removes the fiber from produce, allowing the body to more quickly and easily absorb and assimilate the nutrients. I am not suggesting that juicing is a cure-all for IBS, but simply that it is one of many things that you can do to help improve your diet and your condition if you suffer from IBS.
Please keep in mind that every IBS sufferer has different trigger foods, and that sometimes even the act of eating (anything) can trigger an IBS attack. So, these specific juicing recipes may or may not work for you. I would suggest checking out the suggested resources for juicing that I have posted in order to acquaint yourself more generally with the benefits of juicing, then tweaking these recipes to suit your own needs. Obviously, avoid your trigger foods that you don't seem to be able to digest even when you juice them. You can also experiment with adding foods to your personal juice recipes that do not trigger your IBS, such as pineapples and spinach. These are great for juicing, but I have not included them in my own juice recipes because they are some of my most potent trigger foods.
Please also keep in mind that I'm not a doctor, a nurse or a nutritionist. I am seeing both a nutritionist and a naturopathic doctor, but ultimately, I am just another IBS sufferer who is sharing what I have learned with the IBS community.
As you experiment with juicing, I welcome you to submit your own juicing recipes for me to try at home and potentially post on the blog as well. Please see the page on Submitting Your Own Juice Recipes for more information.
If you tweak my recipes and find/create an improvement or a variation on one of my juices, please add that to the comments section of the post. I'd love for this blog to become a dynamic collection of recipes built by the entire IBS community.
Thanks, and enjoy juicing!
I've suffered from IBS for 27 years and am waiting for a referral to an IBS specialist as I have recently experienced a change and increase in abdominal pain. I've just bought a juicer to try and improve my health and wanted to thank you for taking the time to start this blog as it's an ideal starting point for someone like me, trying to improve my understanding of juicing and how to use it to improve my IBS.
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad that this website is/will be helpful to you. I've been experimenting with some new recipes that I will be posting over the next few weeks, so check back! But the most important thing is that you do your own experimenting, since everyone with IBS reacts differently to different foods.
DeleteIf you're having increased abdominal pain, I would recommend mostly sticking to your "safe" foods (foods that you know won't set you off) until you can talk to a specialist. Keep your experimentation with your new juicer to a minimum -- try introducing one new fruit or vegetable into your system at a time so that you can keep track of what your system can tolerate. After you've established several safe fruits and veggies, you can start to combine a few of them at a time... good luck!
This is a wonderful idea! I am on day 2 of my juice fast and actually feel better than I thought I would. Day one was a little rough with some chills and a case of the bloats, but today I feel fine.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that has surprised me is that I have not become constipated as so many others have reported when they do a juice fast. I suffer from IBS-C so this was a real concern for me. It's actually been quite the opposite and I'm going several times a day (sorry for the TMI).
I think one thing we all need to keep in mind with IBS is that it is so different for everyone and our digestive system is not "normal" so don't be afraid of the reports of constipation when you suffer from C or diarrhea when you suffer from D. It's just possible that your body will reset and normalize. We don't react the same way that people with "normal" digestive systems do or even the same way someone else with IBS does.
Great site!