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Aubergine (eggplant)
Chilli peppers
Pimento peppers
Chilli paste
Chilli sauce
Jalapeños
Paprika
Mild or hot chilli powder
Curry powder
Madras powder
Cayenne pepper
Basically the food rule is:
‘Steer clear of red foods.’
GAS-PRODUCING (GASSY) VEGETABLES
Most of the carbohydrate foods we eat release bubbles of gas as they are digested. In some people, it is not the gas in itself that causes the problem; it is how our bodies deal with the bubbles. If you are sensitive to gas-producing foods then it is likely that you suffer from painful stomach cramps as the gas gets trapped and your body tries to push it through the digestive tract. Unfortunately this gets worse at night as we are lying down ‘at rest’ and the natural movement of the body and gravity are not there to help push the gas away.
Gas-producing vegetables are perhaps the most common problem for people with a sensitive gut. Some troublesome veggies such as beans and cauliflower are relatively easy to avoid. But perhaps the most difficult foods are onions and garlic. They are incredibly tricky to steer clear of because they make their way into all sorts of unexpected foodstuffs, being a key flavouring for many meals. And secondly, they are the absolute worst at causing the production of gas. Even a tiny amount can trigger a reaction and cause a sleepless night.
Total abstinence from these foods is advised. I know this is difficult, but it might just be the root of so many gut issues that it is absolutely worth the effort. Use the recipes in this book to help. There is a huge variety of meals and flavours to stop your food being bland. Then learn the few key food swaps – lactose-free milk, celery, asafoetida and garlic oil (see here (#ulink_3b3e6e5a-6cd4-5ae1-9e14-532d9a12d55a)) – that can really make things easier. And think positive … You may never have to chop an onion again!
Foods to avoid
Onions and garlic
Red onion
White onion
Spring (green) onion (white part)
Onion powder
Onion flavouring
Garlic
Garlic paste
Garlic flavouring
Garlic salt
Leeks
Note that the green part of a spring onion is allowed, as are chives and celery. Garlic oil is also allowed (and makes a fantastic substitute). The damaging part of the garlic is not soluble in oil, so a garlic-infused oil contains lots of garlic flavour without any of the risks.
Other vegetables
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Kale
Cabbage
Beans and lentils
All kinds of beans including:
Kidney beans
Baked beans
Haricot (navy) beans
Butter beans (lima beans)
Borlotti beans
Black-eyed beans
Soy beans
All kinds of lentils including:
Red lentils
Brown lentils
Puy lentils
Chickpeas should also be avoided.
WHEAT
If you have a fat tummy, love handles or ‘man boobs’, you are not alone. Look around you. The characteristic paunch is extremely common. It gets worse as you get older, and is virtually impossible to shift through diet and exercise. What if this unshiftable belly is caused by twenty years of wheat overload? There’s new thinking that suggests that wheat could be the primary cause of your inflated belly and bloating.
Why avoid wheat?
Not all carbs are the same. Starchy or complex carbs such as rice, oats and potatoes release their energy more slowly than sugar, which is a simple carbohydrate. But isn’t wheat a complex carbohydrate? Yes. But it has unique properties that actually make it release its energy at the same rate as sugar.
Think about how much wheat you eat daily. It’s probably part of every meal. And if you have a snack it’s likely to be present there too. Could the problem be wheat overload? We know that wheat cannot be fully digested and may cause small tears to appear in the intestines.
Cut out wheat entirely
As wheat is in so much of the food you eat you’ll need to start looking at the packaging of every food you buy. Even better, stick to whole, natural foods which don’t come in a packet, and get back to basics with your cooking.
Foods to avoid
Bread
Cake
Biscuits
Pastries
Pies
Crackers
Pitta or wraps
Beer
Malt or malt extract
Pasta
Noodles
Pancakes
Breakfast cereals
Barley
Rye
Bulgur wheat
Gluten-free products – good or bad?
You need to approach gluten-free food products with caution. These processed foods are often full of very quick-release carbohydrates such as rice flour and sugar. Your best bet is to prepare your own food, which you can guarantee as gluten-free naturally.
However, I have found that it helps to feel less restricted if you can have access to a gluten-free bread now and again. We are lucky that there are now hundreds of gluten-free products available. If you find a gluten-free bread that you like, then you should treat yourself occasionally. Even better, buy a gluten-free bread flour and make your own gluten-free bread. I have perfected my own recipe for this and you’ll find it in the Step Up Recipes section.
EVERYBODY IS DIFFERENT (#ulink_1ca5fce1-52fc-50bb-b1bd-42e70d8d99ae)
MY OWN JOURNEY
Jacqueline, in her forties
Symptoms – bloating
I used to feel bloated even after eating a small meal. Bloating is so subjective, it’s hard to know the exact cause and solution. I didn’t tend to feel poorly, so it was hard to pin it down to any one cause. I also got eczema on my face and had a tendency to migraines.
After much experimentation last year (this programme is intended to cut out the grey areas allowing you to reach your own conclusions much quicker), I discovered that wheat was the problem. The difficulty is that with bloating caused by wheat intolerance (which is so common), it doesn’t come straight after eating wheat; it comes maybe a day later and lasts about forty-eight hours. So if I eat wheat on the Monday, I might not get symptoms until Tuesday and they won’t completely disappear until Thursday. It’s so easy to eat a little bit of wheat every day and then the bloating never really goes away.
I cut out wheat completely for a few months and felt a lot better for it. My eczema cleared up nicely and the frequency of my migraines decreased. All due to cutting out wheat.
That’s not quite the end of the story. And this may be familiar to some of you. I was feeling better and I knew this was due to cutting out wheat. I wanted to try and reintroduce it slowly. I missed bread. And the first few times I experimented with bread it seemed fine. A bit of bloating the day after eating wheat is easy to overlook. Unfortunately, this led to me, almost imperceptibly, going back to eating wheat every day. And slowly but surely my symptoms returned. It took seeing my stomach in the mirror to acknowledge it. My tummy was not fatty or flabby … just bloated.
My new plan, which I have been following successfully for the past few months, is to cut out wheat entirely once again. But I make a wheat-free loaf of bread and eat gluten-free bread most days (see here (#litres_trial_promo)). I have to use a rice flour to make the bread, which isn’t ideal. But I have realized that total wheat restriction is no fun in the long run. So my long-term rules for me are: no wheat and no processed foods. But if I want to eat chocolate, gluten-free bread or make some cookies containing real sugar, I do.
Let’s hear from some other people I have helped find their own trigger foods, and who enjoy their life more due to a greater understanding of their gut health.
ANGELA
Angela, in her fifties
Symptoms – stomach cramps at night
Angela has been getting stomach cramps at night for thirty years. Not every night, but sometimes they are so bad that she barely sleeps at all. She noticed a correlation with nightshade, so for a long time she has avoided tomatoes in all their forms. Her symptoms became progressively worse over the years. She then tried removing wheat and dairy from her diet with little success.
It was only on total removal of all gas-producing foods that her symptoms improved.
Angela’s triggers are nightshade and gas-producing vegetables. In particular, she knows that even a tiny bit of onion or garlic will trigger her symptoms. Tomatoes in small doses and cooked tinned tomatoes are less of a problem.
Her solution is to avoid onions, garlic, leeks, beans and lentils totally. She also takes probiotics when her stomach is weak or when she needs antibiotics. She takes a fibre supplement (a teaspoon of ground psyllium) daily.
Angela allows herself to consume tomatoes and peppers in small amounts up to three times a week. She also eats wheat and dairy freely.
STEPHEN
Stephen, in his forties
Symptoms – loose bowels
Stephen is a busy executive who has a stressful job. In a particularly difficult period at work, his symptoms became unbearable and made it difficult for him to do his job properly.
On the advice of the doctor, he cut out all five triggers until his symptoms abated. Then, after a long period of trial and error, it became clear that it was the milk in his many cups of tea that was the problem. Stress also exacerbated the symptoms. His treatment involved probiotics for three weeks to rebuild the gut.
He now does not have milk or yogurt, although cheese is fine. He also is careful about how much red meat he eats. Meat in moderation is fine, but overindulgence can cause his symptoms to reappear.
