IBS Triggers: A Holiday Survival Guide
Do you have a digestive disorder like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)?
Maybe you haven’t been diagnosed with anything specific yet, but suffer from recurring belly discomfort.
If so, do you find yourself dreading Thanksgiving this year?
As someone that has navigated life with gut problems for almost 10 years, I know that the holidays can be super stressful and come with a host of unique challenges.
For instance, we all look forward to savoring our favorite family recipes. You know the ones. Just the smell and flavor of which instantly bring us back to our childhood and make the holidays seem complete and fulfilling.
But now, depending on your symptoms and your IBS triggers, the once longed-for holiday spread poses a dilemma. Partaking in these nostalgic goodies may lead to horrible pain, bloating, gassiness or frequent (or not frequent enough) trips to the bathroom. What do you do?
Don’t despair. I’m about to share my favorite tips to help you make holiday get-togethers less anxiety-provoking and hopefully allow you to focus on other things besides a bloated, upset belly.
IBS Triggers You Can Avoid:
Overeating:
Although very tempting, please DO NOT eat a gigantic meal.
I know everyone else’s plate is overflowing.
I know this meal only comes around once a year.
I know you want to live in complete denial for just one meal.
Consider this your warning. Learn from my mistakes here!
Eating large meals can over stimulate anyone’s digestive tract, but especially those prone to IBS symptoms.
When your stomach fills with food, signals are sent to your colon to begin contracting (the gastrocolic reflex) so that the food you have ingested can move along. Larger meals can cause even greater stimulation of this reflex which can result in pain sensations or cramping feelings in the sensitive digestive systems of people with IBS.
To make matters worse, the sheer volume of food can cause the belly to swell, causing bloating and distention. It’s hard to feel jubilant and joyful when your belly is so upset.
(Plus, with some restraint and reasonable portions at dinner you can even indulge in your favorite dessert later… mmmmmmm… pecan pie!)
So resist the urge to overload your plate. Believe me, it just isn’t worth it.
Dehydration:
Drink your fluids! Dehydration can bring on IBS symptoms, especially if constipation is a chronic problem for you.
Be sure to minimize the risk of unwanted symptoms due to this common IBS trigger. Keep your digestion happy by having a glass of water close by throughout the day and keep sipping!
Skipping meals:
This one seems counterintuitive and unfair! I admit that I have tried on many special occasions to skip meals in the hopes that I will also skip the unwanted symptoms later in the day.
Unfortunately, this has backfired on me many times. In fact, sometimes not eating has proven worse as far as belly pain and bloating than eating too much. It’s a gamble I chose not to take anymore because for me skipping meals = a very angry tummy!
One explanation for this strange reaction is that eating regular meals may help with gut motility. This keeps everything moving in a coordinated, healthy fashion.
Another theory is that not eating at regular intervals causes a stress to the body and the body then responds to the stress with an increase in symptoms.
Whatever the cause, this is one IBS trigger I advise you to avoid by eating some small meals during the day prior to your Thanksgiving meal.
Also keep in mind that if you avoid meals all day you are more likely to overindulge on your main meal. And we already covered that mistake (see IBS trigger #1 above).
Stressed-out Eating:
You might be familiar with the phrases ‘fight or flight’ and ‘rest and digest’. These refer to systems within our nervous system.
‘Fight or flight’ is the response activated by our sympathetic nervous system (SNS). ‘Rest and digest’ is the response activated by our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). If you like visuals, here is well-organized chart of the nervous system.
These systems are kind of like a see-saw. When one is activated, the other has lowered activity and vice versa.
As the name implies, our bodies perform activities like digestion best when we are in the parasympathetic state (‘rest and digest’).
Unfortunately, if we are experiencing physical, emotional or mental stress we tend to be in sympathetic mode. This could be caused by anxiety about family get togethers, worrying about IBS symptoms acting up, or being stressed about cooking a meal for 20 people!
My point here is that it can be helpful to take a few minutes around mealtime to help your nervous system return to that soothing ‘rest and digest’ mode. If you do so, your entire digestive system stands a better chance to function as it was perfectly designed to.
Taking a moment of gratitude before your meal is just one fantastic way to do this. This could be in the form of a prayer or blessing before digging into the potatoes and gravy.
I have created an entire guide that describes 5 ways you can lower your stress and boost your digestion in more detail. To download your free copy, click the image below. Read through the suggestions and pick out a favorite to try before sitting down to Thanksgiving dinner.
Chewing Sugar free gum:
You might think that chewing a piece of sugar-free gum is an ideal strategy to prevent you from eating too many appetizers or desserts.
Surprisingly though, sugar free gum is one of the worst offenders when it comes to bloating and bringing on other IBS symptoms like gassiness. Sugar free items often contain sorbitol or xylitol which have been shown to cause diarrhea and which people with IBS tend to find difficult to digest.
All is not lost. Another option is to have a warm mug of peppermint tea instead. This may not be doable in every situation, but on Thanksgiving it simply involves bringing a tea bag with you or a bottle of peppermint essential oil (be sure it is an ingestible oil).
Peppermint tea will keep your breath minty-fresh and keep you from the endless supply of appetizers. And… BONUS: Peppermint oil ‘was shown to be a safe and effective therapy for pain and global symptoms in adults with IBS’.
How awesome is that?!
Other Helpful Tips:
Here are a few extra pointers that I have found useful over the years!
1. Take your time chewing.
It seems simple, but most of us don’t chew our food completely. The more we chew, the more we allow our saliva and enzymes to break down the food at the beginning of the digestive process.
Great news! This means less work for our gut further down. You might even find that if you take the time to savor and chew your food longer, that your first portion will last as long as everyone else’s seconds.
2. Bring your own food and snacks.
This is important if you know that certain foods in particular are IBS triggers for you. If you are unsure about what is being served at your destination by all means bring your own food so you know you will have something ‘safe’ to eat.
This might be something small to have as an appetizer, a particular dessert, or your entire meal. I do this quite often and I have not run into a host or hostess yet that was bothered by me doing so. Having my ‘Plan B’ foods as back-ups puts my mind at ease and is one less thing to stress about during the festivities.
3. Work on good posture.
I know this is a strange one. But, if you think about it, it makes sense that our digestive system and organs rely on the correct orientation of our bodies to function optimally. This means focusing on correct posture. No slumping!
Final Thoughts∼
I have gathered these suggestions from my experiences over numerous Thanksgiving dinners with IBS, SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth) and belly discomfort. I hand these tools to you so that your holiday season seems a little less stressful when it comes to celebrating with friends and family and food. I hope you feel empowered to plan ahead and be a bit more mindful so that your holiday can be full of joy and laughter, even when dealing with a digestive disorder.
My sincere wishes that you have a wonderful, smile-filled Thanksgiving!
