Charcoal cleanse

[horseriding19]

Hi all I was recommended to do a charcoal cleanse by a nutritionist for IBS-d. Any experience? X

[xjrs]

Please remember that nutritional therapists are not doctors and some of the courses they go on only require very basic qualifications (like English and Maths). However, they are making vast sums of money from desperate people through their high consultancy fees. I was under their guidance last year and I sorely regretted it. I became very ill, lost loads of weight and wasted £4.5k on their fees, useless expensive supplements, tests and other treatments. I am doing much better under the guidance of the NHS - in fact that their treatments messed me up so much that I ended up having to have a colonoscopy which got me the right diagnosis.

Please read this about charcoal:

bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide...

This backs up why you shouldn't be taking their advice.

Here is some general advice about IBS:

IBS can be due to a number or combination of factors - these can be stress (including stress from early life experiences) which impacts the communication between the brain and the digestive system. There are lots of free webinars online at the moment regarding mindfulness meditation which might help. Plus you can ask to be referred for CBT or something similar to reduce your anxiety - I would have thought online appointments are available. Exercise can play a major role in IBS in terms of reducing stress, helping your gut microbiome and regulating bowel movements.

There is also not absorbing certain types of carbohydrates called FODMAPs very well, the residue ending up in the colon and bacteria feeding off them causing symptoms. Ordinarily feeding gut bacteria is a really good thing - when you feed good gut bacteria these produce by-products that have great health effects in the gut and throughout the body. However, in some people with IBS bad bugs might have the upper hand over good - these bad bugs may cause symptoms such as pain or disordered bowel movements. This is why it’s worth trying probiotics such as Alflorex (which has been scientifically studied for IBS) or Symprove to crowd out the bad bugs and make their numbers die down. I have tried other probiotics, but Alflorex worked best for me. If that doesn't work you can try the FODMAP elimination and reintroduction diet. This is normally under the guidance of a nutritionist via GP referral - this may not be possible at the moment so you can read about it online. If you download the Monash University FODMAP app it will tell you which foods contain FODMAPs and in what quantities. You can eliminate all FODMAPs for 2 weeks and then introduce each type of FODMAP one at a time starting in small quantities and wait 2-3 days for symptoms. I go much slower than this - only introducing a small amount of the same food for 3 days and then increase if tolerable or no symptoms and cut back to the previous amount if symptoms. I've read your microbiome can adapt to handling a new food if introduced very slowly. Ideally you want to eat as many FODMAPs as you can since they are good for your health. Many people with IBS don't have diverse gut bacteria - it has been found that people who lack a diverse microbiome are more prone to diseases in general. In the long run, if you can get your symptoms under control, the ideal situation is to have a very varied diet - lots of different coloured fruits and vegetables, a variety of protein and carbohydrate sources including cereal fibres. This may seem a long way off, but with the right treatment all of this is possible. Last year all I could consume to control my IBS was white rice, protein and limited low fodmap veg. Using the approach above (particularly introducing Alflorex) I am now able to consume far more foods - more than I've ever dreamed of including wholewheat bread which is unheard of for me.

You can find some info on self management here:

theibsnetwork.org/the-self-...

[Kitten-whiskers]

I also spent a lot of money on different nutritionalists.

I would tread with caution, my trust in these people has long gone, they make good money on people who are very poorly and desperate for help, none of the ones I have seen have been any help at all, infact one in particular made me very ill indeed

Take Care

Debs

[horseriding19]

Thanks guys xx you’ve both helped a lot