problem.
Overall belly discomfort: Even if you’re not diagnosed with something specific
like celiac disease (in which gluten damages the small intestine), you might have
an intolerance to certain foods or nutrients. In these cases, you may want to
eliminate foods on a rotating basis to see if you can identify the troublemaker.
The most common way people do this is by eliminating wheat products from
their diet. You stop eating all forms of wheat, even the good wholegrain kinds, to
see if it’s the source of your pain and discomfort. Many people find that they can
settle their stomachs this way.
You can try this with other food groups as well—for example, with dairy
products or meat. Mind you, those groups aren’t bad; it just goes back to what I
said early in this book. We’re all made differently, and how our bodies react to
certain foods differs from person to person. Experimentation can go a long way
in pinpointing the source of your tummy ruckus.
To do an elimination diet, remove just one group of foods at a time (do more
than that, and you won’t know what the trigger is if you start to feel better). Go
for a week or two, and if you don’t feel any better, add back what you just
eliminated, and try cutting out a different food group.
Constipation: As I told the woman on my show, it’s all about fibre, fibre, fibre.
We simply don’t get enough, and fibre helps move things through the gut. When
combined with water, it forms a gel-like substance that expands in your digestive
tract so you are no longer trying to push what feels like toothpaste through five
feet of colon. Fibre also decreases appetite, as it takes up more volume in your
digestive tract, which dials down the hormones that increase appetite and keeps
you feeling satisfied longer.