Hi,
I guess I could be classed as a sufferer of IBS in that I developed persistent problems with constipation about 9 years ago after a stomach bug. Prior to this I had never experienced any problems of this nature. This constipation ultimately caused all sorts of related problems, such as pain, spasm, bloating, low energy, weight gain and burning in the stomach. After many visits to the doctor and investigational procedures I was diagnosed with IBS, which basically meant they had no idea what was causing the problems.
I ended up taking a variety of different things over a period of time such as acid inhibitors for the burning in the stomach and anything from fibre drinks, senna, peppermint oil, linseed, slippery elm, prunes, apricots and eventually codanthramer for the constipation. Suffice to say none of the constipation aids seemed to work particularly well or consistently, with the exception of codanthramer and even this seemed to become less effective the more I used it.
Fortunately I discovered a great natural remedy about 3/4 years ago in the form of Kale. You can buy this in most supermarkets in the UK and I get best results from eating a couple of handfuls of this very very lightly cooked so the stalks are still crunchy (just simmer very gently in water for about 4.5 minutes). I find it best to eat it in the evening on an empty stomach and not eat anything else for at least half an hour to an hour afterwards; also best to eat only light foods such as soup after the kale. Generally this will give me a good bowel movement first thing in the morning albeit after a bit of walking about the house. This is the only thing I have found to work consistently and I feel lucky to have discovered it as many of the ibs related problems have now gone. I have tried similar vegetables such as greens and cabbage but these do not seem to produce the same results. The other thing I have found important is to completely avoid big meals in the evening i.e just stick to the kale and something light e.g soup. If I want a big meal I have it at lunchtime and I try to only eat meat 2 or 3 times a week at lunchtime as too much meat can slow my bowels down.
Maybe Kale just works for me but it might be worth a go for anyone out there who has experienced similar problems due to persistent constipation. I have to say if I don't eat the kale for any more than 2/3 days the constipation starts again. The real problem is when I go on holiday!
My question is does anyone out there know what the constituents of Kale are - I would love to know what it has in it that seems to be so effective? Maybe I could buy the constituents for use on holiday when Kale is not available!
Thanks!
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Kale - does anyone know the constituents of this plant?
