Certified Organic Acacia Senegal ~ Pure Soluble Fiber

The prebiotic fiber that relieves both diarrhea and constipation Thanksgiving Holidays with IBS

"I'll be traveling over the holidays and going home for Thanksgiving. How can I stay stable while I'm out of the house for the holidays?"

First of all, have faith that it is definitely possible (and not even all that difficult) to have a great time during the holidays and keep your IBS safely in check. So let's take the holiday issues one at a time...

Thanksgiving Day

Remember that although it's an annual rite to stuff yourself like the Thanksgiving turkey, too much of any food at one sitting is a bad idea. Help keep your digestion stable by keeping your meal size reasonable, and wait a while before having seconds.

To help prevent overeating in the first place, have a good sized breakfast of a soluble fiber staple such as oatmeal or cream of rice cereal, and don't forget to add in your Acacia Tummy Fiber. At dinner, take just a little of everything and enjoy every bite. After the meal, go for a leisurely walk (instead of crashing on the sofa) to help keep your digestion on track.

Since Thanksgiving is traditionally centered around food - and lots of it - focus on the dishes that are both safe and delicious. For the turkey itself, choose just the white meat (no skin!) to keep your fat content low. Add a little cranberry sauce instead of gravy (which is pure fat), and get a good soluble fiber basis from the stuffing. (Check the fabulous recipes above.)

If you make traditional mashed potatoes with soy or rice milk instead of dairy, they'll be a terrific low fat, high soluble fiber foundation for the meal as well. The same thing goes for candied sweet potatoes - substitute small amounts of olive oil for tons of butter, and you'll have even more safe soluble fiber in your meal.

You don't have to skip dessert! There's no need to when you have a wealth of digestion-friendly options like 5 Minute Pumpkin Pie to choose from.

For an extra margin of safety in the first place, take a Tummy Tamer peppermint oil capsule before the meal to help offset the effects of the extra fat you might be eating despite your best efforts. If you start having problems after the meal, immediately have a cup of your Tummy Tea - peppermint for pain and spasms, fennel for bloating and gas.

Travel Tips

As usual with IBS, the best defense is a good offense, and for traveling this means taking time to think things through in advance. It will be worth your while to make careful but flexible plans, take some simple precautions, and prepare to ask questions or make special requests on your trip to get your dietary and stress management needs met.

Feeling guilty about somehow being "difficult" in this regard is not allowed. Taking care of your health is a legitimate priority, holidays or not, and that's all there is to it.

For travel itself, whether car, plane or train rides, bring your own food and travel packets of your soluble fiber supplement to add to your travel meals or bottled water.

Do not assume that the meals being provided by travel services, or the tourist restaurants along your route, will offer any safe choices whatsoever. Odds are they won't. If you rely on fennel or peppermint tea to keep your symptoms in check, bring a supply of high volatile oil teabags with you as well, and just ask for hot water so you can brew your own.

It's important that you're extra careful to follow the IBS dietary guidelines from the first day of your trip to the last, as travel is always upsetting to your body even if you're not immediately aware of the effects. This physical stress can quickly rear its head in the form of an IBS attack, so focus on prevention at all costs. Precautionary efforts will let you enjoy the holidays, not suffer through them.

In addition to taking dietary measures, maintain your stress management program while traveling, at least to the best of your ability. Try to find a peaceful time and place each day to be alone and relax. (Taking a long hot bath before bed is one option.) Ask in advance for a quiet room if you're staying in a hotel.

If exercise is key to your IBS management, make it a priority of your trip. Take your work out clothes and shoes with you and unpack them first so you're ready to go. If you don't have the option of exercising as planned once you're actually on holiday, change tactics and adapt - find any variation that works and go with it.

Disruptions to your sleep cycle are almost inevitable when traveling, particularly if you change time zones. Make an extra effort to overcome this potential trigger as quickly as possible. If you can, bring your own pillow with you. This is one of my favorite tricks for ensuring that I get good sleep even if I'm not in my own familiar bed. As a daily rule, try to go to bed earlier than you think necessary and get a little extra rest - this will definitely minimize your risk of attacks. Even scheduling a few naps here and there can make a world of difference.

If you need a full-on plan of attack for staying stable while traveling, get comprehensive information here in the First Year IBS. Remember, the whole point of taking a holiday is to end up happy and well-rested!

~ Heather

Organic High Volatile Oil Fennel & Peppermint Tummy Tea Bags

Extraordinary Quality ~ Very Economical

Fennel is terrific for bloating & gas, Peppermint is great for IBS pain & spasms.

    Heather's Fennel Tummy Tea       Heather's Peppermint Tummy Tea

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