Haven’t we been told that we should aim higher? Haven’t we been told that if we miss the moon, we will still end up landing among the stars? So, can we do the same to shoot the problem of IBS? In other words, if we aim higher at our IBS, we should go for self-healing rather than self-management. But then the big question becomes: Is it actually possible to self-heal our IBS?
One way to think about it is through a simple analogy. Picture this: if the human body is just like a mobile phone, can we, operate, in another mode?
What does that mean? It means if our usual, daily mode is the mode that makes us suffer from IBS, then is it possible for us to switch to another mode, one that resets, repairs, and even self-heals?
Can You Change Your IBS “Setting”?
Before we talk about why self-healing is possible, let me ask you one question.
Have you tried IF (intermittent fasting)?
Some experts claim that it is not a good idea for IBS people like you and me. However, I gave it a go one night after I felt discomfort in my guts (bloating). From 9 pm that night till 9 am next morning I ate nothing but only drank water and green tea. Guess what? The bloating went away and most important of all, my poop turned back to its normal shape.
It seems that my fasting has switched my mode to a self-healing one. And if we understand how this mode works, is it possible to apply it to IBS?
Survival Mode: How Your Cells Protect and Repair You
So, what is the mechanism of self-healing? To look for the answer, I turned to a medical giant, an expert on longevity, Dr David Sinclair. He claims that fasting is way to activate our survival mode, a mode in which the body protects itself during times of adversity. In this mode, three defence components (sirtuins, mTOR, AMPK) of our cells will take care of our bodies.
Now, you know how the mode of self-healing goes. However, you may ask a question about it. Isn’t it better to have a doctor taking care of you? Why (on earth) should you self-heal?
Why Self-Healing Matters for IBS
We know that self-healing is good. But exactly how good is it? Dr Chopra provides two reasons, two compelling ones:
1. Stop Trouble Before It Starts
One of the big things about self-healing, as highlighted by Dr Chopra, is its proactive approach to health.
What does proactive mean? Instead of waiting for symptoms to appear, self-healing encourages you to adopt healthy habits (like balanced nutrition and regular movement) long before disease has a chance to take hold.
2. Chill Out, Heal Up
Another major thing about self-healing is it fights stress and inflammation, two hidden culprits behind many modern health problems, and two usual triggers of IBS.
Dr Chopra points out that by practicing stress-reducing techniques (such as meditation and positive thinking), you can calm your mind and lower inflammation throughout your body. This not only helps you feel better day-to-day but also creates a healthier internal environment that supports healing over the long term.
Well, if you think the techniques of meditation and positive thinking are not that easy, you are not alone. Why not try a different approach?
Understanding Qi: The Vital Energy behind IBS Healing
You might have heard of Qi. But what exactly is it? Qi is the vital energy within our body that makes us healthy.
And if you link it with self-healing the key thing is to make it move.
Qi moves so that it goes through your body without any blockages, so that your bloating (a kind of blockage in your gut) will be released as the Qi goes.
So what should you do to move your Qi? Or to be exact, what are the easy things to do? There are three easy ways:
1. Eat warm, cooked foods
Warm, cooked foods? Yes, say goodbye to salads (it is not healthy in terms of Qi). So you should eat root and yellow (or orange) vegetables such as sweet potatoes, carrots, pumpkin, squash, turnips. How do they relate to Qi? They are drivers of Qi as they strengthen it.
2. Move your body daily
You don’t want to go jogging? You don’t want to move a lot? Then what about walking and stretching? Simply walking and stretching will keep Qi move and flow smoothly.
You can personalise them and do them in your own pace, even in 10-15 minute pockets of time throughout the day. Gentle as the movement may sound, it supports the circulation of Qi.
3. Avoid icy drinks
I must admit that the last one is not so easy.
You have to say goodbye to cold drinks on a hot summer day (actually and preferably, every day). Why? In the universe of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) there are different types of Qi inside you. One type of it is like a fire and they call it digestive fire.
If you drink icy drinks, you do one big thing to harm your digestive fire: putting the fire off (or making it less strong). In other words, icy drinks are fire fighters but unlike the usual ones they hurt your body by turning down the volume of Qi.
Rethinking Food: From Filling Your Stomach to Healing Your Gut
Since two of the above three ways are about eating, shall we focus on this area a bit more? However, rather than simply taking a closer look at what we eat, we aim higher: Rethink how we think about food, the things you eat every day.
Seeing food from the West
Dr Blum, a pioneer in functional medicine from the West, claims that people, including IBS people, can use food as medicine. Why? Foods (to be more precise molecules in foods) tell your cells how to behave by giving them information. What information? It is information that your body reads and reacts to; it is signals that trigger responses in your body. And for IBS people like you and me, some of the signals are frustrating: inflammation. Inflammation may seem a bit technical, but in a word we hate, it is bloating.
In other words, we can self-manage or even self-heal ourselves, if we choose food that do not cause inflammation in our intestines.
Seeing food from the East
If Dr Blum’s view still feels unconvincing, it helps to look at it from another perspective. While Dr Blum’s focuses mainly on autoimmune conditions, TCM takes food to another level, a level that sees food as a daily tool to strengthen Qi, the vital energy in our bodies.
In the words of a TCM doctor, Dr Ting, foods are not just nutritional but healing in nature:
Food equals life.
Dr Ting: a doctor treating over 140,000 patients (in the US and China)
Sources of Digestible Wisdom
- Sinclair, David A., and Matthew D. LaPlante. Lifespan: Why We Age—and Why We Don’t Have To. Atria Books, 2019
- Chopra, Deepak, and Rudolph E. Tanzi. The Healing Self: A Revolutionary New Plan to Supercharge Your Immunity and Stay Well for Life. Harmony Books, 2018
- Li, William W. Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself. Grand Central Publishing, 2019
- Blum, Susan. The Immune System Recovery Plan: A Doctor’s 4-Step Program to Treat Autoimmune Disease. Scribner, 2013
- Ting, Esther, and Marianne Jas. Total Health the Chinese Way: An Essential Guide to Easing Pain, Reducing Stress, Treating Illness, and Restoring the Body through Traditional Chinese Medicine. Balance, 2009
