Have you noticed how you feel after eating something? Do certain foods affect you, causing nausea, bloating or reflux? Becoming aware of the answers to these questions can be the first step towards feeling as good as you can. I have some suggestions that are aimed at helping you feel better.
Bowen Therapy
First of all, Bowen Therapy is a gentle soft tissue therapy that can address the organs involved with digestion, helping them improve function. Treatments also help balance your nervous system, helping shift you from fight and flight to the rest, repair and digest mode. Many clients have commented on how much better their gut feels after a Bowen. It is also very common during the treatment that you feel and hear the gut responding and starting to gurgle as it returns to processing your last meal!
Food and Symptom Diary
Secondly keeping track of what you eat and how you feel by creating a food and symptom diary gives you the awareness of any connection between what you eat and how you feel. Record the following items for 2 weeks. Your diary should include the following:
- Date
- Time and detailed description of food and drink
- Time and presence of symptoms
- Duration of symptoms
- Degree of interference with daily activities
All symptoms count, no matter how unusual but the following list can be used as a guide:
- Bad breath
- Burping, belching, hiccupping
- Heartburn/reflux
- Appetite
- How quickly you fill up
- How quickly you are hungry again
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Abdominal bloating
- Abdominal cramping
- Bowel movements- frequency, urgency, strain, consistency, buoyancy. Do they contain any undigested food, mucous or blood?
- Intestinal gas: frequency, level of bother
- Weight gain
- After eating: likelihood of exercising, ability to function effectively
- Brain fog: concentration and memory difficulties
- Congestion – nose, sinus, chest
- Pain – joints and or muscles
- Headaches
- Fatigue
- Fluid retention- swelling, oedema
- Mood challenges: mood swings, depressed mood, anxiety
- Sleep challenges
Benefits
Benefits of keeping such a diary include gaining insight into digestive issues as well as other symptoms anywhere in your body. You may be surprised at how much better you feel if you eliminate the offending foods from your diet. It may also help you to become aware of how healthy your diet actually is and implement changes if needed. If you want to learn more information then I recommend https://trustyourgut.com/ .