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July 7, 2007

Watermelon a Day Keeps IBS Away

More accurately, the right type of fruit each day keeps IBS away. I'm not much of a fruit and veggies eater but my week-long test of eating fruit every morning or evening (watermelon, papaya, banana, or just a mix) has been rather successful. I began by increasing my intake of water for three full days. I really didn't plan it that way, but with the recent heat wave, it's been a nice side effect of roasting in the heat. Then I started buying those instant fresh fruit cups at the local market that run $2.99-4.99 each. A pricey investment, but right now I'm barely getting off the couch much less sitting in the kitchen slicing fruit.
By the third day, I had some cramping but also had a movement that made me feel significantly better. The next four days after that, I had a movement per 1.5 days (yippee!) that was relatively painless. In fact, by the 6th day, my bowel movement had stopped ... stinking. I know. Weird. It had also started to discintegrate faster in the toilet bowl. Those of you without IBS will find me strange, but my fellow suffers know that a vigilant watch prior to flush can mean the difference between going to happy hour with my friends or an evening of reruns with my dog.
Anyhow, I was told by a doctor once that a healthy (poo) is marked by little odor and easily flushed. I hope this one psuedo-factoid is true and will mark off my little experiment as a success.

Posted by Christine at 1:38 AM