F is for ...... pphhhhfffftttttt!!!!!

[Kristine..]

Hey Dear Little Cohenites

Now, do come closer. Don't be afraid. Pah! A little bit of wind never hurt anybody!

What's that you say? You never had a problem until you Did Cohen's?

What? Never?

But now, every time you move you are afraid you will be embarrassed? You are constantly shifting from cheek to cheek at work, hoping no one will notice or worse still, hoping no one will hear / smell / identify you as the culprit.

Have you lost weight but become a human Whoopee Cushion?

OK, so listen up, I have discovered the cure!

Here is the back story (yes, I intended the pun!):

There are not many foods which, over the years, have caused me any problems.

I consider myself to be in good health. I am not taking any prescribed medicine for anything, and for the most part, I eat good quality, fresh, home cooked food.

During Cohen's, I take the usual fish oil and supplements and that's about it.

OK, so here is Refeed.

Oops, what was that? Oh, must have been a response to that first serving of bread. Bit of gas. Nothing to worry about.

A few more days of Refeed. Uh Oh! Can't sit still, feeling bloated and uncomfortable. Must be the bread. Has to be the bread.

Finished Refeed. Continuing with the (approved) and very yummy, probiotic yoghurt at Meal 1, not eating many bread products, have identified peas and corn as being likely sources of the gas, which seems to be getting worse.

But maybe it's the onions? or the rice or the carrots? Is it the coffee? I switch to tea but whatever it is, I am becoming distressed and the problem continues.

I am also very tired. I figure my iron stores must be seriously depleted after six months of rations. I buy a bottle of Clements Iron Tonic which makes an almost immediate improvement to the fatigue but not to the flatulence.

During the Eating Plan, I included a cube of frozen spinach in at least one (cooked) meal each day and this helped greatly with intestinal comfort, so I go back to putting a spinach cube in whatever I could for a week ... helped a bit but the gas continued.

As you may imagine I am now at my wit's end. I google everything I can think of and stumble upon Fermented Vegetables!

So yes, you can see where this is heading, can't you!

We have now eaten our way through one jar of Hengstenberg Sauerkraut, a spoonful mixed into the lunch time salad, is all, wouldn't even know it is there! I do that first and sort of spread it around the bowl and by the time I have made up the rest of the salad and cooked the chicken / cut up the cheese / opened the tin of fish, the pungent cabbage-y smell has gone.

But this week, as we sample our way around the Woolworths shelves, I bought a tin of Edgell Sauerkraut, and found that this is much more to my taste.

And what about the gas?

Gone. Not a problem. Even ate poppadum this week - one of my usual nemesis - and no reaction at all!

OK, so what happened, do I think?

I think my good gut bacteria got starved out, and that there was nothing there to digest the starches when whammo! all of a sudden here comes bread and potatoes and corn and carrots and well, you know the story!

So if probiotic yogurt didn't keep it all healthy then just eating more yoghurt wouldn't fix it either

But fermented vegetables, did!

So tra-la-la and tra-la-lee, Kristine is a Happy Vegemite again and will continue to have a spoonful of sauerkraut (for medicinal purposes) on a daily basis until further notice!

And it's now safe to sit next to me again in the cinema or on a crowded train or even in the humble workplace

It's the simple things in life which we don't even realise how important they are .... and having a stable, comfortable, bloat free, wind free, slim and trim, body, is such a joy, I can now relax and enjoy the New Me with no fear of embarrassment

Afraid of the F Word? pphhhhfffftttttt! Not me!

Hope this helps

Lotsa love
Kristine

[findingme]

Haha, have to agree though though!

It was obvious the next day when I had milk ( the main culprit) & breads etc. When I am on the EP no problem, but as I'm not a fan of fermented stuff I think I'll try out probiotics in future.
Jen

[findingme]

Maybe, Kristine with some Cohen ing & recipe I could make some? Just need recipe if you have one. Ta Jen

[Kohinoor]

Hi Kristine,

I just love the way you write - always have !!



Hugs,
Koh