★★★★☆
I have always had stomach/intestinal issues. Pain, gas, bloating. Probably celiac or somthing like it. For a while I drank too much coffee and at times took asprin with it. This gave me a lot of energy, but aterward my lower legs would swell a little and ache when I lay down to sleep. Aspirin always helped the pain. But it was probably eroding my stomach and such. After doing Slimfast for a year or two (which I really liked) I quit when whatever I ate seemed to just sit there. It was the kind that was supposed to curb hunger. After that quitting the Slimfast and artificial sweetner Splenda, depending on what I ate I would feel very depressed (was on Zoloft and Risperidone for two years about 2 years prior), lethargic, be absentminded, have no appetite (I'd have happily eaten nothing ever again), and at times feel absolutely great. I couldn't tell what was going on, but I figured it had to be food related. And that my digestive system was having problems. After a lot of experimentation I've come up with the following:
Make a tea of 1 tablespoon each of Catnip, Chamomile, and Basil. Cover it and let it steep about 10 minutes. While it's steeping or cooling eat a cup or so of plain (not low fat or anything) yogurt. When the tea is cool enough, drink it.
Horse Chestnut is supposed to be good for leg veins. No doubt it's good for the veins all over. I took some finally and within maybe 5 or 10 minutes my normally cold feet and legs felt nice and warm. I was amazed. After a few days I concluded that eating yogurt with/after the supplement is what caused the warm feeling. One day I took the supplement and had no yogurt. The warm feeling didn't happen. After eating the yogurt some time later, I was surprised to feel my feet and legs get warm. If the IBS is from an issue with the structural integrity of the intestine, the Horse Chestnut with yogurt and tea may be helpful.
I can't drink coffee or tea, or eat chocolate anymore, as this caused the pain in my legs to return. Also a burning sensation when urinating. Bicarbinates help the burning. Probably the leg pain too. Haven't tested that. For a while I was drinking vegetable juice of bok choy, parsley, and fennel. So the oxolates may be a contributing factor...
