Jennifer Browne - Happy Healthy Gut: The Natural Diet Solution to Curing IBS and Other Chronic Digestive Disorders

More praise for

Happy Healthy Gut is a necessary read for all. Jennifer Browne not only provides effective solutions for those suffering from digestive disorders, but provides the link between gut health and optimal health, encouraging everyone to feel their absolute best! Browne filters through all the crap (pun intended) and provides insight and education in a way thats approachable, direct and fun to read!

Peggy Kotsopoulos, Registered Holistic Nutritionist
and author of Must Have Been Something I Ate

Happy Healthy Gut is an immensely important read for people who love food, but struggle with IBS and other gastrointestinal sensitivities. Browne offers a well thought out argument for adopting a plant-based diet as a step towards improved quality of life. This book engenders a sense of control in those trying to negotiate medical systems not well set up for managing complex symptoms where medication and surgical interventions fall short.

Dr. Jesse Sidhu BSc MD FRCP(C) MPH Acute and Consultant Liaison
Psychiatrist Clinical Instructor Department of Psychiatry;
UBC, Vancouver

Inspiring and informative; Jennifer takes you through her digestive journey, while educating her readers about the digestive system and the impact a plant-based diet can have on it. I love finding a book such as this one, that brings a true recovery story into the spotlight. The masses need to know that we can become responsible for our health, natural remedies do work, and reversing disease is possible! Thanks for sharing your experiences with us, Jen!

Stephanie Ablett, CNP
Certified Holistic Nutritionist and Vegan Food Enthusiast
www.naturalginger.ca

copyright 2014 by Jennifer Browne

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Skyhorse Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Skyhorse Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Skyhorse and Skyhorse Publishing are registered trademarks of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.skyhorsepublishing.com

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Browne, Jennifer (Jennifer Shay), 1981

Happy healthy gut : the natural diet solution to curing IBS and other chronic digestive disorders / Jennifer Browne.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-62636-041-9 (alk. paper)

eISBN 978-1-62873-831-5

1. Irritable colon--Diet therapy--Recipes. 2. Irritable colon--Treatment--Popular works. 3. Colon (Anatomy)--Diseases--Nutritional aspects--Popular works. I. Title.

RC862.I77B76 2014

616.342--dc23

2013032405

Printed in the United States of America

T o the massive population of people who suffer from digestive disorders: dont give up, and dont settle for anything less than your ideal situation. Strive for fabulous health, and youll get there. Be your own best advocate.

Thanks to my supportive friends and family, who, after being informed I was taking this project on, didnt laugh or scoff at me. Not even once.

Many thanks to Judy, Kim, Kelly, Jeff, and Marie for sharing their personal experiences with digestive disaster and triumph. Your stories are empowering, and I hope they will help others.

My sincere gratitude to Ann, whose meticulous edits on this book could not be more appreciated. Thank you.

Lastly, to Seventh Avenue Literary and Skyhorse Publishing: thank you for believing in this book.

F or my husband Dave, who has seemingly unlimited patience with me; my mom and Ashlee, who are always quietly inspirational; my dad, whose motivation and drive did not go unnoticed, and my children, who did not seem to mind being ignored while this book was being written. (Seriouslyyou three are really good at entertaining yourselves.)

I love you all.

Dr. Ann Wigmore, pioneer for natural health

H ow many times have your feet been sore, yet you continue to stand? What about feeling exhausted all the time? Do you make more time for quality sleep, or just make another pot of coffee? That new mother who is still tender from deliveryis she taking the time to rest, or is she doing housework and entertaining within hours of welcoming her new baby? When you have consistent heartburn when you eat pizza, do you stop eating it, or do you simply treat your symptoms with a handful of antacids?

What about cheese, a processed bun, or a steak? Does your stomach scream at you after eating these things? If so, do you listen?

The floor is not your friend, and you shouldnt have to cling to it every time your bowel feels like escaping the rest of your body. Its amazing how you can live for decades before becoming aware that the direction in which your life is headed is just not good enough for you. You simply decide one day that you want your life to change, need it to change, and you suddenly feel that you must begin this transformation immediately.

And so you do.

I want to be clear about my objective for writing this book. After nearly ten years of moderate stomach pain due to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which I was diagnosed with in my early twenties, I finally discovered what makes it stop, and it took little time and almost no effort. It also worked for a handful of other digestive disorder sufferers that I was in communication with throughout the duration of writing this book. Im not talking about drugs, radical treatments, or experimental surgeries. Im talking about diet: specifically, a whole food, plant-based diet. By fully integrating this type of dietary platform into my daily regimen, I have improved my quality of life in ways I never even thought possible, and so have others. Together we have transformed from robots, who put up with daily digestive discomfort, to men and women who have refused a mediocre life and so began a new one, full of endless possibilities in the Land of Great Digestive Ease.

Who knew such a place existed?!

If you are living with a digestive disorder, then you already know that symptoms change, and that the individual situations that can set off bowel reactions can be unexpectedly altered, too. I know many people living with IBS, and although Im sure what we experience is similar, it is never exactly the same, and even the triggers can change from person to person, day to day. The simple idea of food having the ability to cure all of these variations in digestive discomfort can spark considerable skepticism. However, when you consider all that entails in introducing a whole, varied, earthy, plant-based plan into your life, it only makes perfect sense that it should work.

And it does.

A key component to attaining digestive success with this plan is to acknowledge the slight, yet important distinction between the terms vegetarian and plant-based. Although both descriptions imply the ridding of animal products from your diet, one can certainly be an unhealthy vegetarian. Just because you dont eat ground beef, doesnt mean you dont eat high-fat, low-nutrient food. You cant just simply eliminate animal products to jump on this bandwagon headed to Digestive Bliss Town; you must forgo the insanely ridiculous amount of fake products that surround us, and introduce many new foods into your life. Expand your vegetable base, discover new grains, and learn techniques for fermenting, sprouting, and juicing your food.