Gutsy By Nature
World IBD Day takes place on May 19 each year to raise awareness of the inflammatory bowel diseases, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, and to help people throughout the world who are living with these conditions find connections with each other by sharing our stories and resources. This year is significant for me in particular […]
The year isn’t quite over, but since the first week in December is always Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week, it feels like a good time to reflect on the previous year and take stock of how well I have achieved my goal of “living well” with Crohn’s disease. Indeed, it was quite a good year… […]
Since I started Gutsy By Nature as a blog in 2013, I’ve written several times about my personal story of diagnosis with Crohn’s disease and healing, but I’ve never actually written out the entire story, from its beginning to where I am today, May 19, 2018. In recognition of World IBD Day, I thought it […]
If you have pets or take care of livestock, you know that animals thrive when they eat on a regular schedule. My labrador retriever Lily gets breakfast every morning at precisely 6AM and dinner at 6PM (and not a minute later… you’d think she could tell time!). This keeps her fit and full of life […]
Thirty days ago I decided to give myself a virtual reboot. I was fed up with feeling less than stellar and decided to start a paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) reset. Like a computer that had stretched its resources too thin and had been running for too long without a break, I was in danger of coming […]
Carrageenan, maltodextrin, polysorbate 80, xanthan gum, carboxymethylcellulose… These common food additives are “generally recognized as safe,” but is that true for people with Crohn’s disease and other inflammatory bowel diseases? Evidence is mounting that they may not be and in this post I discuss each one and why foods with these on the ingredient list […]
First I blamed it on the shoes. Just a sprain? Or something more? I bought totally cute but ridiculously impractical, high heeled, red patent leather shoes to celebrate my 40th birthday in July, 2015 and insisted on wearing them for three straight days, even though they made my feet and ankles hurt like hell. I thought the […]
Disturbed sleep and active Crohn’s disease go hand-in-hand, which is probably not a surprise to anyone who has experienced the pain, diarrhea, cramping, night sweats, general malaise, and other agony of a flare. Added to that, the steroids that are often prescribed to calm a flare down have the often unwelcome side effect of causing […]
The first week in December is IBD Awareness Week and this year I am celebrating the fact that I have lived with Crohn’s disease for 20 years now. Yes, you read that correctly. I am CELEBRATING. Usually disease awareness campaigns are all about making people who don’t know anything about the illness aware of how […]
What is the best diet for people with Crohn’s disease? That is a trick question, because there is no one answer. The best diet is the one that works for that person, at least until science catches up and figures out exactly what causes inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) to manifest in genetically susceptible people and […]