The IBS Healing Plan: Natural Ways to Beat Your Symptoms

By Theresa Cheung

Irritable bowel syndrome is characterized by bloating, abdominal pain, and altered bowel habits. This hard-to-handle problem affects nearly all facets of an individual’s life, but because many patients find it difficult to discuss their bowel problems with their doctors, they often suffer in silence. Although there is no cure for the disorder, there are ways to significantly ease and even prevent its symptoms. This book’s effective self-help solutions let patients take control of IBS. First, an introduction to the condition spells out its causes and symptoms and helps readers determine if they actually have IBS. The book then focuses on five key strategies: maintaining proper eating habits, stress management, dietary supplements, alternative therapies such as yoga and acupuncture, and the use of appropriate prescription medications. Accessible and clearly written, the book is punctuated with case histories, up-to-the-minute research, and advice on working with a physician.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
• Release date: Apr 28, 2008
• ISBN: 9780897935425

Theresa Cheung

Theresa Cheung was born into a family of spiritualists and has been involved in the research of psychic phenomena for over twenty-five years. She has a master’s degree from King’s College, Cambridge, and has written a variety of books about the paranormal including the Sunday Times bestsellers An Angel Called My Name and An Angel Healed Me. She lives with her husband and two children in Oxford.

Reviews for The IBS Healing Plan

[lindaml_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

According to Cheung IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) affects as many as one in five people, yet no one wants to talk about it.This book is nicely organized; starting with what IBS is, what might cause IBS, how to determine if you have IBS and several chapters with suggestions on healing. Included is a useful A-Z chapter of specific symptoms. The book ends with a chapter on how to cope with IBS. Also a chapter-by-chapter reference list is included, and a resource list with associations, websites and e-mail lists. One of the most useful ideas is to keep a food journal; a simple example of how best to do so is given. A list of problematic foods to watch for is provided. The book provides useful info for those afflicted with IBS.

[picklechic · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The IBS Healing Plan: Natural Ways to Beat Your Symptoms by Theresa Cheung is a fully comprehensive guide for people dealing with IBS and it includes very many ways to treat IBS. The book explains exactly what IBS is and how it is diagnosed. The most interesting sections include how diet affects IBS, stress and IBS and ways to manage stress, and daily living with IBS and all the embarrassing things that go with it. The book discusses traditional ways to treat IBS- from digestive aids and over the counter medicines to prescription drugs- and non traditional ways to treat IBS- including vitamins, herbs, acupuncture, aromatherapy, hypnotherapy, stretching exercises and more. I found the A to Z of IBS symptoms to include many symptoms which a person would not think was related to IBS and it is very interesting all of the ways to treat each symptom. I really enjoyed the personal stories about people dealing with IBS on a daily basis. This book was very well researched and very in-depth at covering all aspects on IBS. I definitely recommend this book to anyone with IBS. 4 stars.

[bbkim · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I was surprised by The IBS Healing Plan. I had expected either a too far-out eat only raw foods and seaweed prescription, or a “meditate all the time and conquer it with the power of positive thinking” approach. It is neither. It is actually a very complete and balanced approach. I was diagnosed with IBS with a colonoscopy during which I was poorly sedated. IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion, which means they tell you that you have IBS after they rule out everything else. After looking around to find some other source of the pain and problem, they pump your intestines full of air, and if you yell at them for doing so, they diagnose IBS. Afterwards when the doctor told me I had Irritable Bowel Syndrome, I told him that he would be pretty darn irritable if I stuffed a tube up his derriere and pumped him full of air, too! He replied, "Oh, so you remember that?" My reply is, of course, unprintable, but if it were, it would look something like this, “!@%$^&*($%#$@#!At any rate, after my diagnosis of IBS I was simply handed pills and that was it. No education, no special diet, no information. Just, "take these pills and maybe it will get better." I took them, it didn't help much, and the side effects were very annoying. Also, I retained a lingering animosity towards the doctor for the undignified and extremely uncomfortable procedure. (Note: to all of you who are putting off getting a colonoscopy - don't use my experience as an excuse - my experience is extremely rare -I am just one of those unusual people who don't anesthetize well - not at the dentist either. So, don't put it off!)Anyhow, I liked this book. A lot. It gave me a lot of information I had never heard before, but not only that; it is actually well-researched and reasonable information. In the past I have heard things like, "eat only raw foods" or "fast with nothing but wheat grass juice for 2 weeks and that will cure it". None of these extreme things work. In fact, raw broccoli and cauliflower are a particularly bad choice for anyone with gas, IMHO. I liked the alternative strategies in this book, and I really liked that I could pick and choose which ones were most likely to suit me and my lifestyle instead of having to make radical life changes all at one. I started out gradually eliminating a few things and adding a few things and observing the results. I appreciated how this book treats of the whole stress issue. Instead of saying "it's all in your head, just don't be so stressed and it will all get better", they talk about techniques to help relax you and your colon. Aha - so it is in my colon, and not my head! Yes, that was what I had always thought! I also appreciated the book’s personal stories - it was nice to know that the author really "gets" this problem and has compassion for IBS sufferers. I wish my doctor had. Altogether, this is a very well rounded book - it covers natural and prescription treatments, alternative treatments and gives you a lot of choices. I am all about empowering people to take care of their own bodies. For me, it seems dietary control and a few supplements are the key factors in reducing my IBS to a minimum and I am doing much, much better now as long as I am careful about what I eat. If I choose to eat outside the guidelines I know work for me, I will suffer for it, but at least I now know where the limits are.And, in case you are wondering, no, I haven't been back to that doctor, and yes, my IBS is much better.

[leesylou · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I cannot recommend this book, much as I would love to find a title offering comfort to anyone suffering from otherwise untreated digestive discomfort. Not only does it diagnose without proper medical differentiation (ovarian cancer among other serious conditions can mimic many of the symptoms described, but is not mentioned anywhere within the book), but it offers no research to back up any of the recommended treatments, and suggests various treatment modalities including homeopathy and TCM which have never been shown to work in any capacity.

[manadabomb · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I scored this ARC from LibraryThing's Early Reviewer group. And I'm very pleased that I did.IBS is just one of the many digestive problems I have and, while I've been fairly successful in keeping the symptoms under control, I haven't seen a book that was dedicated to natural ways of subduing IBS. This book covers a lot of ground including what foods to eat, supplements to take (vitamins/minerals/herbs), alternative therapies (massage, acupuncture, etc) and stress management.Although this book goes the natural route, the author repeatedly asks the patient to work with their doctor and not to go off trying herbs and such willy nilly.I especially liked the A-Z symptom guide with hints on how to help your specific IBS symptoms...because there are quite a few of them.All in all, this was an informative book and, as a 12 year veteran of IBS, I even learned a few things.

[binniebee · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I got this as an early reviewer's free book. It offers many, many alternative treatments for managing IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). This is a good reference book to have around if you suffer from IBS. There is no way anyone can read the book and retain all the various ways to manage IBS, so if you want alternative treatments then you should own this book.

[silentq_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The book is well organised, with important information repeated in the chapters that call for warnings or caveats, so you can dip into and out of it. There's lots of information about herbs and spices and what they can be used for, as well as tips on foods that trigger or ease symptoms for people. Popular drugs as well as stress reduction techniques and tips on how to live with IBS are included. Some things are repeated multiple times, it would be useful to have a section in the back where you can look up all the qualities of a certain food or supplement; granted the index is TBD, so it will probably cover this request handily.I appreciate that the author provided an extensive reference section at the end, citing the studies and papers that are mentioned in the text (hopefully they'll be explicitly linked to the mentions in the final copy). The parts concerning exercise are shorted in some sections, but there is elaboration later on.All the advice is tempered by "it works for some people, you have to find what works for you", but there are so many tips that you'll be sure to find something. I requested this book to review due to being diagnosed with IBS while working at a very very stressful job. Just by reading the introduction I realised how lucky I was: mine's triggered by stress and I "only" get intense pain in my abdomen. I've developed coping strategies and rarely have a flare up, and it was reassuring to see everything I've done listed in the text. I wish I'd had this book years ago! Even though I'm generally fine now, there are some things that I'll be trying out the next time my gut decides to rebel.The ARC is rife with copy editor level mistakes, which made it hard for me to get into the flow of reading it. There are also a couple of outright errors (6 feet instead of inches in one place).