Is Organic Food Better for IBS?

After a long time, I finally got back home to Italy. We waited more than a year for this break, and I couldn't wait for it!

It wasn't as smooth as I expected. I injured a foot right before leaving the Netherlands. This forced me to sit with the leg up for a month. What timing! We decided to stay in Italy for the whole month.

Needless to say, I ate all day every day. How can I miss any of the delicious foods we are so lucky to have in Italy? What else was I supposed to do stuck at home for such a long time?

I was mentally ready to worsen my IBS and gain weight. After all, I ate all my favorite dishes and did not move for 4 weeks. It hit me quite hard, as since moving to the Netherlands, I started biking and walking on a daily basis.

Quality of ingredients

Guess what? I've lost 2 kilos and had no issues with my IBS.

How is it possible? I had an unbelievable quantity of cheese, tons of fresh fruits and vegetables. It has been a dream.

I think that the quality of the ingredients, made all the difference for IBS and my metabolism in general.

At home I get to eat fresh produce from our parents, the local farmer, or the local butcher. If I had to buy only organic products in the Netherlands, in this economy, it would be super expensive.

Would I need to give up on investing? Stop going out? At the end of the day, investing in the food that we eat, means investing in our health, which is the most precious gift we have. I never considered the actual quality of the single product, as a possible cause of my IBS flare ups.

Food composition

It's interesting how the same vegetable, can have such a different impact on our body. How the composition can have different vitamins, fibers, and quality in general. I have to admit that the difference in taste is quite obvious. Traveling made me understand why many countries use a lot of spices and sauces. If the main ingredient is not tasty, consequently we need to find a way to make it pleasant.

I'm just not used to this mentality. At home I have salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and soy sauce. That's it.

Going organic

The culture where I come from, thinks of all sauces as unhealthy. I decided that I won't fall into this dark hole made of delicious sauces, so bad for our IBS. We'll try to go fully organic and write down any difference I can detect.

We will will sacrifice some drinks at the bar, some dinners at the restaurant. At least, it won't be easy, but I've got scared of losing my health too many times.

Not everyone has this privilege

This is a privilege that comes from living in a developed first world country, and I don't take it for granted. Anyhow, I think that most of us, can renounce some unnecessary goods to achieve a better health with better habits.

It is our duty towards ourselves, our families and partners, to be the healthiest we can. Therefore, is important to being intentional with our expenses as part of our wellbeing, investing in food, sport, mental health, ergo our IBS too.