Inflammatory Bowel Disease Expert Elizabeth Roberts shares Inflammatory Bowel Disease management news and commentary at MyIBDCentral.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623 http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623 http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/101888/seasons-vitamin-d3 Wed, 27 Jan 2010 17:32:00 -0500 Elizabeth Roberts At the beginning of January I was coming up with ideas for future Shareposts I wanted to write. One of them was going to be about how the cold weather and shorter days of winter make IBD symptoms worse. In preparation for writing this Sharepost I sent out emails to fellow IBDers asking them if this was the case for them. I also thought back to my past 10 winters of living with ulcerative colitis to see if this was the case for me. And I did some... http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/101888/seasons-vitamin-d3 http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/99920/year-resolution Tue, 05 Jan 2010 14:15:00 -0500 Elizabeth Roberts As I mentioned in my last Sharepost, I'm not a huge fan of Christmas. But, I have become a fan of New Year's Resolutions. The older I get, the more grateful I am for getting older. As my husband likes to say every year we celebrate another birthday, "I love getting older because it means I'm not dead." He's a 35-year cancer survivor and he's made me realize that while having IBD and IBS isn't fun, it isn't going to kill me, and for that I am... http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/99920/year-resolution http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/98905/people-opinions-ibd Wed, 23 Dec 2009 10:19:00 -0500 Elizabeth Roberts In the ten years since I was diagnosed with IBD and IBS I’ve had a lot of people give me their thoughts and opinions about “what my problem is and how to fix it.” Most people tell me to eat more fiber, others have told me to just remove all the stress from my life (why didn’t I think of that), while some have even told me that I’m making it all up and I should just move on. If I’m objective, I can... http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/98905/people-opinions-ibd http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/97620/surviving-holidays-ibd Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:36:00 -0500 Elizabeth Roberts Truth be told, I have a real love/hate relationship with the holiday season. I love the idea of getting together with friends and family. I love the smell of winter foods and spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger. But, I hate the stress that can come with all the holiday hub-bub and social gatherings. And, I hate, even more, that what I can and can't eat seems to become an even bigger deal at this time of year.   Having lived... http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/97620/surviving-holidays-ibd http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/95394/keeping-food-journal Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:22:00 -0500 Elizabeth Roberts I get a lot of questions from people asking me what a food journal is and why they should consider keeping one. So, I’ve decided to try and answer these questions in this Sharepost.Food journal or food diary is the *nice* name I’ve come up with so I can more easily discuss this method in polite company. But, in all honesty, I first started keeping one I called it my poop diary and prayed that nobody but me and my doctor would ever... http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/95394/keeping-food-journal http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/93817/dinner-ideas-ibd-ibs Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:32:00 -0500 Elizabeth Roberts I get a lot of people asking me what foods are *safe* to eat for people who have gut issues. This is a hard, if not, impossible, question to answer because neither IBD nor IBS seems to affect any two people the same way. There are many IBD and IBSers who find that what they eat has no affect on their symptoms at all. My father falls into this category. He’s had Ulcerative Colitis for 40+ years but can eat and drink anything he wants. I, on... http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/93817/dinner-ideas-ibd-ibs http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/92582/elimination-diet Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:03:00 -0400 Elizabeth Roberts An Elimination diet (ED) can be very beneficial to people who are have gastrointestinal (GI) problems. Elimination diets are helpful whether or not you have a firm diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), or a possible food allergy, like Celiac disease.   The main purpose of an Elimination diet is to help you, and your doctor, understand if a particular food or food additive is causing some or all of... http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/92582/elimination-diet http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/90943/ibs Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:26:00 -0400 Elizabeth Roberts First, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or IBS, is not IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease). To learn the different between these two different diseases with similar acronyms you can read my April 13, 2009 Sharepost here. This blog will discuss what IBS - Irritable Bowel Syndrome - is. In clinical terms, IBS is a functional bowel disorder of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The GI tract includes your mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large... http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/90943/ibs http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/88701/eating-gluten-free Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:55:00 -0400 Elizabeth Roberts Whether you have an actual Celiac Disease (CD) diagnosis or you've done an Elimination diet - look for more details on this in my Oct. 12 Sharepost - and realized that gluten is not your gut's friend, you are going to have to learn to eat gluten-free (GF).   About four months ago I was tested for Celiac Disease. And, even though the results came back negative I started eating gluten-free anyway. Why? Because for the previous two months... http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/88701/eating-gluten-free http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/87682/celiac-disease-101 Mon, 21 Sep 2009 18:00:00 -0400 Elizabeth Roberts What is Celiac disease (CD) and how do you know if you have it?   Celiac disease is a genetic autoimmune disease. According to the Celiac Disease Foundation's web site, "Celiac Disease is a digestive disorder that affects both children and adults. When people with CD eat foods that contain gluten, it creates an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed. Even... http://www.healthcentral.com/ibd/c/2623/87682/celiac-disease-101