Book review: The healthy intestines cookbook

1. Constipation, diarrhea, bloating, but also fatigue, nausea and stomach pain: problems with your intestines can have a major impact on your life. Nutritionist Christine Bailey knows all about this from experience. She made a five-step plan to a calm and healthy stomach and wrote 'The Healthy Gut Cookbook' full of recipes that are nice for your digestion.

2. Constipation, diarrhea, bloating, but also fatigue, nausea and stomach pain: problems with your intestines can have a major impact on your life. Nutritionist Christine Bailey knows all about this from experience. She made a five-step plan to a calm and healthy stomach and wrote 'The Healthy Gut Cookbook' full of recipes that are kind to your digestion.

1. Nutritionist and chief Christine Bailey was rushed to hospital with unexplained fever and pain while pregnant with her first son. The cause was gangrenous colitis (dying, inflamed colon tissue). Her son was born prematurely and most of her intestines were removed. She was later found to have celiac disease and a number of intestinal infections, including parasites. In her search for the underlying causes of her illness and treatment options, Bailey's diet changed. However, she realized how little scientifically-based information is available to people in a similar situation. A practical step-by-step plan in the field of nutrition for intestinal problems was completely lacking. She now wants to change that with The Healthy Intestine Cookbook.

Five steps

1. Bailey starts her book with background information on intestinal problems and an introduction to her step-by-step plan. The knowledge comes from various scientific studies and diets. She describes the FODMAP diet, SCD diet (specific carbohydrate diet) and paleo diet. She also relies on the methods developed by the Institute of Functional Medicine. Then comes the roadmap: "My roadmap is an easy-to-follow, structured method to address the imbalances that contribute to your symptoms and resolve your digestive problems once and for all." The five steps in brief: Removal of irritants and toxins and relief of your symptoms. Replacing and restarting your digestive system. Repopulation of the good bacteria. Healing of the intestinal wall. Balance restoration between body and mind. The different steps are explained in detail in the book. Which products are the best to eat and what not? Bailey also offers suggestions for nutritional supplements and emphasizes the importance of mindfulness. The latter is mainly discussed during step 5, but actually always applies.

2. Bailey starts her book with background information on intestinal problems and an introduction to her step-by-step plan. The knowledge comes from various scientific studies and diets. She describes the FODMAP diet, SCD diet (specific carbohydrate diet) and paleo diet. She also relies on the methods developed by the Institute of Functional Medicine. Then comes the roadmap: "My roadmap is an easy-to-follow, structured method to address the imbalances that contribute to your symptoms and resolve your digestive problems once and for all." The five steps in short: Removal of irritants and toxins and relief of your symptoms. Replacing and restarting your digestive system. Repopulation of the good bacteria. Healing of the intestinal wall. Balance restoration between body and mind. The different steps are explained in detail in the book. Which products are the best to eat and what not? Bailey also offers suggestions for nutritional supplements and emphasizes the importance of mindfulness. The latter is mainly discussed during step 5, but actually always applies.

Creativity on your plate

1. The healthy gut cookbook contains five weekly menus. One for each step. The recipes for these weekly menus are detailed in the book: they are dishes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and in between. Since Bailey avoids ingredients within the program that are known to have a harmful effect on the intestinal wall, the recipes are gluten-free and do not use, for example, legumes, peanuts and grains without gluten. In addition, most dishes are free of dairy and contain no added sugar. All in all, that sounds like quite a limitation, but the recipes show that good food is still possible. How about turkey balls with roasted tomato chipotle sauce and zucchini noodles, for example? Or seasoned pulled pork with sauerkraut. We also recommend the light coconut blinis with spicy fruit compote and the Asian coconut stock with shrimp dumplings. Bailey may sometimes use different ingredients than you are used to, but the recipes are doable. The layout of The Healthy Intestines Cookbook helps with this. It is clear and simple, with attractive photos.

Temporary changes

1. The step-by-step plan may require a lot of persistence for some people, but most adjustments are temporary. You should follow the program for at least 4 to 6 weeks, but according to Bailey it sometimes takes months to fully heal the intestines and restore the digestion in its entirety. It is possible to follow the diet in the long term - make sure you do not get shortages of certain nutrients - but if you no longer suffer from complaints, you can also expand the diet. If you respond to certain products, it is better to keep avoiding them. Certainly if there is, for example, celiac disease, because if you then eat gluten, you can cause considerable damage to the intestines.

2. The step-by-step plan may require a lot of persistence from some people, but most adjustments are temporary. You should follow the program for at least 4 to 6 weeks, but according to Bailey it sometimes takes months to fully heal the intestines and restore the digestion in its entirety. It is possible to follow the diet in the long term - make sure that you do not get shortages of certain nutrients - but if you no longer suffer from complaints, you can also expand the diet. If you respond to certain products, it is better to keep avoiding them. Certainly if there is, for example, celiac disease, because if you then eat gluten, you can cause considerable damage to the intestines.

Good to your gut The book is suitable for anyone who wants to pay attention to their intestines, whether it is because of intestinal problems or because you want to improve general health. Because each recipe indicates which diet it fits (for example, FODMAP, gluten-free, dairy-free, paleo), the recipes are also accessible to everyone. Or you can make them suitable for your specific situation with a small application. In case of doubt or serious complaints - especially with blood in the stool and unintentional weight loss - always contact your doctor first. Bailey's general diet principles such as go for quality, eat enough protein, limit your sugar consumption, drink enough water and eat fermented products are also advice that will make your intestines (and your health) happy anyway. The same applies to conscious, mindful eating, sufficient exercise and coping well with stress. In addition, the recipes give you a good dose of healthy cooking inspiration. Christine Bailey is a nutritionist, chef and experience expert. Have you become enthusiastic? Then get started with one of these three recipes: Broccoli paleo pizza Quiche with almond crust and spinach, tomato and red pepper Vietnamese shrimp with bacon and cauliflower rice Credit: Photography Copyright © Watkins Media Ltd 2015 A Don't miss anything anymore?

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