Dealing with the Easiest and Hardest Ulcerative Colitis Symptoms

For me, the easiest symptoms of ulcerative colitis is the diarrhea. I'll take watery, loose stools over severe flatulence and constipation any day. The way I see it, at least things are coming out, not staying in and toxifiying my body. Of course, one problem with chronic diarrhea is the strong possibility of malnutrition, so I make sure to supplement my diet with a good-quality multivitamin and mineral supplement (in capsule form to ensure maximum absorption-- tablets are harder to break down in the stomach and are binded with fillers). Make sure NOT to buy such vitamins from Walmart or CVS or any other store that sells low-quality vitamins made of mostly fillers. Go to a health food store and ask the clerk there for advice, or order online from a reputable natural and organic products provider. Also, I take extra potassium supplements whenever I have diarrhea (which, by the way, I have managed to control thanks to various discoveries I've made about my own body-- read my other article "Overcoming Inflammatory Bowel Disease in High School"), and have been able to lessen the weak tired feeling that sometimes accompanies diarrhea.

The hardest symptom is definitely gas. Constipation (which I actually rarely get) is easily remedied with psyllium husks and plenty of water. However, when gas gets trapped in my gut, I sometimes panic, unsure of which measures to take. Sometimes, no matter how much I massage my stomach, or strain, I can't get all of the gas out, until it flares up later when I'm hanging around a gorgeous guy, or when I have to take a test. While most would consider flatulence more of an annoyance than anything, for me, it seems to create significant pain and psychological distress. Sometimes I actually experience fear when those familiar rumblings and swellings begin in my stomach. So, I told myself, instead of suffering constantly, start examining what I may be doing to exacerbate my problem. First of all, I eat way too fast. Always have, and still continue to do so when I'm not aware of my eating. I don't chew enough, and often see undigested food in my stomach. And of course, when I eat too fast, I swallow air, and gas gets trapped inside me. So I've learned to slow down. That certainly helps. Another thing I've recently discovered is food combinations. Never combine fruit with protein, or carbs or any other food. Always eat fruit alone, either thirty minutes BEFORE or AFTER a meal. This is very important. Whenever I eat dinner, I would like to follow with dessert, and since I try to keep my weight down, I chose fruit as a "healthy" option. Well, now in retrospect, no wonder I would have horrible gas well into the night. It'd be so bad I couldn't stand to be at the movies. In fact, my farts would smell ten times worse since the fruit in my stomach was rotting as the other food that I ingested prior to it was slowly digesting. So anyway, check up on food combinations-- since I've learned about them, my stomach has been considerably calmer (that is, when I incorporate what I've learned).