Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)- everything you need to know..
Struggling with bloating, cramps, or unpredictable bowels? You might be one of the millions affected by Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS). In this blog, expert Dietitian Gillian Killiner explains the causes, symptoms, and evidence-based strategies to manage IBS — including how personalised nutrition and lifestyle changes can help you take control of your gut health.
FODMAP – all you need to know to get results..
Here, Gillian Killiner, Principal Dietitian at 121, discusses the Low Fodmap Programme and in particular, why seeking the help of a qualified and experienced Dietitian is key to implementing it successfully. The Low Fodmap Programme has been around for over 10 years. I heard about it in its infancy and thought: “Wow! This is excellent for gut dysfunction and IBS”. And so in 2010/2011, I packed my bags and returned from Belfast to London on three separate weeks to go back to my training hospital, Guys and St Thomas’s to learn all about it – the first course of its kind outside of Monash University, Australia. The work load was intense but exciting. After qualifying with my certificate in Low FODMAP practice, I took my first guinea pigs patients and we followed the information I had learned from the course. I can’t lie. It was hard work. Now over the 7 years I have been practicing the Low FODMAP programme daily, much has changed in the way I deliver, advise and support because everyone is different. My high success rate of 97% is due to my expertise of using the programme daily. The gut is not just about absorption. It’s microbiota has a complex network of links to emotions, stress, activity, genetics, medical history, medication, lifestyle, food and fluids… We as individuals are not all uniform. We do not all follow the same diet and lifestyle. This is the basis of my increasing frustration and the fiasco I find myself in. People are coming to me more and more in desperation, telling me they have tried the Low FODMAP programme and it hasn’t worked. AhhHHHHH!! Another emotional boundary to cross. I have found that with the programme’s popularity and success has come the internet dippers. They take a bit from one website that they like and mix it with another and believe they have completed the programme. Wrong… The other – and most frustrating way that these people are not succeeding. They are being handed a “sheet” from their Consultant or GP and left to get on with it. Excuse me… WHAT??? A little more respect to the programme please! A sheet or a smorgasbord will not get results but in fact dangerously add to people’s fears around food and restriction is dangerous in the wrong hands. Low FODMAP Dietitian -why use one? A patient came to me recently and had been told by a local health food shop to avoid a major list of foods. She did so and over two years of carefully following the advice she to me gravely ill, malnourished, depressed and still her stomach issues continued. Appalling. If you have a gut health problem that has not resolved with medication, dietary changes, or visiting a health shop to pay and hold two balls in the air and told to eat very little, don’t despair – do get in touch. Gillian Killiner is an expert in all areas of Gut Health. Unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop which has been expertly created especially for you. If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed]
Incredible Hulk Recipe – Cannelloni Style
This Incredible Hulk Recipe – Cannelloni Style, is a fab way to use all the greens that you may not be keen on! Normally cannelloni is made with just spinach however adding variety with other greens allows you to consume a wider range of nutrients without compromising on flavour. All cruciferous vegetables (cabbage family) contain cancer-fighting plant compounds and vitamin C. Kale in particular also has bone-boosting vitamin K, vision- and immune-boosting vitamin A, and even anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids. The rest of the ingredients in the Incredible Hulk Recipe need a mention too! Tomatoes are tasty and a wonderful source of lycopene and cancer fighting antioxidant. But the benefits don’t just end there. Tomatoes provide: vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamins B1, B3, B5, B6, B7, excellent vitamin C, folate, iron, potassium, magnesium, chromium, choline, zinc, and phosphorus. The tomatoes I used for this recipe were home-grown from excess surplus from our green house! Ricotta cheese provides excellent protein, calcium, phosphorus, Zinc, Vitamin B1, B12 and Vitamin A. If you are worried about excess fats (which by the way because this recipe is natural not processed you shouldn’t be!), you can add a tub of quark in instead. Incredible Hulk Recipe Ingredients – Cannelloni Style Olive oil/coconut oil 1 -2 onions/asafoetida powder* 1 small cabbage 1/2 bag of kale 1 broccoli head* Ricotta/quark or lacto free cream cheese* or vegan soft cheese Pasta – wholemeal (gluten free) lasagne sheets to roll or cannelloni rolls 1-2 cans of chopped tomatoes or 500ml passata (can add or include garlic*, olives, basil, peppers, chilli peppers/flakes) Hard cheese to top (parmesan or vegan cheese) More fresh basil leaves to top Large salad for serving: Spinach, cucumber, peppers, spring onion*, beetroot… your choice! How to make the Incredible Hulk Recipe Heat the oil in a large pan sauté the onions till brown and sweet or add asafoetida powder Take 1 small head of green cabbage, 1/2 bag of kale and 1 small head of broccoli roughly chop Add to the cooked onions and heat for 10 minutes Take off the heat and add the soft cheese or alternative Blitz in a blender Take the cannelloni tubes or cooked lasagne sheets and generously fill these with the green mix Place these into a oven proof dish, when complete top with the tins of tomatoes/ passata and any additional flavours for taste and spice! Top with sprinkle of parmasan Cook at 180c for 25-30 minutes Serve with 1/2 plate covered in salad This menu has been adapted for Fodmaps and coeliacs. If you are unsure of how to change your eating habits, or need help optimising the foods you eat please do contact us. We would love to help you or your family and friends with any nutrition related queries big or small. In the meantime do please check out our 121Dietitian Shop If you have enjoyed this blog we would love you to share this with your family and friends on your social media channels. Why not visit our YouTube Channel for more on keeping your health optimal. How can a Dietitian help Book a consultation via our Online Portal About Gillian Killiner Check out our tailored dietary programmes Gillian x [instagram-feed] Information checked & correct on 16th May 2018 and 1st January 2023
