The Healthy Gut Cookbook: How to Keep in Excellent Digestive Health with 60 Recipes and Nutrition Advice. Marguerite Patten
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Using extra gelatine is to be avoided in real life. Jellies and other dishes should never be too firm or solid as it takes extra energy to deal with those textures. Someone who is ill, or recovering from an illness, would not be able to cope with such a dish. The recipes in this book have been selected because they look tempting and provide the nutritional needs for various gut ailments. As well as being appetizing, they are easy to eat and digest.
Soon after the outbreak of war, my husband-to-be, Charles Patten, always known as Bob, volunteered for the RAF. He was immediately sent to the Middle East to train as a gunnery officer, after which he took part in operations in that part of the world. One day, the plane in which he was flying crashed. Sadly, there were fatal casualties. Bob was fortunate enough to get out alive and be able to pull injured members of the crew out. He then trekked for 48 hours through the Western Desert and was lucky to meet up with members of the British army. They were able to rescue the rest of the crew. All this happened some time before I met Bob but I learned of the consequences later when he returned to civilian life. In the crash his stomach muscles had been badly strained, and he was not allowed to fly for some time as a result. When we met in Lincolnshire, he was able to return to flying and subsequently carried out many operations.
From time to time, if he was tired or over-strained in any way, he experienced quite severe stomach discomfort, undoubtedly a legacy of the air crash. On some occasion he must have been given slippery elm – or slippery elm tea as it is often called – as he knew of its benefits. I had never heard of it but, when Bob told me about its good effect, I rushed to purchase some and made sure I always had a packet in the house. When Bob had stomach trouble, I used to make up a small helping of slippery elm for him to eat (he preferred it fairly stiff), then we allowed quite a time to elapse before he ate anything else. Slippery elm forms a kind of soothing coating in the stomach, so food eaten afterwards does not give rise to pain. I know, and must stress, that it is not a long-term remedy, as it could hinder the absorption of nutrients. Fortunately, one or two portions of the product did the trick at the time it was needed.
About 12 years ago, we had a more serious matter to deal with. Pills, prescribed by the doctor to alleviate arthritis, gave my husband a perforated stomach ulcer. Obviously he had to have medical treatment for this severe problem. I think our doctor was relieved that I viewed the prospect of providing a special and carefully chosen diet without panic. That state continued throughout the rest of my husband’s life.
When people have to watch their diet because of stomach complaints, there are two important points to bear in mind. First, they should not eat in a rush or when tired. In the evening, they should relax and unwind before eating. Second, it may be much wiser for them to eat frequent, lighter meals, rather than a few heavier ones.
I come now to my first-hand experience of gut trouble. It happened in the late autumn of 2001. I was very busy with a number of speaking engagements, articles and books to write. Suddenly, quite out of the blue, I awoke to be faced with the most severe diarrhoea. What on earth could be wrong? I must have dashed to the toilet well over 20 times during the morning and afternoon. Fortunately, someone was available to go to the chemist and get a suitable preparation for me, so I took capsules for the treatment of diarrhoea, following the dosage on the packet. By the evening, these seemed to be making matters slightly better. I was very worried because I would be working away from home over the next few days. I made an appointment to see the doctor on my return and continued ‘holding things at bay’ with the help of the capsules and a drastic change in my eating habits.
While staying in a hotel I was extremely careful about everything I ate. When I got home, I adapted my diet to omit anything that could make matters worse. I avoided high-fibre ingredients and reduced my previously generous amounts of fruits and vegetables. I was still taking limited doses of the capsules. One day, I remembered a rather simple remedy I had heard of years earlier. It was when I was taking part in a television programme as the cookery expert. On this occasion a doctor was giving a talk on current health matters. While we were chatting together, another of the participants came up to ask her advice. She had bad diarrhoea. Was there anything the doctor could suggest? The studio was a long way from a chemist so she did not have time to buy a suitable remedy.
The doctor’s advice was, ‘Go down to the canteen and ask them to peel then grate a dessert apple for you. Leave it until it turns brown then eat it. I am sure you will find that a help.’
When the programme had finished, I asked the unfortunate sufferer if the rather unusual apple treatment had proved successful, and she said it had. Remembering this event, I also ate grated apple.
By the time I saw the doctor I was feeling considerably better, although still relying on limited amounts of the capsules. I felt I was more in control of my situation. The doctor looked serious at first and examined me. She was uncertain about what could be the problem, so she arranged for me to see a consultant. In the meantime, she would have tests taken to check whether I had some kind of food poisoning. As I was so busy, I arranged to see the consultant privately to fit in with my work. When I went to the consulting rooms, the gentleman did not give me a great deal of information. He seemed uncertain as to what was wrong. I felt he thought I was making a mountain out of a molehill. By then I had done quite a lot of reading to try and find out more about my condition, so I asked him whether I could have Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS).
‘Not possible,’ was his reply. ‘You are far too old for that. Carry on as you are doing and come back in six weeks if you are no better. We will have to consider an exploratory operation.’
I am a member of the Forum on Food and Health at the Royal Society of Medicine. Fortunately, there was to be a day-long meeting on the value of probiotics and their effect on certain ailments. Among the ailments listed in the programme was IBS. I attended the sessions and learned a great deal about probiotics. I also learned that it was quite possible for me to have IBS, even at my advanced age, which was 86 at the time. On my return visit to my doctor I explained about this theory. The tests had shown I had no sign of food poisoning. The doctor by then had considered that it could be a case of IBS. Because I am basically very healthy, I think I have had it fairly mildly, with none of the pain that many people experience. The doctor stated that I had followed the right regime up to that point, and gave me a prescription for suitable capsules in case they were needed in the future. I never take these capsules or the less strong tablets regularly as they cause constipation and could prevent the body absorbing other medication.