It is the week of Thanksgiving, an American tradition where we all gather and eat turkey, mashed potatoes, and green beans. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November, it is a national holiday honoring the early settlers and Native Americans who came together to have a historic harvest feast.
We remember the story of the Mayflower, the ship that left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers, including those seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and others lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the “New World.”
Long story, short
When they crossed the Atlantic, the wind blew them off course. They had planned on landing in New York but ended up in Massachusetts. After a hard first winter only about half of the colonists survived. In the spring they met an Indian who taught them how to live off the land.
In November 1621 after the Pilgrims’ first corn harvest proved successful, Governor William Bradford organized a celebratory feast and invited the group of Native American allies. The gathering lasted for three days.
Much like our current Thanksgiving traditions, we gather for many days and eat. The notion is to give thanks for the blessings throughout the year. There is a lot of cooking, so there are a lot of leftovers to continue to eat for the next few days.
Personally, I have no love for Thanksgiving foods. I could go without turkey for the rest of my life. I like mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. Ham—I am on board. But there is something unappealing about it all together. It could be a weird quirk of mine.
Getting off easy
I should see this as a positive thing for my IBS. There is no overeating from me, no indulging in the garbage. I stay on the reserved side when it comes to Thanksgiving which is the best side for an IBS sufferer to sit on.
If you are celebrating Thanksgiving and have IBS issues I recommend going light on your meals. Going light on your desserts too. And those trigger foods that give you IBS symptoms, avoid them. It is always acceptable to say, no I will pass on that. I find that there is so much going on at Thanksgiving – people talking, children running around, pets, all the things – that no one really notices if you are going to skip out on the cranberry sauce.
Walk it off
I find that going on a walk helps. For me, it is the prime opportunity to let out some of the gas. I find if I sit for a good while, I get gassy. Like the gas builds up and bubbles then becomes painful. It needs to be let out. A nice stroll around the yard, or down the block will help. You can just freely let the gas out.
Are there foods that you purposely avoid?
Either that gives you IBS issues or you just don’t care for it?
