Your IBD is in remission, great! But you are still having multiple loose bowel motions, especially in the morning when you are trying to leave the house for the day. You may also have excess gas or bloating. You are not alone. At least 30% of people with IBD report ongoing gut symptoms even when their IBD is in remission.

It can be difficult to figure out whether these symptoms are symptoms of an IBD flare, related to food or something else entirely. You may have noticed many life factors that affect your gut symptoms as well as tolerances to certain foods, including stress, anxiety, exercise, alcohol, travel, changes in routine, as well as diet.

Something that is quite effective for most people that canhelp reduce the number of loose bowel motions per day is to increase intake of dietary fibres. I know that this might sound alarming! It is common to believe that eating foods with more dietary fibre will make diarrhoea worse. However, there are many different types of fibre found in foods and each works differently in the gut.

To increase dietary fibre intake, I usually recommend a combination of food and supplements. The most common is psyllium husk (commonly known as the brand Metamucil of Konsyl D). Psyllium husk is a type of fibre that can absorb a lot of water and within the gut it helps to create more formed bowel motions. For most people, one teaspoon of psyllium husk once or twice a day is enough to minimise loose bowel motions. Psyllium husk is available on prescription from your doctor or dietitian, but also available at your local supermarket in a powder or capsule form.

Eating a variety of foods that contain different types of dietary fibres can also help to improve bowel function. All unprocessed or minimally processed plant foods contain dietary fibres, for example fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes, lentils. 

The Christmas period is a busy time which often makes it harder to eat well. Having some homemade healthy and delicious snacks available to share with others is helpful. Below is my favourite Christmas cake recipe. It contains a variety of fruit and nuts, has more dietary fibre than traditional Christmas cake and it tastes delicious! The cake contains mashed dates and figs instead of flour and, if needed, is easy to make gluten free. If you need a lower FODMAP version, see my website blog on FODMAP for a modified version.  

Whole fruit and nut cake

View online here.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup walnut halves

• ¼ cup pistachio kernels

• ¾ cup whole raw almonds

• ½ cup Brazil nuts

• 150 g mixed dried yellow or orange fruit – e.g. dried pineapple, mango, papaya, apricots

• 75 g mixed dried dark red fruit – e.g. dried cherries or cranberries

• 75 g crystallised ginger

• 75 g green glacé cherries

• ¼ cup whisky

• 1 cup dried dates, chopped

• 1 cup sun-dried figs, chopped

• ¼ cup water

• 50 g butter, softened

• ½ cup firmly packed soft brown sugar

• 1 egg

• ¼ cup ground almonds

• ½ cup plain flour

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves or mixed spice

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• ½ orange finely grated zest and juice

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat the oven to 150⁰C fan bake. Grease a large loaf tin (about 22cm x 12cm x 7cm).

• In a large bowl, soak nuts, dried fruit, ginger and glacé cherries in the whisky.

• Place dates, figs and water in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil while stirring to break up the fruit. Keep stirring until you have a paste. Stir paste into the bowl containing the soaked fruit and nuts.

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar. Whisk in the egg and mix until light and smooth. Stir in the ground almonds.

• Sift flour, baking powder, spices and a large pinch of salt together and fold into the cake mixture with the orange zest and juice and the vanilla extract. Fold in the bowl of nut and fruit mix.

• Sprinkle a little flour around the greased loaf tin, then shake out the excess. Spoon the cake mixture into the tin and smooth out so it is evenly filled. Bake for 1-1½ hours. The cake may cook quickly, depending on your oven, so check cake after 1 hour. When the top of the cake is slightly split, it is ready.

• Remove from oven and leave cake in the tin for at least 30 minutes, then loosen the sides with a round-ended knife and turn out onto a rack.

TIPS:

• You can find dried cherries in the bulk food aisle of the supermarket or local food store.

• Use a serrated knife to slice cake into four thick slices. Wrap in waxed paper and package for gifts.

NOTES

Fruit and nut cake is a simple way to share the special taste of the festive season. It’s great as a gift too, wrap it in waxed baking paper and tie with nice string. You can also cut it into thick slabs and give as a gift like that. It’s so handy to have in the pantry over the festive season for when guests stop by.

Serve this cake with a cup of tea for a delicious and Christmassy afternoon tea.