Q. You’ve pointed out that coconut macaroons are great for IBS and moderate colitis, but they’re pretty expensive, not easy to find and a little hard to make from scratch.
I’ve found something cheaper, easier and just as effective: a daily Mounds candy bar! (I remind myself that the dark chocolate coating is healthful, too.) Two cups of peppermint tea round out my daily gut-soothing regimen.
A. You are not the first one to tell us that Mounds candy is an easy and appealing way to take a daily dose of diarrhea-controlling coconut. The downside, of course, is that the candy bar has sugar (21 grams) and calories (230).
Some people have found that simply adding unsweetened shredded coconut to their breakfast cereal is also an effective and affordable substitute for coconut macaroons. A recent review in the Journal of Medicinal Food (Dec., 2013) determined that the fatty acids in virgin coconut oil, especially lauric acid, can slow the growth of nasty gut bacteria called Clostridium difficile (C diff).
The essential oils in mint also have antibacterial activity (BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Nov. 28, 2013). Peppermint oil has been identified as a safe, effective short-term treatment for IBS (Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, online Oct. 4, 2013).
