The Gastroparesis Healing Diet: A Guided Program for Promoting Gastric Relief, Reducing Symptoms and Feeling Great

This is a good resource book to be taken in bits as you see fit- it is chock full of details! There is a part where it is suggested that if you’re overwhelmed to skip some of the chapters until you’re better able to absorb it all, which is kind of funny if you think about it in relation to GP. Anyway, the author and the personal anecdotes included stress that each person suffering from GP is affected differently and what one person can eat is not necessarily what another person can eat without pain and I appreciated the honesty that nothing is one size fits all. It seems the diet of the book is primarily the “diet” of your lifestyle. Holistic health for healing is presented as the best remedy, which ranges from basic fitness advice (keep moving, even if it’s gently stretching), to removing your plastic food storage containers, store bought cleaners, and chemical-heavy face creams to avoid toxins being absorbed into your body. I actually subscribe to a lot of these beliefs anyway, so it wasn’t hard for me to agree. If you have any questions on the biology of your body and how nutrition will help or hinder (if you lack it), you’ll have the info neatly stored in with some recipes and lists of all natural ways to get more nutrients if you can’t eat much. All that said, I was excited to make some of these recipes, they’re very simple, not too many ingredients or crazy methods to making it. Delicious!

So this book isn't written by someone with GP but the author does have another chronic illness and interviewed a lot of people with GP to make the book. The personal stories are a good way to see practically what your doctor keeps telling you: every case is different. The first half of the book is information, and you probably know a lot of it (small meals, eat slowly, etc) but this book also offers a lot of information on FODMAPS (with FODMAP variations on many of the recepies) and environmental toxins that I found interesting and helpful, if not an overwhelming amount of changes to make. This is more of a new-age approach to the condition, very much about making the best health choices overall to decrease stress on your body vs what some older health professionals will tell you about sticking to frozen/canned veggies and white bread. Lots of world inspired recepies. If you're worried about your food getting boring this would be a good buy but I would recommend it more for someone who's been in the game a while and already knows what works for them.

I was blown away by how insightful this book is! I have never felt more in touch with my digestive system. From the early chapters that broke down Gastroparesis into levels 1-3, which was a huge difference from the prior readings I've done, to the detailed description of the digestive system, I felt very informed by the first couple chapters of this book. It's amazing to me reading all the experiences that everyone else had-- these brave people spent so much time working to find the body balance that was right for them, so why can't I, as well? In addition, I was really impressed by the Holistic Health Questionnaire. It asks not just about what you eat, but about EVERY substance that goes into your body as well as your stress levels! This element of stress added to the equation isn't something I had considered, but now that I think about it, stress always makes my GP symptoms worse! It was a huge relief to see that explanation on the page.The second half of the book is dedicated to recipes and a guide to shopping. So far, I've already had the bone broth and miso soup, and am moving to solid foods soon. The recipes are really easy to follow and tasty so far!

Tammy Chang has made a really good book here. I've been interested in alternative diets and health conditions for a bit now, and this is a really well laid out book addressing gastroparesis. To give an idea of what this book is like, the recipes don't start until page 94. Before the recipes, there is a LOT of information regarding general health, and more specifically, much information on gastroparesis itself. Also included are real life stories and testimonials from people living with gastroparesis, some self-diagnosis tables, and lots of room and help for planning meals, and a healthy lifestyle in general. While this does mean there isn't a ton of room left for recipes (although there are still quite a few), the extra information and planing tools are very nice to have. I haven't tried too many of the recipes, but I have made, and eaten, the Chawan Mushi (steamed egg) for the first time and it was delicious!

The Gastroparesis Healing Diet did a great job not only discussing gastroparesis but also how the digestive tract functions as well. I really enjoyed the approach the author takes with using whole, nutrient-dense foods and looking at ways to decrease some of the stress loads we carry. The recipes are simple but sound delicious and look forward to trying some of them soon! She shares some that have been helpful for me over the years like miso soup, congee, homemade broth, winter squash and also has a good variety of choices for smoothies, soups, small bites, fish, meat, eggs and a few sweet treats. There are tips for getting back to the basics and a plan to begin introducing foods from there which I think a lot of people can benefit from. Personal experiences are shared from others who have gastroparesis and provide both insight and inspiration. I'm in the process of publishing a book with similar concepts and even uses the word healing in the title so it's so good to see another resource available! I recommend this for anyone with GP, whether first diagnosed or 9 years in like myself.

I thought it would be more of a cookbook.

Very informative. The step-by-step overview of digestion is helping me deal with my GP at different levels of malfunction. Very reassuring and encouraging. the tips by other sufferers are great. I love the recipes except for the fact that so many have too many carbs for a diabetic. I wish since diabetes is one of the main causes of GP that the author would have covered more of those issues and included more low-carb recipes. Altho many can be tweaked using okay ingredients. Very glad I got this book.

I didn’t love it. Others might.

Having suffered this disorder for 7 or 8 years not knowing what it was, at last I unexpectedly got a diagnosis from a well informed restaurant waiter who recognised why I could not finish even a starter course without feelng stuffed as it was impossible for me to process any more food. This well informed waiter told me I was suffering from Gastroparesis and that I should have it investigated. Doctors do not readily recognise this disease so one has to be self advocating. A hospital scan fortunately showed all of my innards in good health, but I still wanted to find out precisely why my stomach was not processing food as quickly and normally as it should. Firstly I bought a book by a doctor of pharmacy, Chelsey M. McIntyre, GASTROPARESIS A ROADMAP FOR YOUR JOURNEY. I do need a bit of the science and she provided every detail of her own journey over the years with various doctors, drugs, and implant problems. This was a highly satisfying read and I've re-read it several times, but it is without recipes.I searched high and low for a suitable recipe book, refused two, and finally settled for TAMMY CHANG whose book is written with great insight, and compassion. She is a practising nutritionist, has interviewed many GPers and gives us all of their various experiences with this incurable disorder which are very informative as well as comforting. Tammy goes into general life enhancing procedures we can adopt too and does provide some recipes with an interesting twist though not many for veggies like myself, but I am creative and can adapt. I highly recommend Tammy Chang's healing diet. Reading this book leaves me with a warm feeling and inspires me to experiment with new foods that encourage me to eat at all! With this disease one often feels like not wanting to bother eating, and this leads to malnutrition, anaemia, as well as energy levels on the floor..

Some good recipes ,but not all ingredients are available in the UK

Very informative with some good nutritional guidelines and useful recipes