Hong Kong kindergarten teacher Amber Nathaniel began to suffer from the common but debilitating gastrointestinal condition known as irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, at the age of 16.
Its symptoms include bloating, diarrhoea, constipation and stomach cramps. The condition is thought to affect up to one in 10 people worldwide.
Nathaniel spent years seeking medical advice and taking medication before realising that, to overcome the problem, she needed to change her lifestyle.
“In the beginning it was really confusing because I kept waking up with stomach aches, and I’d get cramps right after eating anything,” Nathaniel says. “I would have horrible cramps, a bad stomach and acid reflux. I would be severely bloated and would often need to lie down for long periods of time until I felt fine again.”
A doctor prescribed medication to ease the pain, but the symptoms kept recurring and the drugs would often cause her to become even more bloated and constipated.