Heather Van Vorous

Heather Van Vorous is pretty unique within the IBS world. The best description of her is a 'patient expert', someone who not only has sufferered with IBS for many years but who has also devised a whole diet-based treatment programme to help thousands of other sufferers.

Firstly, let me say that I have never tried her diet programme for IBS, and I have no idea whether it would work for me or for anyone else. But, what I do know is that Heather is a force for good in the IBS world for this reason alone: she treats IBS sufferers with respect.

If there's one thing that gets my goat (and it takes a lot to get my goat, he's tethered very carefully to a hippo) it's doctors and the general public believing that IBS is a minor thing, something that is a bit of an inconvenience but nothing much to worry about.

Or it's something that's all in our heads, that would go away if we just stopped thinking about it. Of course, for some sufferers, IBS is only a mild condition, but for a lot of us it has a huge impact on our lives and cannot be dismissed so easily.

And that brings me back to Heather Van Vorous. To give you an example of her attitude to IBS sufferers, here is a quote from one of her books, The First Year of IBS:

"You may even have friends or family dismiss your problem as 'all in your head.' It's up to you to educate these people, and then dump them if they persist in their ignorance at the expense of your health."

That may sound pretty strident but I think it's fantastic - anyone who is trying to belittle your IBS needs to be told exactly how much damage they are doing just by remaining ignorant.