All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.
This is Highly Recommend, a column dedicated to what food people are eating, drinking, and buying right now. Here Joey Skladany writes about how IBgard soothes his sensitive stomach.
The irony of being a food writer and cookbook author with a weak stomach isn’t lost on me. I have spent many nights gnawing and sipping my way through rich, heavy meals only to clutch my tummy in distress and pardon myself from the dinner table. Cramps arrive out of the blue, bellowing like a broken steel drum. It’s a tough life.
While I could easily look to over-the-counter measures like Pepto-Bismol or Imodium, I’d much rather wrangle in gentler, more natural alternatives like miracle worker IBgard, an ultra-purified peppermint oil supplement that serves as my saving grace before a day of adventurous dining. If I know that my gut will be subjected to torture, I pop two pills in the a.m. and then one before leaving my apartment—easy peasy.
The capsule’s tiny beads work almost instantaneously, forming a Captain America–like shield to protect from triggers like wilted greens, fiery curries, and sulfite-heavy red wines. Its antispasmodic properties provide me with the peace of mind—and peace of stomach—to enjoy social gatherings without the impending aftermath. And best of all, the perks don’t overstay their welcome, which means I can wake up the next day, have my coffee, and partake in a morning routine that is smooth moving, if you catch my drift.
But don’t just take my word for it. Multiple studies have proven the efficacy of peppermint oil on patients who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome. In fact, the plant-based remedy has been a stomach soother for literal centuries, dating back to ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt.
So if you, too, love food so much that you’re not willing to sacrifice any culinary experience, opt for a remedy that will allow you to attend that dinner party without questioning whether your belly will fail you. IBgard carries me confidently from lobster bisque to sticky toffee pudding, instead of sheepishly fumbling with a roll of antidiarrheals before the check arrives, sending a prayer to the bathroom gods.