Registered dietitian, Tamara Duker Freuman is a New York City-based registered dietitian with over a decade of experience in clinical gastroenterology practice settings, specializing in the dietary management of digestive symptoms and diseases. Freuman is also affiliated with a variety of professional and educational institutions, including GI Institute.
Additionally, Tamara is the author of “The Bloated Belly Whisperer” and a nationally-known health writer whose advice is read by hundreds of thousands of people each month on U.S. News & Health Report’s eat + run blog and its syndicate, Yahoo! Health. Her advice has been featured in leading TV, print, radio/podcast and online media. Recently, Tamara has released her latest book “REGULAR.”
So, read below to meet Tamara, learn about her game-changing book and what you can expect from it.
Who is Tamara and what motivated her to become an expert in digestive nutrition and focus on helping individuals with irregular bowel patterns?
“Early on in my dietetics training, I became fascinated by the physiology of digestive tract, and how we can study it as a road map with different functions taking place at different points along the journey from the entry to the “exit.” It was so clear that problems at different points along the way could impact health or symptoms in different ways, and that our food choices play a huge role in this. Because digestive health is central to overall health and digestive symptoms can take a massive toll on a person’s quality of life, I felt I could make a huge difference by developing expertise in this area and helping people navigate their eating habits and food choices in a way that was tailored to their specific problems.”
Tell us a little bit about the book, what can readers expect?
“The book is for readers who experience irregular bowel movements—either chronically loose stools or diarrhea, or chronic constipation, or a frustrating mix of both. For readers without a medical diagnosis, there’s a symptoms-based quiz at the beginning that will help steer you to the chapter(s) of most relevance to you, where you’ll learn about a condition that corresponds to your experience, how a doctor might diagnose and treat you, and what type of diet I would use to help manage that issue. For those who already have a diagnosis, they can flip ahead to the chapter in the book that discusses their condition in detail, including the latest research into diets and evidence based supplements that may be helpful.
Anyone who is familiar with my writing will also expect a great deal of candor, a little bit of humor and an honest, science based approach to tackling really difficult issues.”
What inspired you to write this book specifically addressing the causes and solutions for irregularity in digestive health?
“My patients are always my inspiration.
When I find myself repeating the same conversations with patients over and over again, and when I encounter people struggling with terrible GI symptoms because of one-size-fits-all advice they got online or from alternative medicine providers looking to sell supplements, I know that there must be tens of thousands of others out there suffering in silence. A book is the best way I know to cut through the online noise and reach a large number of people with detailed, nuanced and individualized information and advice. You can’t solve chronic GI issues via an Instagram post or Tik Tok video, and most of these problems require more than just a quick, silver bullet fix.”
What separates REGULAR from other gut-health books available on the market?
“Great question! Most gut health books have a single point of view about what everyone needs to do for good gut health—for example, eat lots of fiber, or follow a specific diet and supplement protocol, or avoid certain foods. But in reality, the one-third of all people who struggle with chronic irregularity are not all dealing with the same problem, so it’s unlikely that a single solution will work well for everyone. In fact, some of the problems I write about in REGULAR would be much WORSE on a high fiber diet or with use of probiotic supplements!
REGULAR is different insofar as it does not offer a single, one-sized-fits-all solution for chronic irregularity. It covers 10 different conditions, each with its own tailored dietary solution(s). I do not have a dogmatic point of view that everyone needs to follow the same diet for good health and a peaceful digestive system. There are many paths to good health, and the healthiest diet for any individual is the most nutrient rich one that THEY CAN COMFORTABLY TOLERATE. That looks really different for different people.”
How does REGULAR go beyond providing solutions and tips by also educating readers about the different conditions and issues that contribute to irregular bowel patterns?
“I think it’s really important for people to understand HOW their digestive system works so that they are less susceptible to being misled by profit-seeking practitioners who advance pseudoscientific theories about gut health backed up by unvalidated “tests” all as a pretence to sell expensive and unnecessary supplements. Instagram.
I also think that doctors don’t often get enough time with their patients to explain WHY they are recommending certain medications or tests, and this can leave people feeling ambivalent about following through with medical recommendations.
When people understand the WHY of a medical diagnosis or problem, the recommended treatment and the recommended diet, they are often more motivated to follow through with the diagnostic process or treatment options and get a resolution much faster. They also become better patients in terms of being able to share the most relevant information with their doctors and being more able to advocate for themselves and participate more actively in their own care.”
How do you navigate the balance between providing general advice and personalized recommendations in the book? Do you think that people still need to see a dietitian or can they rely solely on REGULAR?
“The book is for readers who experience irregular bowel movements—either chronically loose stools or diarrhea, or chronic constipation, or a frustrating mix of both. For readers without a medical diagnosis, there’s a symptoms-based quiz at the beginning that will help steer you to the chapter(s) of most relevance to you, where you’ll learn about a condition that corresponds to your experience, how a doctor might diagnose and treat you, and what type of diet I would use to help manage that issue. For those who already have a diagnosis, they can flip ahead to the chapter in the book that discusses their condition in detail, including the latest research into diets and evidence based supplements that may be helpful.
Anyone who is familiar with my writing will also expect a great deal of candor, a little bit of humor and an honest, science based approach to tackling really difficult issues.”
Being a dietitian yourself, what are some common misconceptions or myths about digestive health that you aim to dispel through REGULAR?
“There are too many to list here!
There are lots of myths around probiotic supplements being generally fundamental to a good gut health regimen (they aren’t.)
There are myths around very high fiber diets being a universal solution to constipation (they aren’t, and in some cases, this can make things worse.)
There are myths that “food sensitivities” underly the majority of GI issues—especially bloating—and that elimination diets are the right way to improve gut health (in reality, not all GI problems are triggered by specific foods, and excessive elimination of plant based foods generally worsens gut health rather than improving it.)
There are myths about certain plant foods being “inflammatory” (Other than saturated fat-rich plant foods like coconut or palm oil, this is also a big nope)
… and so so many more!”
What separates REGULAR from other gut-health books available on the market?
“It really depends on the person.
I know from getting reader feedback from my first book, The Bloated Belly Whisperer, that there will absolutely be some people who will recognize themselves in these pages, follow some advice on diet and/or supplementation, feel better and have no need for further medical or nutritional help.
And there will be some people who will follow the book’s advice, feel better, but struggle to make the recommendations work for them in the context of their usual habits, preferences and schedules—and a dietitian can help with this!
Others will develop a hunch about a certain issue based on REGULAR and need to see their own doctor to discuss diagnostics and medical treatment. Not every problem I discuss in REGULAR has a dietary solution, and it’s important for people to know this, too, so they don’t go down a rabbit hole of extreme elimination diets looking for a food-based answer that doesn’t exist.”
Can you give us a glimpse into any future projects or ideas you have in the works? What can readers look forward to from you in the coming years?
“Most of my energy outside the clinical practice for these past few years has been directed toward writing REGULAR and driving my kids to and from sports practices, so I don’t have another big project immediately in the works. I really enjoy mentoring my dietitian colleagues talking to the public about health and nutrition through webinars and lectures, so I hope this book brings me many more opportunities to do that. In reality, I am a bit of a nerdy introvert and I am just old enough not to be a digital native, so I don’t have aspirations to have my own YouTube channel, podcast or to build a social media influencer empire. I genuinely just want to help people feel better, and plan to keep doing so one article, one book and one webinar at a time!”
What do you hope readers will take away from REGULAR in terms of understanding and managing their digestive health? Are there any key messages or empowering insights that you aim to convey?
“The biggest takeaway I hope people get from REGULAR is that there is not a one-size-fits-all diet or regimen to solve chronic GI issues. Understanding the WHY of their problem is essential to solving it, and well-meaning advice from your trainer, your mom or someone on Instagram based on what worked for them may or may not be relevant for you. Your body and your experiences usually hold the key pieces of information that a reputable, well-trained expert can help you decipher. I hope my book will empower readers to zero in on what that relevant information is that they can then share with their own team to finally find a resolution.”
What’s the most unusual or surprising food combination that you enjoy and is it beneficial for gut health?
“This is a fun question! I don’t know how unusual this is but I love a salad made with watermelon + salty white cheese like Halloumi or feta + a yummy vinegar like champagne or white wine vinegar. I crave this combo so much in the hot weather. And I think that this is reasonably beneficial for gut health—sure! Watermelon is a fruit and fruit has fiber… it also has some FODMAPs which nourish my gut microbes and thankfully do not cause me any distress!”
Where can you learn more about Tamara and the book?
You can follow Tamara on Twitter, & on Instagram and check out her website at www.thebloatedbellywhisperer.com.
REGULAR is available to purchase from all leading retailers and online from the 30th of May 2023 in the UK, Australia & New Zealand; and, it is already available for purchase in the USA!
