The singer talks to Lisa Salmon concerning the affect digestive points have had on his well being and wellbeing – and the way he’s lastly discovered aid…
It’s not cool to speak about your tummy troubles once you’re a pop star. However once you’re a pop star in your 60s, what’s the purpose of pretending issues work like they used to in your Eighties heyday?
You need to be truthful concerning the realities of life, insists a disarmingly sincere Limahl – the spiky-haired frontman of Eighties chart-toppers Kajagoogoo, who’s selling his new Christmas single, One Want for Christmas.
“As you grow old, your joints, your eyesight, hips and knees put on out, and I believe the stomach and the bowel and so forth, that are always working, are simply one other factor that goes,” says Limahl, who has irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and lactose intolerance.
“And I’m 63 subsequent – you may’t ignore that. Folks primarily keep in mind me from 40 years in the past once I was 23, so I really feel a duty to not look too previous and decrepit. It takes effort! I haven’t embraced my gray – it appears nice on George Clooney, however I don’t need it on me!”
The singer’s weathered properly and actually doesn’t look massively completely different from the Eighties idol he as soon as was (though the hair is extra floppy than spiky now, and now not two-tone black and white, however positively not gray or thinning). However his life isn’t solely about singing and picture – well being is after all vitally necessary too, and he’s had bother along with his digestive system for years. Nonetheless, he says he acquired the foundation of the issue earlier this yr.
“I believe the IBS has been brewing over a number of years, and it got here to a head this yr,” he reveals.
“It appeared like the whole lot I ate prompted bloating, which feels very uncomfortable and appears terrible. If I used to be performing that day, I’d acquired to the purpose the place I didn’t need to eat as a result of I used to be fearful of occurring stage and bursting out of my garments and searching like I’d placed on 5 stone. I look pregnant if I eat the flawed issues, it’s terrible.
“With IBS, there are completely different signs for various folks. Some folks get diarrhoea, however with me it’s the other, I can get constipated, however that exacerbates the issue. And naturally it’s not very cool to speak about constipation as a pop star! However I’ve to face the realities of life, like everybody else. There’s psychological and bodily ache concerned.”
Limahl was ultimately identified with IBS after having blood exams, an endoscopy and a CT scan, and admits:
“When it began, oh God I used to be anxious! I believed the worst.”
He went to see a professional nutritionist, who informed him his downside was with FODMAP meals – an acronym for fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols – easy sugars which might be generally poorly absorbed and quickly fermented by the intestine.
“Researchers have discovered folks with IBS don’t tolerate sure sugars in meals,” explains Limahl. “They don’t get digested, and as soon as they hit the colon all of the dangerous micro organism go, ‘Woo-hoo, it’s get together time!’ and create fuel by consuming the undigested sugars. I believe I’ve defined that proper!”
With the steering of his nutritionist, Limahl went on an elimination weight-reduction plan for 3 months to search out out precisely which meals prompted his issues. His weight-reduction plan is now extra restricted – however most likely not in the best way most individuals would anticipate a gentle-on-the-tummy weight-reduction plan to be.
“There are such a lot of meals that have an effect on me,” he says. “I’ve an app that I take advantage of to verify meals, and I’ve grow to be an knowledgeable meals label reader. The 2 largest surprises for me have been honey, as a result of it’s excessive in fructose, and dried fruit. It’s bizarre – I can have an orange, however I can’t have orange juice, as a result of that’s concentrated with fructose. I can’t eat garlic, and I can have crimson peppers, however not yellow or inexperienced.” He may also eat inexperienced beans – however solely 15 of them.
“There’s plenty of issues ending in ‘ol’ which might be usually in manufactured truffles and biscuits that I can’t have. I’ve simply acquired to search out the stuff I can eat. You’ve acquired to dig round and make it give you the results you want after which it’s okay. I thank my fortunate stars – at the very least I can eat some stuff. I out of the blue acquired my life again!”
He explains that sure FODMAPS are okay for sure folks, and stresses:
“It’s very particular person. IBS is such an enormous, broad-spectrum umbrella. It actually restricts my weight-reduction plan, however I’d somewhat be in management than simply be burdened about it on a regular basis. For those who resolve to have a blow-out for an important day, you understand you’re going to endure for 2 days, however that’s okay, you’ve that alternative.”
At across the similar time as his IBS was turning into extra of an issue, Limahl additionally found he was lactose illiberal. Nonetheless, he says he now carries a complement with an enzyme in it to assist him tolerate lactose.
“It’s about taking again a little bit of management. I additionally carry a complement to assist me tolerate oligosaccharide meals like beans, peas, lentils, and even oats.”
That intelligent little complement means he can have porridge for his breakfast on daily basis.
“I can have banana in it, however solely a 3rd of a agency banana, in any other case it’s issues for me,” he says.
In addition to being affected bodily when he eats the flawed meals, Limahl, who lives along with his accomplice Steve in Hertfordshire, admits the IBS impacts his psychological well being too.
“You’re feeling mentally in poor health once you eat one thing that doesn’t agree with you. I look down, my abdomen is bloated, I really feel uncomfortable. It takes your thoughts off concentrating on no matter you’re doing, and it lasts for hours – it’s fairly terrible. I reckon there’s thousands and thousands of individuals all over the world struggling with these kinds of signs.
“My nutritionist says that within the close to future, she thinks low FODMAP meals might be as frequent in eating places as vegan meals is at the moment. It’s a brand new science that individuals are discovering out about, and I’m glad I can speak about it and hopefully unfold the phrase.”
Limahl’s new single One Want For Christmas is on the market now.