She might be a picture of good health now, but Alice Wright has spent much of the past 20 years suffering from violent abdominal pain and diarrhoea.
“My symptoms started after I finished university,” says 44-year-old Wellingtonian Alice, who was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) two decades ago. “The stress of starting work, coupled with not eating the right food, were major triggers.”
IBS is a disorder that affects the stomach and intestines. Symptoms can include cramping, abdominal pain, bloating, gas, diarrhoea and/or constipation.
“IBS is different for everyone, but mine presented as severe diarrhoea, which came on quickly,” recalls Alice. “It got to the stage where I would eat something and immediately need to go to the toilet. If I went out in public, I had to make sure I was always near a toilet in case something I ate didn’t agree with me.”
There’s no cure for the disorder, but sufferers can often manage the effects with diet and lifestyle changes, such as eating more fibre and less gluten, drinking less coffee, reducing stress and exercising more.
In 2012, when Alice’s husband Johnny Wright, an environmental consultant and marine biologist, was offered a job in Qatar, things got worse.
“I wasn’t able to work in Qatar and the stresses of culture shock, as well as being at home with three young children and no family support, made the IBS worse.”
Alice increasingly found herself turning to unhealthy food. She tells, “I started to eat salty, fatty and sweet food because I needed to feel some kind of comfort. The only place to go out in Qatar is to the mall, so we’d go there and eat things like croissants.”
It didn’t help that Alice, who is mum to Billie, 15, Connie Jean, 13, and 10-year-old Miles, also suffered a double whammy from the endometriosis she was diagnosed with in 2018.
“I had shocking pain from IBS and shocking pain from endometriosis. But I didn’t go to the doctor! Instead, I put on a stiff upper lip and accepted it.”
It wasn’t until the family moved back to Wellington that Alice started dealing with her issues.
“One of the worst things about IBS is that it really impacted my general well-being and mental health. I gained lots of weight and felt sluggish and unhappy. I was in this awful loop of anxiety, bad diet and lack of exercise. So, I started trying to make healthier decisions.”
But Alice encountered a brick wall when she tried to talk about IBS and how to manage it.
“The problem is that no one talks about their bowel movements! People chat about gut health and other issues, so why can’t we talk about our number twos?”
Friends eventually admitted that they had similar issues and said taking regular fibre supplements helped. Containing psyllium husk, a type of fibre that acts as a gentle laxative, they also worked for Alice.
“I just didn’t like the taste of them. They contained too much flavour, along with bulking agents and artificial sweeteners. That didn’t feel right because you’re trying to do something good for your body, but you have to do it via sugary, artificial products.”
Alice admits that buying the laxative-style products embarrassed her.
“I would hide them in my shopping trolley! There’s such a stigma attached to psyllium husk because people see it as something for older people. I’ve since discovered that fibre is good for your gut, bowel, brain, weight management and blood pressure, so it’s good for everyone, including children.”
Keen to find a product that aligned with her healthier lifestyle, Alice realised she could do better.
“Johnny is a scientist. He helped me engage a food scientist who came up with a product that was easy to drink and had no artificial ingredients. But the branding was also a bit tongue-in-cheek and had cute packaging so people wouldn’t be embarrassed to buy it.”
Alice launched her range of fibre supplements, called No.2, in March 2023. They’ve proved such a hit, she’s about to expand into pharmacies across New Zealand.
It has turned Alice into what she jokingly calls a “wellness warrior”. Now, she takes a chilly dip in Wellington Harbour most mornings, attends Pilates classes, and walks to her day job as a programme manager for a leadership and development consultancy. That, along with daily fibre, has helped to keep her IBS in check.
“The most important thing to me is your inner health. You can achieve that by making little changes often,” she says. “You see people like Gwyneth Paltrow and perfectly toned Instagram influencers who set a totally unrealistic standard for people. Wellness for me is about focusing on inner health and making small adjustments, which eventually lead to big changes.”
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