Diet Sheets for IBS - IBS Proper Diet
There are fairly easy guidelines to eating safely for IBS, based on specific categories of foods and the effects they have on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. The trick is to think about foods in categories – most people with IBS waste a lot of time trying to find the specific food items that trigger their IBS symptoms. But, there isn't any single food that causes symptoms. Any food that is high in fat, insoluble fiber, dairy, carbonation, alcohol, coffee or caffeine can -and probably will- aggravate the bowel. All of these food categories are either GI stimulants or irritants, and can cause violent reactions to your gastrocolic reflex. This directly affects the muscles in your colon and can lead to many IBS symptoms, like pain, constipation AND diarrhea, gas, and bloating.
Below is our recommended diet plan for IBS. Come back soon for updates and more detailed information. In the meantime, visit our Helpful Links page to find a great source focused on nutrition for specialty diets where a gluten, dairy & casein free lifestyle is also necessary.
Here are the main foods to avoid for IBS:
red/dark meat
poultry skin
alcohol
dairy/yogurt
egg yolks
oils
butter
carbonated beverages
fried foods
fatty foods
shortening
solid chocolate
coffee / caffeine
artificial sweeteners
Here are the main herbs and foods to eat for IBS - foods to use as the foundation for a healthy diet:
rice
pasta
oatmeal
barley
white breads
corn meal/cereals
soy
tofu
fennel
ginger
chamomile
peppermint
carrots
yams/potatoes
parsnips
beets
squash
mushrooms
avocados
bananas
applesauce
mangos
papayas
Other foods to avoid for IBS - many IBS sufferers are very sensitive to the following:
fructose
sorbitol
lactose
wheat bran
* Fructose is sugar that you can find in most types of fruit juices and in dried fruits. Sorbitol is also known as a replacement for sugar. Lactose is milk sugar.
You may have heard how lactose intolerance can be detected through tests for allergies. This is not the case for food sensitivities in IBS. These are more complicated in nature. Most of these food insensitivities are not detected or determined through the usual tests for allergies. This makes it even more important to keep a food diary.
