Like stress, your diet does not bring on IBS. Although many people thing that they have caused this condition by eating less than healthy foods, that is not the case. Yet, it is well known that foods can contribute to making irritable bowel syndrome worse.
The problem with food is double. First, your body may react to some foods in a more intense way with IBS than others would react to that food. In addition, the body experiences increased levels of intestinal muscle reaction and sensitivity with IBS than otherwise. Just the fact that you are eating can make the symptoms of IBS show themselves. It may not even be a specific food that is causing it, but a general overreaction to food.
The first thing to work on is the simple fact that you can control what you eat. In that, you can have some control over how your body reacts with IBS symptoms. Some of the foods that we know are problematic for those with IBS include foods like fried foods, alcohol, caffeine and foods that are high in fat. In addition to this, when too much food is consumed at one sitting, problems can also arise.
Diarrhea and cramping in your abdomen can be caused by some specific types of sugars that are unable to be fully digested by the bowel. These include sorbitol which is a sweetener in dietetic foods, gum sugars, candy sugars, and fructose. The consumption of these sugars will lead to the inability of the bowel to absorb them correctly and will lead to diarrhea.
The gas symptoms of IBS can be brought on by some foods as well. For example, beans, legumes, cauliflower, lentils, Brussels sprouts, onions, bagels, cabbage and broccoli all can bring on more intense gas like symptoms of IBS. Eating these types of foods can bring on the symptoms of IBS including bloating and increased gas.
With these foods being behind the onset of symptoms of IBS, it is important for you to consider how they affect you. It is essential for you to understand that foods affect each person in a different way. What affects you and causes intense symptoms of IBS is not the same and doesn't have the same effect on another person with IBS symptoms. For that reason, it is critical that you find out how foods affect you.
One of the best first steps for you to do in managing IBS is to track your diet. Although you may think you know what you're eating, you may not realize the correlation between your diet and your IBS symptoms. The goal is to learn what worsens your symptoms.
You should track your diet for two to three weeks solidly. That means writing down everything that is eaten for a full two weeks at least. You'll also need to monitor what you felt like before and after those meals as well as what IBS symptoms you experienced.
As you work through this type of monitoring of your food intake, you are likely to find common areas where there is a food that you are consuming that seems to be causing additional or worsened IBS symptoms. When that type of food is found, and there is no doubt that when you eat it you feel bad, remove it from your diet.
But, if you do this because you think that the food is causing the problem when in fact it may not be, there is no reason to remove the food from your diet. The hard part is telling the difference.
Since your diet is such a large factor for most in the type of IBS lifestyle they will lead, it does pay to use a chart to help you to track your intake and the symptoms you experience after eating that food. In that, there is also concern about over eliminating foods in your diet.
The first concern is that the individual is losing quality of life by not eating all of the foods that he or she would like to eat. If this is done without a positive benefit on your lifestyle such as reduced IBS symptoms, then there is no benefit to you and no reason to be so limiting.
Elimination diets, as these types of diet set ups are often called, can be a problem in and of themselves as well. For many individuals that remove too many of the necessary nutrients that they need from their diet there are the risk of health concerns.
Some individuals can suffer from anemia, osteoporosis and even can suffer vitamin and mineral deficiencies to a great extent.
In addition to this, those diets that actually recommend removing entire food groups should be avoided. This includes diets that remove all fats, all proteins or all carbohydrates from your diet, or most of them. This is just not healthy in any type of diet.
If you will be using an elimination diet to help you to find the foods that are not good for your IBS situation, you should be doing so only with the help of your doctor and with his or her guidance in that regard as well.
If there is some reason for you or your doctor to believe that food is behind your condition to an extreme level, he or she will do testing such as allergy testing, upper intestinal endoscope, and lactose breathing testing.
There are some conditions in which your body will have intolerance for the food which is likely to cause you to feel IBS symptoms more readily. Through testing your doctor will determine if you are suffering from one of these conditions as well.
Some that are common with IBS include:
Through testing, your doctor with your help will determine if you have any of these conditions which can worsen the symptoms you are facing with irritable bowel syndrome symptoms.
In addition to the types of foods that you consume, also take note of just how much you have eaten. Learning what portion sizes are recommended is also essential to the patient with IBS.
With IBS, symptoms can be brought on or made worse by the fact that you are consuming too much food at one sitting. Although most Americans don't realize it, most of the foods we eat are far too much for one sitting. Not only does this contribute to being overweight but it also causes problems with digestion.
Remember the example of eating a full meal and feeling the symptoms of IBS coming on just from eating? That is due to the over sensitivity of your body due to IBS. Because your body doesn't stop the pain reaction as it should, you can experience extreme pain from just overeating.
The question that many have to face then; is what is the right amount of a food they plan to eat?
One way to learn this is to use packaging labels to help you. Learn how much food is considered to be one portion. Food labels make this easy by allowing you to divide the serving size amount the noted servings. For example, if the package says that there are 4 servings in that package, divide the finished product in four before serving to yourself or to others.
Here are some of the portions you may want to take control of when it comes to monitoring your IBS symptoms. This is a great way to estimate how much you should eat.
Fruit: One cup, one cup of fruit looks like the size of a baseball.
Salad: One cup, one cup of salad looks like the size of a baseball.
A slice of bread is one serving.
Pasta, rice or potatoes: One ½ cup is a serving. This looks like the size of half of a baseball.
Pancakes: One pancake is a serving and looks like the size of a compact disc.
Meats: Fish, poultry, beef, pork or other meats, 3 ounces is one serving and is the size of a deck of playing cards.
Grilled or baked fish: 3 ounces is a serving and will look like the size of a check that fits into a checkbook.
Ice cream: One ½ of a cup is a serving, and is the size of ½ a baseball.
Milk: One cup is a serving and is the size of your fist
Cheese: 1 ½ ounces is a serving. It looks like four dice stacked.
Oils used for cooking or greens: serving is one teaspoon, which is the size of the tip of your thumb.
Now, look at these sizes. How often do you eat the right portion of meat or pasta? How often do you overeat on these foods and find yourself facing the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome?
Many people will react to this portion control measure with the fear that there is no way that the amount of food within a portion is enough to fill them.
There are some things that contribute to how much food you should eat. Yes, for some, there is a need to eat more. Here are some factors that play a role in how much you need to eat.
How can you know how much is the right amount of food for you? The best way to monitor the food intake you should be consuming is simple. Ask your family doctor how many calories you should be consuming per day. The physically active male should consume about 2200 per day. The physically active female should consume about 1800 calories per day.
Worried that you'll not be able to control the amount that you eat? Here are some great tips for making sure that every bite counts but doesn't hurt in the process. Here are some tricks:
These tips can help you to reduce the amount of food you are eating. Paying attention to this, in turn, helps you to reduce the amount of and the intensity of the symptoms of IBS that you face.
Did you know that you can do damage to your health if you limit yourself overly when it comes to IBS dietary restrictions? There is no need to go to such lengths as to be on very specific diets of food. When you limit yourself to such a degree, you only set yourself up to actually fail. Diets or plans that are too strict and limiting to you are much harder to follow and stay on.
In addition, some of these diets require the replacement of full food groups. That in itself is not acceptable because it limits the nutrition that you are getting as well.
Instead of these things, you'll want to take into consideration which foods bring on IBS symptom severity and limit or remove those from your diet. Otherwise, a well balanced diet is the other ingredient to a healthy lifestyle and shouldn't be restricted in the process.
Even still, there are many suggestions of very strict diets for IBS patients. Unless your doctor recommends one of these for your severe irritable bowel syndrome conditions, it is not advisable to use them.
It all comes down to understanding what the best possible foods for you to eat are. While each person will experience additional specific controls with their doctor's help, most can benefit from these specific changes:
Doing these things is likely to help improving your diet and therefore improve your overall health including the reduction in IBS symptoms.
Your doctor may have more detailed and specific directions for you to follow as well. Follow anything he says closely for the best results.
When it comes to IBS, many individuals need to carefully manage their fiber intake. Too much fiber leads to diarrhea where as not enough can cause constipation. What do you need?
The best thing to start with is to consume a variety of different types of fiber. You should consume fiber from fruits, whole grains and from vegetables. The best way to actually get your fiber and benefit from its overall ability is through these natural resources.
Your body needs fiber for several reasons. For example, the gas that is produced by fiber is necessary to stimulate your colon muscles as well as to help soften your stool.
But, for some individuals that have IBS, this does cause a number of problems in the process. Adding too much fiber is usually the reasoning behind the discomfort that you face. For that reason, you should start to consume additional fiber from your regular diet slowly, monitoring how much you are getting in any one day.
The best ways to get these specific fiber additives is to consume foods that contain them including citrus foods, flaxseeds and legumes.
The end result is that the foods you eat, both good and bad, effect the way that your body reacts. By finding out what foods cause you to suffer and removing or limiting them, you can clearly see benefits in the long term when it comes to your overall health. By eating a well balanced diet and restricting foods that trigger your IBS symptoms, you can improve how often and how severe those symptoms can be.
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