Find An Irritable Bowel Syndrome Diet To Suit You

These are Sally's tips for enjoying your meals without making your IBS symptoms worse. There's much more information in the recommended books from Amazon (below).

Know yourself
IBS affects people in different ways. You need to work out which foods suit you and which don't. If you haven't already, start a food diary and note when your IBS symptoms occur. From this you can work out the problem foods.

Fibre options
One important secret of a successful IBS diet is to manage fibre intake according to the state of your gut at the time. There are two sorts of fibre- insoluble and soluble. Neither is broken down by your digestive enzymes and both pass through your intestines intact.

Soluble fibre is your friend - it prevents IBS symptoms as well as calming them down. Amazingly, it alleviates both diarrhoea and constipation. It works by absorbing liquids in the gut to form a gel.

You find soluble fibre in foods such as bananas, oats, soy products and barley. It's also in peas, beans and lentils but these can cause bloating in some people. Oatmeal porridge topped with honey is a good way to start the day. There are also supplements like Acacia Tummy Fibre, an organic source of pure soluble fibre.

Heather's Tummy Fiber CAN ~ Organic Acacia 16 oz. CANISTER

Insoluble fibre is the rough stuff in leafy vegetables and All-Bran cereal. It helps relieve constipation but won't help if you have diarrhoea.

If you have constipation, then slowly increase your fibre intake. Don't increase insoluble fibre too fast or you will get cramping, bloating or diarrhoea. And drink more liquids as well as upping the fibre. You'll find extra fibre in fresh fruits and vegetables - apples, blueberries, broccoli, carrots, peaches, potatoes, spinach, strawberries, tomatoes, zucchini -in whole-grain pasta and cereals, and in pulses such as lentils, split peas and soy products.

It's possible that not all the foods rich in insoluble fibre will suit you and this is where your food diary is useful in your irritable bowel syndrome diet plan.

It's not just what you eat it's how you eat
Try taking smaller, more frequent meals. For example, four or five small meals instead of three large ones. But don't miss meals. And eat more slowly - enjoy the food.

Things to avoid
Sorry - but caffeine and alcohol are 'absolutely banned'. Both can trigger diarrhoea attacks. Even decaffeinated coffee isn't safe. Cut out fat, especially saturated fats, and avoid carbonated drinks. All these irritate your gut.

Encourage friendly bugs
Eat plenty of natural unsweetened live yoghourt or take daily supplements of Lactobacillus acidophilus to increase the numbers of helpful bacteria in your digestive system.

Sedona Labs iFlora Multi-Probiotic Formula 260 mg 60 Vegicaps
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Some people have found food separation helpful as part of their irritable bowel syndrome diet. The basic principle is that you should not combine proteins and carbohydrates at one meal because it makes them more difficult to digest. So grilled salmon and salad are fine for lunch but not grilled salmon and new potatoes.

You Are What You Eat Cookbook

Dr Gillian McKeith is an expert on food separation and has written the excellent You Are What You Eat Cookbook based on this approach.