Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Eat Food Ibs

Question:
My mother has been suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome for 10 years.  Nothing any doctor has prescribed has helped.  She is now on a diet that consists mainly of Soy protein and is losing weight and feels weak.  Her stomach feels so bad most days that she doesn't leave the house.  What type of foods she can or can’t eat with IBS?

Answer:
Petitpierre, Gumowski, and Girard (Ann Allergy 1985) investigated food hypersensitivity as a cause of irritable bowel syndrome using exclusion diets and blind provocation. They found that one or several foods or food additives could induce the typical symptoms of IBS and that adequate exclusion diets could result in dramatic clinical improvements. The example above is just one of many that have found, in some people, food intolerance to be the cause of Irritable Bowel syndrome. You can find out more about food intolerance at my site (link below) or search on the topic in any major search engine. I was on a med called Librax for a long time - narcotic with something to calm the stomach.  I always felt like a had at least one glass in wine in me. Over the years I noticed certain foods and habits made it worse.  Caffeine, milk products and processed foods including bread didn't like me, along with bad habits like eating too much and too fast and too close to bedtime. I also found a chiropractor who was skilled in Applied Kinesiology - the AK confirmed my experiences with food allergies relating to dairy and wheat, and I also learned soy is a no-no for me.  Which helps explain why those soy based coffee creamers (plain or flavored) hurt my stomach over using just plain milk or half and half.  Yes, I can eat dairy and caffeine today. So over this journey I've found the following unscientific behaviors work for me - my IBS is about 5% of what it was 20 years ago. Stress:  I worry a lot, can't say no very well, and an argument can send me straight to the bathroom. What I Do:  Stay away from food until I can reduce the stress.  Then stay away from foods known to trigger IBS for the next 24 hrs.  I'm currently enrolled in a stress management class. Water:  Hate it! What I Do:  Drink at least a couple of glasses (way less than what you're supposed to drink) a day 30 minutes before or after any intake of solid food.  I do not drink any liquids with a meal as a rule - although I may cheat now and then and have coffee after a meal if dining out. Eating Habits:  I'm not consistent with this one. What I Do:  Eat whole foods like mildly seasoned chicken (baked or crock-pot), corn, snap beans, rice, apples, bananas, etc., and try to stay away from TV dinners and other convenience foods (fast foods too).  I also seem to have a low tolerance to bacteria, so I'm very picky about freshness. I smell everything before preparing and eating.  If the little voice inside says something's wrong, or my nose wrinkles, in the trash it goes. Drugs:  As little as possible. What I Do:  I don't think there's any Librax in the cabinet.  The last time I remember taking any was a trip to Seattle in 1995.  Zantac - sadly I have a prescription for this and it has been one of the best things I've found, but it easily abused (using it to eat food you know would cause you problems otherwise).  On the plus, if I notice a lot of stomach activity and even some burning, the Zantac will reduce or stop an IBS event that would normally occur within the 2 to 8 hours later.  If I'm taking it for a few days, I have to be really careful when stopping the med because I seem to be sensitive to all food the next few days after stopping the med.  While not a drug, digestive enzymes are helpful too with full or large meals.  Since I tend to be acidy by nature, the enzymes that include HCL are too strong for me.  I like those simpler ones that worker lower in the GI tract that contain an enzyme found in papaya.  My chiropractor originally introduced me to these, and I've found the local health food store staff helpful too. Trigger Foods:  Caffeine, wheat, processed foods (TV dinners, pasta, etc), soy products, Tylenol, NutraSweet. What I Do:  I now drink coffee again with caffeine, but while the coffee is brewing I drink a full cup of plain water first.  In fact I consciously try to drink the same amount of plain water as I consume of caffeinated coffee to offset the diuretic properties of the caffeine.  Apples and bananas are good to me (I almost think of them as medicine) - however I had to start off with eating just a few bites at first.  Now I can eat a whole one and suffer no ill effects (a little burping from bananas occasionally).  Juices taste good, I do better with the whole fruit - something substantive my guts can get a hold of do their job versus things you put in your mouth that turn to paste instantly. I know first hand how miserable chasing to the bathroom every 20 minutes with dizzying cramps over the course of 5 hours can be.  I hope your Mom improves - I don't think it ever goes away but seems to lessen as I get older.  Plain white rice is my emergency food if all else fails.  I cook a whole pot up but can only eat maybe 3/4 cup at a time (but I nibble all day).  Those fresh baby carrots that come in the bag are good to me too.  As I start to feel better after an episode I enlarge the variety of food I reintroduce to my system.  The most significant behavior I came across was to immediately start putting food back into my system after an IBS episode.  I used to not eat for 24hrs after an attack when I was younger Today I head straight for the kitchen after bout in the bathroom.