Diet and Health FAQ

Tagged As: Food Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Question:
Can anyone help with foods or things that help when your stomach gets quite bad due to Irritable Bowel Syndrome?

Answer:
See your doctor about prescribing Lotronex, which can cause major problems but DOES work wonders if the chief symptom of irritable bowel syndrome is diarrhea, and also try up to 6 salmon oil or fish body oil capsules per day. Also, make sure that the doctor has definitely ruled out Crohn's Disease, ulcerative colitis, and non-tropical sprue as present in your case. I went threw this hell for over 12 years, 3 specialists all gave me the rubber stamp irritable bowl syndrome , it actually means they do not know, they just need an official sounding term to give there patients to make them go away because they could not fix the problem.. Go back and get checked for Helicobactor Pylori , it is a bacteria that is found in a lot of adults, some it bothers some it does not, in the US and I am pretty sure in Canada the doctors will not test for it unless you specifically ask, I got lucky [ if you could call it that after 12 years ] and found a doctor that checked for it, I never even heard of it till that time, it turns out that is what I had all along, three weeks of antibiotics made at least 70% of the problem go away , that is a number I can at least live with, I was sick every day for over a year with major lower abdominal cramps.  Read up on Helicobactor Pylori on the internet there is a lot of info out there that you could access, I had a pile but my computer crashed large a few weeks ago and I lost all the marked pages.  Do not take the rubber stamp IBS, it means absolutely nothing, keep pushing till you find a doctor that gives a damn. Just a tip, if you have seen a doctor at x hospital , go to y hospital next time, doctors at a given hospital tend to know each other and know all the same things, if you did not get satisfaction with one doc, go to another hospital, it cuts down the chance of one doctor not wanting to overstep another’s ground, that and possibly fast tracking you threw because you have already seen so and so , and if he did not find anything then why bother....., trust me , it happens. Oh ya, I found rice was very good for a neutral food that did not bother me to much , you can mix in cans of soup with it for flavor, I used to just use minute rice and some seasonings with chopped roast chicken, tasted ok, and got me threw a lot of times that my stomach would not take much.  Try staying away from meats for a while, especially pork, they are hard to digest and if your intestines are having a hard time all the extra acids in there will just make it worse. You may want to stay away from cheeses for a month or so to see if that has a positive effect, I had lactose intolerant ruled out but I can still get screwed up by eating to much of it, I also had my gall bladder out, so that does not help.  Pasta made it go nuts as well, but after the medication it was not a problem anymore.  I found raw veggies in the morning like cauliflower, broccoli, carrots etc were a real good start to the day, now I drink a lot of protein drinks to make sure I get enough in me to stop losing weight, I went from 184 down to 154, the drinks really helped a lot in leveling things out. Boil pot or pearl barley in water.   Use that for your liquids and for snacks.  The boiled barley absorbs whatever excessive GI secretions you  have that may cause IBS.   Barley provides a lot of fiber and bulk to clean out your gut.  If you find the taste bland, add sugar. There is not much food value in barley so you won't gain weight or encounter side effects on this. Boil rice to get softened grains then boil water and put that rice in it to make a slurry.  Eat that to give you a neutral bulk carbohydrate meal.  Rice in water is easy to ingest, digest and provide lots of liquid.  It buffers the excessive GI juices you may have.  For your proteins and fiber thrown in diced fresh meat and pieces of vegetables.  Use minimal salt and no spices or sauces.  No canned or processed foods. Stay with this for at least a week.   You won't suffer from malnutrition.  If your IBS improves significantly reintroduce your favorite foods gradually and make a note of what gives you IBS like problems.  These favorite foods may be nutritious and delicious but if they give you IBS change to something else. Learn what foods to avoid. I found that I don't really need a wide variety of foods to make a nutritious meal. A good meal is one that I enjoy and not have to think about it after having eaten.  If there is a buzz, as from spicy food or I am constantly reminded by a dull ache or by slight bloating accompanied by constant reminders to visit the can the chances are that food is not good for me.  Then I will avoid them as much as possible and eat them only when I feel a compelling urge.  Works fine for me.  Really cuts down on my food preparation time and food costs without me feeling deprived of food I do like to eat.  I just put aside good but bad foods for occasional special days.