IBS Diet, IBS Diet Sheets And Foods To Avoid With IBS

IBS diet is so important in the management of this bowel syndrome. On this page you will find diet information, what are the good foods for IBS, discuss your diet for IBS in the food forum below, the foods to avoid with IBS and also find a link to IBS diet sheets too. Is there an Irritable Bowel Syndrome diet? There is definitely a correlation between the two and lots of sufferers come to me stating that they can't eat certain foods as it makes their symptoms worse.

So what Irritable Bowel Syndrome diet advice do I give my patients when there is so much information out there? I think the first thing is to have a sense of balance on this subject. No one’s saying you should avoid lots of foods all together, but there do seem to be certain foods to avoid with IBS or at least kept to a minimum if you are susceptible to their effects. First of all your bowel needs to have a routine in a similar way to most of us! Eating meals regularly was the first thing I realised was so important in Irritable Bowel. Please try not to skip meals as this 'confuses' the bowel and can make symptoms worse. Try to eat at the same times each day and avoid eating late at night. Don't rush your food as this can cause cramps, particularly as air tends to be swallowed when eating quickly and this is unhelpful.

Try to keep a food diary over a week or two as you may see a pattern emerge and give you a pointer of which foods to avoid. Don't forget that digestion is a lengthy exercise, so it won't necessarily be the food you had immediately before so look for patterns before the last meal too!

Sufferers often tell me that fatty foods, gluten containing foods (gluten is a protein in wheat, rye and barley), dairy products and too much complex sugars (carbohydrates in the diet) can make their symptoms worse.

<<>> Below, I am going to outline the good foods for IBS, the various IBS diets available to you and you can contribute your own thoughts in the IBS food forum too. So if you have a particular Irritable Bowel Syndrome diet that works for you, any recipes you would like to offer other sufferers, any foods you find best to avoid then please share them with all of us below.

You too can gain information from others on the site! One organisation, the BDA or British Dietetic Association in conjunction with the National Institute For Clinical Excellence provide diet sheets for IBS and you can obtain them by Clicking Here

General diet principles in an IBS diet

DON’Tover eat as this can cause overstimulation

SMALL and REGULAR meals maybe more beneficial

AVOID alcohol, caffeine related drinks (including tea, coffee and fizzy drinks such as cola)

AVOID spicy foods such as curries, peppers, chillies, onions, garlic, acidic vinegar containing foods

What sort of IBS do YOU have determines the DIET for YOU

If you suffer from diarrhea and wind:

You need to have a low fiber or exclusion diet

If you suffer from diarrhea and constipation:

You need a high fiber diet and if this fails an exclusion diet

If you suffer from constipation and wind or bloating

You need a low fibre diet plus or minus laxatives

If you suffer from Constipation without wind or bloating:

You need a high fiber diet plus or minus laxatives

The IBS DIETS

Low fibre IBS diet

• White bread rather than brown or granary

• Pasta and rice, BUT not wholemeal

• Cereals that don’t contain high fibre. Examples would include corn flakes and rice cereal

• White flour containing foods

• Fresh fruit and juices, but avoid skins and seeds

• Vegetables, but NOT beans, pulses or corn. Remove skin from potatoes and other skinned vegetables

High Fibre IBS diet

• Brown bread and granary bread

• Wholemeal pasta and brown rice

• High fibre cereals including Weetabix, Shredded Wheat, Shreddies and many more

• Brown flour containing foods

• Fruit incorporating the skins

• Vegetables including beans, pulses, corn and jacket potato

Exclusion IBS diets

• Meats – fresh meat and poultry, but avoid processed meats, burgers and sausages

• Fresh fish – NOT processed fish, fried or battered

• Vegetables – ALL vegetables, but avoid SKINNED potatoes, garlic, onions and peppers

• Fruits – ALL fruits except citrus fruits such as lemon, lime and orange

• Cereals – Rice containing cereals only

• Dairy – AVOID ALL dairy containing products such as milk, butter, yoghurt and replace with soya substitutes

• Drinks – ONLY take in water, non-citrus drinks and herbal teas. AVOID alcohol, tea, coffee and carbonated drinks

You may find that you still have symptoms or symptoms are made worse with the exclusion diet. This is quite normal. You need to keep a food diary of what you are eating each day and vary the foods. Make a note of what appears to be making your symptoms better and which ones seem to help. This can take several weeks to achieve. Once you know what is right for you, you can then create diets with variations of the so called good foods. Once everything is working for you, you can then start reintroducing some of the foods you have been advised to avoid, but keep using a diary as you will be able to see which foods are ok for you and which ones are not.

Wind or Bloating producing foods

Try to avoid the above foods, but again gradual reintroduction into your diet will help you to determine which ones cause you more problems.

Why Don't You Discuss Your IBS Diet In The Food Forum!

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