What does it take for you to consider a food to be safe?
#60521 - 04/12/04 05:09 PM
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What does it take for you to consider a food to be safe?
By way of explanation, I have three types of symptoms (please don't read on if details are too much information for you):
1. bloating
2. BMs that range from soft/loose to full blown D
3. painful cramping usually relieved only by explosive (and often uncomfortable or even painful) D (this is the 'must find bathroom NOW' symptom that I refer to as an "attack")
On the IBS diet, I have not been having any fullblown attacks, but I still have symptoms 1 & 2 (bloating every time I eat more than a nibble of ANYTHING) and some form of symptom 2 every time I have a BM (unfortunately this is not every day).
So is everything I've been eating on this diet "safe" for me because I haven't had any attacks? Or probably unsafe because of the bloating and D? (I've been operating on the assumption that I need to figure out the triggers for the D but it seems to be so arbitrary. I maintain no illusions that I will be able to determine any unique triggers for the bloating.)
What does it take for you to consider a food to be safe?
Thanks!
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Well there's a lot to consider so I'll just name a few I can think of:
Low in fat
dairy free
soluble
insoluble too but in small amounts and never on an empty stomach
Don't forget it's not always what food is "safe" - It's how you eat: try small meals throughout the day, take a fiber supplement, drink lots of water, peppermint and fennel tea is great for the stomach and never eating high fat or insoluble foods on an empty stomach.
I'm sure there's more but can't think of any right now. 
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I'd sure like to know the answer too! I have pretty much the same symptoms as you. But I guess I consider myself in more or less good shape if I only have those symptoms. I mean if I wanted to be totally symptom free I would live on a rice only diet, with the occaisional pretzel  I drink TONS of fennel tea to try to control the bloating, with a bit of success. So for me something is safe if I don't get full blown D and I don't swing the other way to C.
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--Julie
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A few thoughts... are you on a fiber supplement? It would really help the D settle down. Are you drinking fennel tea? Great for bloating. As for what upsets you, only time will tell. Tried, tested and true. I only know by trial and error what foods I am particularly sensitive to and which foods I have to be extremely careful with or avoid altogether.
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Formerly HanSolo. IBS, OCD, Bipolar, PTSD times 3.
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Anything other than fennel tea for the bloating? I don't like licorice flavor.
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Quote:
I'd sure like to know the answer too! I have pretty much the same symptoms as you. But I guess I consider myself in more or less good shape if I only have those symptoms. I mean if I wanted to be totally symptom free I would live on a rice only diet, with the occaisional pretzel I drink TONS of fennel tea to try to control the bloating, with a bit of success. So for me something is safe if I don't get full blown D and I don't swing the other way to C.
In other words, you've realized that you need to live with bloating and some D? (I am thinking that is probably the case for me too because an all-rice diet leaves me brain dead and unfocused.)
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That's an interesting question, and really gave me pause. I've been thinking about it for a long time since I first saw your post.
I hate to be a downer, but if you want the truth, here it is: I personally can't eat anything that doesn't have an affect on me in one way or another. I've gotten to the point where I believe my body has difficulty digesting ANY kind of food, even "safe" food.
I have constant gas and bloating. My tummy is very sensitive and can't even tolerate the pressure of my puppy dog on my lap. He's only a little guy, weighing no more than 25 pounds, but when he presses against my tummy with his paws, I nearly jump out of the chair.
When I start my daily exercise, the compaction of my legs against my tummy is very painful; it takes a long time into the exercise before the pain subsides.
It's constant. It never goes away. I'm just grateful that the attacks are few and far between now that I've gotten as stable as I've ever been, and that I can go out places and do things that I wasn't able to do before.
I'm also a D, like you, and I have the same symptoms. I did notice, though, that my poops got less soft/loose when I got on the probiotics. Sometimes I leave the bathroom with a big smile on my face. Enough said; you get the picture.
The urgency is also less; in fact, I've been known to hold it lately -- when I could never do that before, NEVER. When I had to go, it was IMMEDIATE!
So I accept the bloat, the gas, and the tender tummy as "residuals" that will just be with me as long as I eat anything at all. I certainly follow the program to the letter, and more so since I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I'm on an almost all vegan diet now, with absolutely no fat at all, and am very strict with myself. Still, the gas and bloat continue....
Again, sorry I can't be more optomistic for you. Perhaps someone else here can.
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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That's not good. Omega 3 oils like flax, fish oil, and olive oil will help your high cholesterol, and won't hurt. Make sure you're not going fat free - that will do much more harm than good.
xxoo
H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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I thought with the acacia and all you actually felt good between less frequent attacks. Sorry to hear that you still have the constant gas and pressure as a reminder. 
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Heather
#60918 - 04/13/04 09:14 PM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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Heather, you are such a sweetie-pie to check on me.
Yes, I am having fat from the flax seed oil capsules (I take 6/day -- that's 6,000mg). Also, I'm eating a lot of salmon and tuna for even more omega-3 and omega-6 oils.
Thanks. You're the BEST.
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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--------------------
Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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CrampGirl
#60921 - 04/13/04 09:23 PM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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Yes, I AM doing better -- MUCH better. I have MUCH fewer attacks. Gee, I'm sorry that my post gave the wrong impression; I may have to go back in there and change it.
Yes, I am able to get out and go places and do things now -- and I wasn't able to 4 months ago. That's incredible! Yes, I am SOOOO much better.
I even went to the new property and, typical construction site, it was full of debris. Hubby and I spent hours picking it all up and hauling it away. Sweat was pouring down my face, my hair was dripping wet, I worked my BUTT off! I could never have done that 4 months ago. True, it hurt when I bent over to pick up the stuff; my tummy did not like that at ALL -- but I just ignored the pain; after all, it's not going to stop me anymore.
I really think bloating and gas are nothing compared to having panic attacks and being home-bound, afraid to go anywhere, having extreme cramps and URGENT diarrhea all the time. Oh yes, I am SOOO much better now.
Also, it's a matter of priority. I have just been diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol and tryglycerides. That's not good. Very scary stuff. That's at the top of my list of complaints, believe me. A little gas and bloating are nothing compared to placque-clogged arteries. I have SOOO got to do everything possible to reduce it -- my daddy died from it.
Sorry, I'm rambling now. CrampGirl, thanks for your concern. You're a keeper, Girlfriend!
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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RE: fennel ... do you like Italian food? Good Italian sausage often has fennel seed in it. If you can eat Italian food (spaghetti, lasagne, pasta) and add fennel seed, would that help you get it down? How about putting the fennel seed in a gelatin capsule and swallowing it?
RE: bloating ... I recently started on the acacia. For about a week before that I had HORRIBLE bloating and painful gas. I started the acacia powder and in less than 48 hours the bloating and gas were gone.
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Quote:
On the IBS diet, I have not been having any fullblown attacks...
Sadly, this is no longer true. This morning when I got out of the shower I had a mini-attack. Very confused as to what triggered it. Here's what I had to eat yesterday:
luna bar mid-morning (couldn't eat earlier than that because I had an ultrasound on my gallbladder in the a.m.)
lunch: baked potato with salt, 7 or so baby carrots, cranberry juice
afternoon snack: dried apple (2 rings)
evening snack: 10-12 fat free saltines
for dinner, leftovers from the night before: 5 oz. rare grilled yellow fin tuna with salt and pepper and 5 asparagus spears
late night snack: 2 slices toasted french bread from baguette
oh, and lots of water throughout the day
The signif. other and I are mystified -- is it because even though I had asparagus the night before, I couldn't handle the insoluble fiber in the asparagus without more soluble fiber closer to the time I ate the asparagus??? Is it intolerance to HFCS in the cranberry juice? (I haven't been tested for fructose intolerance or anything, I am just trying to think, and the cranberry juice is the only thing I had yesterday that I haven't had in the last few weeks.)
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Detective Work
#61421 - 04/15/04 09:57 AM
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belinda
Reged: 10/09/03
Posts: 474
Loc: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Pearlmaj:
I can't tell you exactly what caused you problems, but here are some points to ponder:
1. Organic versus conventional. Was the food you ate conventional or organic? (Organic is safest for IBS people.)
2. Did the salt, cranberry juice and saltines contain any additives or chemicals? (Additives and chemicals can pose problems for IBS people. Some brands of sea salt can be purchased without additives and chemicals.)
3. What were the ingredients in the baguette? For example, did it contain any milk products or additives? (It is always safest for IBS people to either make their own bread or buy it from a bakery which bakes the bread using IBS safe ingredients.)
3. Pepper? (Pepper can cause problems for IBS people.)
4. Asparagus? (Not sure about asparagus, but was it organic?)
5. Dried apple without soluable fibre? (A lot of IBS people have problems with fruit. Some, like me, can only tolerate certain types of fruit in a mashed or pureed form with soluable fibre -- for example, pureed babyfood apple sauce on a bun.)
6. Didn't eat on time because of your test? (From personal experience, failing to eat on time or failing to eat small regular meals can cause an IBS attack.)
Hope this helps.
Belinda
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Thanks for the detective work, Belinda! I appreciate all the detail.
After reading a recent post from another thread about IBS-A, I can't help but wonder if the problem was that I did not have a BM yesterday. Thus, I was C until the D couldn't wait?? As I get used to taking the citrucel (and remember to take it in the afternoon, not just in the a.m.) and eat dried fruit and fruit leather, maybe I'll be able to get myself on a daily BM schedule and thus head the D off at the pass (so to speak  )?
Anybody else have any theories? Thanks in advance!
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