Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

and they also go to extremes. The diet says to be careful with insoluble fiber, but NOT to avoid it (insoluble fiber is crucial for constipation, not to mention overall good health). This means that while you need to eat it (and I honestly don't know how to emphasize this more - it's a point made in bold in the book, on the site, everywhere), you can't eat it with abandon. Even the "breaking the cycle" diet info emphasizes how important insoluble fiber is and that you cannot go more than a few days without it.

You need a base of soluble fiber. You need to cook, or chop, or puree your insoluble fiber, and you don't want it alone or on an empty stomach. You also need to avoid the trigger foods - and by avoid I mean do NOT eat. If you eat pork chops because you think it's a white meat, or you switch to decaf coffee instead of eliminating it, or you don't give up cheese because you really really like it, you are quite likely to perpetuate your own problems. This is especially true when you're first struggling to get things under control.

The recipes give common sense examples of what this means in concrete terms.

If someone totally ignores this, and eliminates all fruits, veggies, and whole grains from their diet, or doesn't eliminate the big triggers, and then says "Heather told me to do this, and it made my constipation worse" then I'm completely at a loss. They are totally misunderstanding or misinterpreting or just willfully ignoring information that is being conveyed very clearly to them, and I have a hard time taking the blame for that.

I honestly don't give a darn what diet people with IBS choose to follow. I just want them to be able to make a well-informed choice, and I want them to feel better, whatever that takes.

For purposes of clarity and consistency, this board is specifically focused on the Eating for IBS diet. If it wasn't, and had dietary advice all over the map, it wouldn't be much help to anyone. There are lots of other IBS internet boards out there that make that point quite painfully.

After moderating these boards for several years now, I've seen tons of people come and go. For the most part, they leave because they're doing better, not because they didn't get any help here. They've simply gotten to the point where they don't need to come and ask a lot of IBS questions anymore. Some folks also just plain get busy, or bored, and move off the boards to do other things in their lives.

Hope you're feeling better soon.

- Heather

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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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