Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards

Really short version. Unless you're eating soy Parmesan cheese, you're eating dairy and that's a true trigger food. I'd eliminate that before deciding onions and garlic are the problem.

Short version. Onions and garlic are not true trigger foods but a significant number of IBS-ers have trouble with them. I do fine with them but it took me a while on the EFI Diet to be able to handle them and I could handle cooked ones before I could handle raw ones. I also found raw green onions (aka, scallions or spring onions) easier than raw big onions. If you think you're having trouble with them, try onion powder and garlic powder instead but go back and try onions and garlic from time to time. It's possible you'll be able to tolerate them eventually.

Long verion. Here's how I think about foods that can cause IBS attacks.

First, there are the true trigger foods: red meat; poultry dark meat and skin; dairy products; and egg yolks. Even using SF as a cushion doesn't make these safe to eat so we should avoid them completely.

Second, there's fat. Fat is a trigger for IBS but you can't just eliminate it because you need it for good health. So you cut back on it. Heather recommends no more than 25% of calories from fat.

Third, there are Insoluble Fiber foods. These are all the foods that aren't true trigger foods, aren't fat, and aren't in the list of Soluble Fiber foods. These can cause an IBS attack but you absolutely have to eat them for health so as long as you eat them carefully (with an SF base and peeled, chopped, cooked if necessary), you're fine with them.

Okay. Then there are some IF foods that are particularly hard to handle for various reasons. Onions and garlic are among those because they are sulfur-containing foods. In addition to being high IF, sulfur-containing foods often produce gas and that can trigger attacks. For more information on particularly hard to handle IF foods, take a look at this page and page down until you come to the section labelled: "Some fruits and vegetables are particularly troublesome for IBS".

HTH.

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