Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Reaction time to Trigger Foods ?

As Linz says, you've been caught by your gastrocolic reflex. If you've got Heather's "The First Year-IBS", on pages 16-17 there are charts showing violent contractions in the very lower end of the colon within 15 minutes of a meal and Heather talks about all the times she's had to "rush from a dinner table before [she's] even finished [her] meal". All I can say is, me, too. Sob.

As I understand it, the idea behind eating soluble fiber before anything else is that, because it's relatively easy to digest, it helps our poor confused digestive systems start up gently, rather than lurching erratically into high gear the way they do with a lot of fat or other trigger foods. Sort of like warming up a car when the engine is cold. And if we snack throughout the day, rather than getting really hungry and empty, our digestive systems sort of hum along without ever really shutting down, so food is less of a shock. If you have a car that starts erratically, then whenever you possibly can you'll let it idle rather than turning it off.

I loved learning this concept - I practically cried when I first read Heather's explanation. For the first time, I understood why breakfast was always such a horrible ordeal for me - my digestive engine was very cold and very, very cranky.

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