Remember IBS is not about food allergies. It is not a case of eating a speck of a certain food and getting a chemical reaction in the body (like peanut allergy people for instance). IBS is about the gut being healthy and choosing to react badly when it wants to do so. That is the reason why there seems to be no rhyme or reason to symptoms.
The whole idea behind triggers or foods that are 'unsafe' is to give the gut the best possible chance of not reacting badly. We avoid the most commonly irritating foods and hope the gut will not throw a fuss anyway. Then add stress and other factors (like not 'going' when the urge hits, or sitting all day or eating too fast, etc) and you can never really control how your gut will react.
Your whole purpose, especially now, is to eat the easiest foods and try to handle the gut stress as best you can. The only option we have since we aren't dealing with food allergies is to 1) avoid the foods other people have issues with and are known to be difficult to digest and 2) keep a journal and try to figure out what the body is telling you.
Most people are too into what 'their' triggers are before they can really know what 'their' gut is telling them. By trusting Heather's trigger list and what stable IBS folk say should be avoided, you are doing the best case scenario kind of thing. Even if you don't seem to have issues with something dangerous, it is still best to avoid it to be safe. Later you can occasionally have it and see how you do. It is amazing how your real difficult foods will come to light after a while and foods that aren't that bad for you can be eaten now and again. I can drink root beer or juice or have HFCS food from time to time without incident. I cannot handle a greasy meal no matter what though. I still avoid the foods known to be bad but that I am pretty ok with, so that I give myself the best chance I can.
One last thing, besides avoiding triggers, there is a lot to eating the right foods too! Getting enough fiber from fruits and veggies and safer grains is crucial for C. Making sure to have a decent amount of fat and liquids is also imperative. Stay far away from red meat and dairy, both are highly constipating.
--------------------
IBS-A for 20 years with terrible bloating and gas. On the diet since April 2004. Remember this from Heather's information pages:
"You absolutely must eat insoluble fiber foods, and as much as safely possible, but within the IBS dietary guidelines. Treat insoluble fiber foods with suitable caution, and you'll be able to enjoy a wide variety of them, in very healthy quantities, without problem." Please eat IF foods!
Print
Remind Me
Notify Moderator
|
Posts
what triggers are and how IBS works
