Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: Atkins made a monkey out of me!

Hi, and welcome to the board! As strange as this is going to sound, it doesn't seem to me that Atkins as you were following it ("eating nice healthy whole grains, whole nuts, tons of fresh veggies, and a wide variety of poutry, fish") was a bad diet at all. The high insoluble fiber level could have caused problems for an IBS person if they weren't careful, but if you were healthy at the time that shouldn't have been a concern. You actually would have been getting lots of soluble and insoluble fiber both from the grains, nuts, and veggies.

You certainly do not have to eat sugar to eat safely for IBS, so I wouldn't worry about that. In fact, you can combine eating for IBS with glycemic index concerns without too much difficulty - there are past posts on this you can search for.

If you do think you have IBS, back off the insoluble fiber foods for a bit, and totally eliminate the red meat and dairy from your diet. Base your meals on soluble fiber staples like rice, pasta, potatoes, oatmeal. Add in a soluble fiber supplement like Benefiber, Citrucel, Equalactin, and try drinking some soothing teas such as peppermint or fennel.

There's info on soluble vs. insoluble fiber, and how they're often found in the same foods (which confuses a lot of folks) here - web page

To help break the cycle of attacks you're in the midst of, there's info here web page

For combining the IBS diet with glycemic concerns, see here web page

Finally, go ahead and start cooking the IBS recipes, and just be careful with the ones that are high in sugar. You can avoid desserts for now (or forever) and that won't hurt your IBS.

Best,
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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