Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | Re: *Minor* (yet MAJOR) problem!

Peaches:

I haven't eaten recently at TGI Fridays, but I can tell you from personal experience the safest restaurant meal is no restaurant meal!

Most chain/franchise restaurants like TGI Fridays and Red Lobster use a lot of additives, etc. in their food. One really has no idea what is in the food and I doubt the chef could even tell you. Even things that you would think should be safe like plain grilled chicken breast can be problematic because a lot of restaurants use chicken from suppliers who inject the chicken with milk and additives before it's delivered to the restaurant.

I don't think rice is a safe choice at a chain restaurant like TGI Fridays because there can be additives and milk products in it as well. And goodness knows what is in the bread (skim milk powder and additives are two possibilities).

Another problem is that chain restaurants use conventional food, not organic, which would be an issue for those IBS people who are particularly sensitive.

If you want to be absolutely sure you'll survive the meal, bring your own food!

I used to get exhausted trying to find something on a restaurant menu that I could eat. It was also embarrassing and stressful in front of my friends to have to interrogate the waiter/waitress about the ingredients in every single item I planned to order, and, on top of this, I would have to special order everything. Adding insult to injury, with my luck, the waiter often forgot (or ignored) my special requests and brought the food prepared in the "normal" way. Then I would have to send it back and invariably my food would arrive just as my friends finished their meal. I came to dread the whole dining out experience. It was all too humiliating and I was always the undesired centre of attention for having all these seemingly wierd requests for my food.

Nowadays I am spared all that humiliation and stress because I bring my own food to restaurants -- usually turkey or tuna sandwiches. I hate to do it, but if it means I can enjoy the company of my friends without being stressed and humiliated and without fearing I will be leaving early due to an IBS attack, then it's worth it.

Having IBS deprives many of us of too many things -- but why should it deprive us of one of the most common and most pleasant forms of socialization -- dining out? It's just we need to learn to work around the situation to find what works best for ourselves. In my case, bringing my own food works the best for me. Hopefully you will find what works best for you.

By the way, I can eat out at authentic Japanese restaurants. It seems that authentic Japanese restaurants don't use any additives in their plain grilled chicken and steamed rice. Plain grilled fish is also a safe choice for me at Japanese restaurants.

Belinda

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